Report: No plan for Ben Simmons to work out for 76ers or Lakers

We have presumed for quite some time who the top two picks in the 2016 NBA Draft will be, but the order of those picks depended on which way the ping pong balls bounced on the night of the NBA Draft Lottery.

The order ended up going chalk, resulting in the draft order simply being based on regular season record, giving the Philadelphia 76ers the No. 1 pick, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 2.

Since that night, all signs have pointed to the Sixers taking Ben Simmons out of LSU, leaving the Lakers to finally get a long-term answer at small forward with Duke’s Brandon Ingram.

Each player has been working out daily as they prepare to get drafted on June 23, but neither has worked out for any specific teams to this point.

ESPN’s Chad Ford reports that, for Simmons, there appears to be no plan to change that, at least not yet.

76ers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo openly admitted yesterday that he already knows who he will take with the No. 1 pick, and reports have strongly indicated that it will be Simmons.

While Simmons is No. 1 on a lot of boards, Ingram isn’t far behind, if at all, due to his natural ability to fit seamlessly in virtually any offense. The Lakers need shooting and defense out on the wing, which Ingram can help provide.

Those two things seem to be the biggest flaws in Simmons’ game to this point, but he’s seems to be working hard on fixing them, especially his jump shot.

It would still be surprising if Simmons is a consistent jump shooter right away at the next level, but perhaps in a couple of years he could be a threat from the perimeter, which would make his offensive game almost flawless. Luckily for the Lakers, Ingram already excels in this area.

Barring any major changes, it looks like the Sixers and Lakers will walk away from the NBA Draft with a ton of excitement. Simmons appears to be heading to Philadelphia, while Ingram goes to Los Angeles.

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