Nick Piccone
Ben Simmons might not want to work out with the Sixers, or any other NBA team for that matter, before the draft next Thursday. That’s fine. Whatever. Cool.
But Thursday night, he met with Sixers brass in Cleveland before Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
ESPN sources say that the Sixers had their first face-to-face meeting Thursday with presumptive No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons on Thursday.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 17, 2016
The Sixers, sources say, had all of their key people in Cleveland on Thursday to have dinner with Simmons and agent Rich Paul before Game 6.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 17, 2016
The Sixers, sources said, came away impressed by the 20 pounds of muscle Simmons is said to have added to his physique since the end of the college season and viewed the meeting as the start of “building a relationship” with the player they are strongly expected to select ahead of Duke’s Brandon Ingram with the first pick next week.
Thursday’s sitdown did not include any basketball work, but sources say that the Sixers are to date the only team that has been granted direct access to Simmons in the lead-up to the draft.
So, I guess the lines of communication are open. That’s good. Right? Good. Cool. The Sixers met with Brandon Ingram last week. But I’m willing to bet that was just a due diligence thing. Welcome to Philly, Ben.