Cue the Movement against Drafting Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons is going to be taken in this year’s NBA Draft. The Sixers, who have the number one overall selection, could draft him. They could also draft Brandon Ingram. Those two will likely go one and two in next month’s draft, and I’m not sure there’s a close third. Buddy Heild? Maybe.

But with Simmons’ season-ending spiral comes questions to the people who’d like to just stir up conversation. I get it. Conversation is good. But when people are so adamant that Simmons is going to be an NBA bust? I don’t think anyone’s buying that.

Angelo Cataldi has made a great living in this city with his commentary on sports and piloting the best sports variety radio show Mondays through Fridays in the city. I don’t have to tell you – the ratings prove it. But Cataldi also pens columns for Philly Voice, along with yours truly. In his column yesterday, Cataldi took aim at Simmons and believes he’ll be a bust in the NBA.

Because Ben Simmons is not going to be the next Allen Iverson. In fact, he has a much better chance of becoming the next Shawn Bradley.
 
How can I – hardly an expert on college basketball – be so sure of this bold forecast? After 40 years in sports media, let’s just say I have learned that disasters have a distinct pattern. Ben Simmons fits the prototype of draft busts, a gifted athlete with overpowering character flaws – far too many character flaws.

40 years in sports media. Cataldi knows how to raise the ire of not just Philly fans, but sports fans in general. And that’s exactly what he’s doing here. In fact, he’s pretty good at it.  Does he really believe Simmons will be a bust? Probably not. He said the same thing about Andrew Wiggins two years ago.

When Andrew Wiggins arrived at the Sixers’ offices yesterday, he should have been wearing a sign on his back: “Disaster Ahead!” Because that is exactly what he represents in the NBA draft nine days from now. He will break the heart of whatever team picks him. He will be a bust. Bet on it.
 
At the risk of redundancy, I offer my second consecutive week of dire warnings about Wiggins, the forward from Kansas whose extraordinary talents are exceeded only by his soft inner core. (Don’t miss part three here next week.) Wiggins is precisely the kind of player designed to slip right past the analytics probing of GM Sam Hinkie because there are no statistical breakdowns on heart.

Yeah, Wiggins isn’t a bust two years into his career. Now, I won’t go so far to say Cataldi doesn’t believe what he’s saying, but it’s pretty close. If you’ve been a constant listener to his show such as I am, you’d come to find out he’s basically a satire and shouldn’t be taken as seriously as people do. He’s a fine entertainer, and I enjoy his show. But he’s not someone I’d listen to to formulate opinions about sports.

Simmons will receive a lot of hate heading into the draft from lots of people, and Sixers fans will probably question whether their team should really take him first overall. But there’s no question here. If the Sixers don’t draft Simmons, then I’d worry.