PHILADELPHIA (AP) – No matter what position he ends up playing, Ben Simmons is going to be the centerpiece of the Philadelphia 76ers’ offense.
“He’s a facilitator, a distributor and he’s going to have the ball in his hands a lot,” said Bryan Colangelo, the team’s president of basketball operations. “He’s going to make everyone on the floor better. He’s going to make our entire team better.”
It’s the expectations of being the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, something that only happens about once a generation in Philadelphia.
The 20-year-old Australian was the first of three first-round picks taken by the Sixers Thursday night. Despite a collection of players drafted in the lottery in recent years, Philadelphia is turning to Simmons to be the focal point.
Philadelphia coach Brett Brown has a challenge in finding where Simmons, a 6-foot-10 former LSU forward will play in the NBA.