Derek Bodner covers the 76ers for Philadelphia magazine. Follow @DerekBodnerNBA on Twitter.
Report: Sixers Have Meeting with Ben Simmons
According to Marc Stein, the Sixers met with Ben Simmons in Cleveland last night prior to game 6 of the NBA finals.
According to a report from Marc Stein of ESPN, the Sixers had a meeting with Ben Simmons, the presumptive #1 overall pick in next Thursday’s NBA draft. | Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Sixers had a dinner with Ben Simmons last night prior to game 6 of the NBA finals.
This was the first time the Sixers have had the chance to meet with Ben Simmons in person. In fact, according to Stein the Sixers are the only team who has been granted access to Simmons to this point.
The meeting, according to Stein, included numerous members of the Sixers’ front office, including Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo and head coach Brett Brown, as well as Rich Paul, Simmons’ agent.
Colangelo mentioned earlier in the week that the team did not have a workout scheduled with Simmons, but he did sound optimistic that they would have the opportunity to meet with Simmons in Cleveland. It turns out that optimism was founded.
According to Stein, Simmons had added 20 pounds of muscle to his frame since the season ended.
While there is still no word yet on whether the Sixers will get to watch Simmons work out for a 1-on-none workout similar to the one they ran Brandon Ingram through, the chance to interview Simmons, and obtain medical information, is by far the more important part of the pre-draft process for a player who has been scouted as extensively as Simmons has.
According to Chad Ford, the Sixers have received Ben Simmons’ medical records.
Simmons, who averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game during his freshman season at LSU, is reportedly the heavy favorite to be selected by the Sixers with the first overall selection in June 23rd’s NBA draft.
Simmons recently made an appearance on the Australian radio program “The Grill Team”, where he said it would be awesome if he was drafted first overall.
Update: 12:41 PM:
Updated the story to include the report that the Sixers have been granted access to Simmons’ medical records.
