The question of whether or not the Sixers will meet with projected top pick Ben Simmons before draft night has been settled.
On Thursday the Sixers had a meeting with Simmons in Cleveland prior to Game 6 of the NBA Finals, CSNPhilly.com confirmed. ESPN.com’s Marc Stein first reported the team had dinner with Simmons and his agent, Rich Paul.
Simmons has not worked out with any NBA teams. This became a hot topic earlier this week when president of basketball operations was asked why a workout -- or any meeting -- had not been scheduled and if he thought it was a red flag.
“It’s not a red flag,” Colangelo said (see full story). “Everybody deals with the draft process differently. Sometimes agents are involved, sometimes families are involved in those decisions.”
Colangelo also noted, “Everything that we get, with respect to our intel as it relates to Ben, is he would very much like to be selected number one.”
It is not uncommon for top picks to skip the workout process. In most cases, those projected this high go through one-on-none individual workouts, as was the case with Brandon Ingram on Monday.
Simmons and Ingram are in the race for the top selection. The Sixers hold the first, 24th and 26th picks in the draft, taking place June 23.
