NBA | Sixers should be wary of emotionally based Ingram propoganda

by Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

It’s frightening. It really is.

This groundswell of support among the fan base and in the media for the 76ers to select Brandon Ingram and discard the notion of grabbing Ben Simmons with the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft a week from tomorrow scares the absolute bejeebers outta me.

Why? Because the team’s GM seems to be listening.

Not for nothing, but just about every time Brian Colangelo opens his mouth to talk anymore he sounds like one of the “experts” who has watched a couple highlights videos of Ingram on YouTube and now deems him a lights-out shooter and capable of defending up to four positions at the pro level.

That’s some hyperbolic silliness right there, considering the kid can’t guard that many in a playground right now.
​
Yo, this whole push away from Simmons has about as much substance as any political, smoke-blowing campaign we get shoved down our throats.

It’s based primarily on two things:​

• The notion that Simmons doesn’t want to come to Philly and play for a franchise that hasn’t taken Step One away from Ground Zero of State: Abysmal … in several years.
• The idea that Duke University is a breeding ground for basketball players who are prepared to star, or at least have an impact, in the NBA.

Forget the little matter that neither of those is based on fact, Simmons never having said, or even intimated, anything of the sort and that Duke’s track record for producing next-level talent is sketchy at best. Perception rules in this town and once it takes hold, watch out.

The reality is this: Simmons is ready to play, if not star, in the NBA right now. He has an NBA body, an NBA game, even an NBA attitude – the final one, frankly, being the only potentially damning characteristic since it shows he can be in control and not completely driven by emotion … unlike those not in his camp.

It also is this: Ingram is not. He’s a 6-foot-9, 190-pound stick figure whose offensive guard skills are intriguing, but grossly overrated when you consider the step up in size and talent from the opposition he will be facing now. Frankly, he’s not even as NBA-ready as former Dookie and current Sixer Jahlil Okafor was coming out last season and getting drafted No. 3 overall OR as current Dookie and classic despised white boy-baller Grayson Allen, who opted to stay in school and likely will come out in 2017, is right now.

For all those beholden to projections or pipe dreams, truth is, you never really know what’s going to happen down the road. A week from now, a month from now, a year from now, a decade from now.

Heck, both Ingram and Simmons could sustain career-ending injuries due to some freakish accident or some bizarre happenstance before next week’s draft. You just never now.

But going off what you we do know, this is a no-brainer.

With one caveat …

Ingram trumps Simmons in one category – shooting from distance, both in terms of ability to make and willingness to take.
Now, if that is deemed such a pressing need, the one that will propel the Sixers into the world of NBA relevance, then, yeah, opting for the former over the latter would make some sense.

Otherwise, no.

Propaganda and current popular choice in town be damned.

Got that, Colangelo?

---

The reality is this: Simmons is ready to play, if not star, in the NBA right now. He has an NBA body, an NBA game, even an NBA attitude – the final one, frankly, being the only potentially damning characteristic since it shows he can be in control and not completely driven by emotion … unlike those not in his camp. It also is this: Ingram is not. He’s a 6-foot-9, 190-pound stick figure whose offensive guard skills are intriguing, but grossly overrated when you consider the step up in size and talent from the opposition he will be facing now. Frankly, he’s not even as NBA-ready as former Dookie and current Sixer Jahlil Okafor was coming out last season and getting drafted No. 3 overall OR as current Dookie and classic despised white boy-baller Grayson Allen, who opted to stay in school and likely will come out in 2017, is right now.