Patrick Causey, on Twitter @PhillySportsPMC
It's never too early for a mock draft. Granted, neither the NBA nor college basketball season has started. But that hasn't stopped ESPN.com's NBA Draft guru Chad Ford from putting out his first mock draft for the 2016 NBA Draft (which you can read here, but need an ESPN Insider account).
Ford has the Sixers hitting the lottery (see what I did there?), landing the number 1, 4, 20 and 25 picks in the draft.
With the first pick, Ford has the Sixers taking consensus top pick Ben Simmons, the 6'10 point forward that has drawn comparisons to LeBron James and Magic Johnson. According to Ford, Simmons has a higher upside than Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor and Dario Saric. That is high praise for a guy that has yet to play a game in college basketball.
But living in Florida, I've seen several of Simmons high school games, and he is as good as advertised. He has a smooth shot, ridiculous handle and plus vision/passing ability for a 6'10 high school player.
Simmons is not an elite athlete — at least in the LeBron James category (then again, who is?) — so it is unclear whether he will ever truly reach his lofty projections or end up as a better version of Lamar Odom. But hopefully the Sixers will be in a position to find out.
Ford also has the Sixers landing Kentucky point guard Jamal Murray with the fourth overall pick, which the Sixers would obtain from the Los Angeles Lakers if they finish outside of the top three picks.
Murray is a 6'5 point guard that lacks elite athleticism but makes up for it his ability to score and get others involved. He was supposed to graduate high school in 2016, but reclassified to the class of 2015 after breakout performances at the Nike Hoops Summit and the PanAmerican Games.
Murray would offer the Sixers a much needed upgrade at the point guard position and add to an exciting young corp of talent. Here is a GIF showing how crafty Murray can be with the ball in his hands:
Ford also has the Sixers obtaining the 20th pick (from the Heat) and 25th pick (from the Thunder). With those picks, Ford had the Sixers taking 6'6 shooting guard Graysen Allen of Duke and 6'8 small forward Justin Jackson of North Carolina.
Allen and Jackson will check two areas of need for the Sixers: wing play and shooting. Both are good athletes that have excelled at shooting from deep in college.
While the Sixers have a good chance of landing the Heat and Thunder picks based on their lottery protections, it is unlikely the Sixers will use all four first rounders in one draft. It is simply placing too many eggs in one basket. So in the event that the Sixers land all four picks, expect Hinkie to make moves either up in the draft or to obtain a first rounder in a future draft.
