"Making the case for and against Simmons
For months, NBA scouts and GMs have insisted Simmons is the no-brainer No. 1 pick in the draft. In November a longtime GM told me, "Anyone who doesn't have Simmons No. 1 should be fired."
But there have been cracks in the consensus. Multiple teams have started to question whether it's a foregone conclusion.
On Saturday, that same GM backed off. "I stand by those comments in November," he said. "There wasn't anyone even close. But as the season has gone on, I think he hasn't improved and other guys have.
"When guys don't improve, I get a little nervous. I thought he'd get more comfortable with his jumper. He'd start molding this team into a cohesive unit.
"It's gone the opposite direction. I still love him as a prospect, but I've got a lot more question marks."
It hasn't helped that Duke's Brandon Ingram has emerged as a real competitor to Simmons. Ingram can score, and his length and agility allow him to guard multiple positions.
Ingram's very thin, with a streaky jumper. But he plays really hard. He's shown toughness. He defends. And he can shoot.
And he'll probably play several games in the NCAA tournament, where a strong performance could vault him ahead of Simmons on the draft board for some teams."
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insi...n-simmons-lsu-deserve-nba-no-1-draft-pick-nba
In spite of Ben being the superior player, I said it before, I believe Ingram has a real shot at number 1 and that's even with his terrible shooting as of late. I hate saying that. He needed to show some passion and drive, instead he bounces a ball really high, gets a tech and that's as much emotion as we see
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