NBA draft sets record for international picks

He became the third Australian-born player to be drafted number one after Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving (2011) and Golden State Warriors’ Andrew Bogut (2005).

“It’s awesome”, Simmons said. “It may be flawless timing”. So, you’re banking that his admittedly fluid ball-handling, court vision, size and spring will make your team better.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – No matter what position he ends up playing, Ben Simmons is going to be the centerpiece of the Philadelphia 76ers’ offense.

As expected, after Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram things got interesting.

“He has all the tools”, James said.

To defend this, he had to contend with the “Best Player Available” argument in very detailed fashion.

Simmons worked out for the Sixers on Tuesday _ they were the only team for which he worked out _ and general manager Bryan Colangelo gushed afterward. His father used to play professional basketball in Australia during the 1990’s.

After missing out on the NCAA tournament, Simmons and his LSU teammates elected not to accept an invitation to the NIT.

Elias research reports that’s the lowest total of American-born, first-round picks in an National Basketball Association draft since 1973.

“Who said that?” Simmons said Wednesday. His insistence on calling his own number in too many tight spots led one-time 76er and TV analyst Charles Barkley to rename him “Me, Myself and Iverson”.

Colangelo said that it was possible that Luwawu-Cabarrot will play in the summer league, but there must be a contract agreement and a buyout with his team, KK Mega Leks, and he must receive FIBA clearance. Minnesota makes this pick based on fit within their new scheme, and decide what to do with Ricky Rubio later.

“It honestly feels like all this pressure just has hopped off me”, Simmons, long viewed as a top prospect, said of hearing his name called. “So we’ve had the bond for a while”. This time, the rebuilding franchise hopes they have a found a major solution to their problems.

The Lakers hoped to find a cornerstone of their future by selecting Brandon Ingram with the second pick in the National Basketball Association draft Thursday. He averaged 16.4 points, 6.2 assists as a junior last season while becoming the first Friar to register 1,000 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals. A record 14 foreign-born players were taken in the first round this year, breaking the previous record of 12 from 2013.

The main criticism of his game is his weight – he’s 6-foot-9 but only 190 pounds.

Ingram “has the luxury right from the get-go that he can shoot”, Brown said. Though he can relax for now, there is much that needs to be done in the coming weeks leading up to the next season.

“The game came easy to him … but he was also very competitive and he had a great skill set for such a tall body”.

The Celtics were solid if not splashy, though their selection of Jaylen Brown at No. 3 got their ownership booed at the team’s draft party.

When asked at what point he thought Simmons could be the No. 1 overall pick, Brown said he felt that way from the beginning of the college season.

Last year, Philadelphia had the third pick.

The Sixers also added a pair of global prospects, selecting forward Timothe Luwawu from France with the No. 24 selection and, two picks later, shooting guard Furkan Korkmaz of Turkey.