May 31, 2016
Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo was interviewed by 94 WIP’s Howard Eskin on Tuesday morning, and he was asked point blank if already he knew what he planned to do with the No. 1 overall pick.
While league rules prohibit Colangelo from stating his intentions, he did say that there is still data to be combed through and information that needs to be checked over the next few weeks leading up to the draft. That said, it sounds like the 50-year-old executive knows which way he’s leaning.
“Yes, I know what I would do today but again subject to change based on those circumstances that I talked to you about,” Colangelo said. “Anything can happen now and then and you never say never in this business, but we’ve got 23, 24 days before the draft.”
It’s generally believed that Colangelo will use the top pick to select LSU’s Ben Simmons. Here are a few other highlights from the interview:
On Simmons’ shooting: “He’s got a shot that’s not broken. He just didn’t take a lot of [perimeter] shots at the college level because of what was there in terms of his talent and the people on the floor with him and the way he used his offensive skillset to create for others and find ways to score without having to shoot threes.”
“It says a lot about what he’s capable of doing so I would say that with our coaches, if he were to come here, he would certainly be on the court working on [shooting] all time. Similarly, if you’re talking about Brandon Ingram, one thing he would be doing is not only refining his offensive skillset, but he’d be in the weight room working with our strength and conditioning team to try to maximize his frame and potential with the physical tools that he’s got.”
On drafting for fit (or not drafting for fit): “If we were going to battle with the current roster as it’s on the board today, there may be a player that fits better than the other. But that’s not what we’re basing our selection at No. 1 on this year.”
On Dario Saric (who he’ll fly to Turkey to meet with next week): “We think that if there is ever a best time for him to come, it’s this year for a lot of different reasons. Part of it is that start-up that we talk about, that jumping off point that we find ourselves at. I think it’s a really good set-up for him to come in and have a chance to play immediately in the NBA.”
You can listen to the full interview here.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
