The Sixers held an individual workout with Brandon Ingram at their practice facility on Monday, crossing one potential top pick off their list and leaving one still remaining.
With the NBA draft less than two weeks away, Ben Simmons has yet to work out for an NBA team. The Sixers do not have a workout scheduled with him.
“As of this moment, not yet, but we’re still working on that,” said president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo following Monday’s workout.
Colangelo is not concerned about this as the draft nears. It is not uncommon for top picks to forego team workouts. Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns met with but did not work out for the Timberwolves before they selected him first overall in the 2015 draft.
“It’s not a red flag,” Colangelo said. “Everybody deals with the draft process differently. Sometimes agents are involved, sometimes families are involved in those decisions.”
Colangelo dismissed rumors that Simmons did not want to be selected by the Sixers. He said he has not heard about pushback from either projected top pick.
“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,” Colagnelo said. “I think we heard the same thing from Brandon today. It’ll just be all part of the process as we look at making that final selection.”
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When asked further as to why the Sixers do not have a workout scheduled with Simmons, Colangelo suggested asking Simmons’ agent Rich Paul.
“It has nothing to do with us, it has nothing to do with Philadelphia,” he said. “The bottom line is, as I said, everybody goes about it a little differently. Sometimes players decide to work out, sometimes they don’t decide to work out.”
The Sixers are awaiting the medical information from the physicals Simmons and Ingram are expected to undergo this week. Those results will factor into the hours of tape they have watched and long list of conversations they have had with those familiar with both players.
“The most important thing that we’ve talked about is getting the physical information, the medical information, and that’s what we’re working on,” Colangelo said. “But we’re also working on still arranging a visit, so stay tuned.”
