Ben Simmons will be looking to become the second Australian taken at No.1 when the 2016 NBA Draft takes place at the Barclays Center. Join The Roar for all of the live action from 10am AEST.
Simmons has long been touted as the No.1 pick ever since his high school days at Montverde Academy. During his one and done season at LSU the speculation only continued to grow, however, with his side not making the NCAA March Madness tournament, contenders arose.
» Catch every minute of Simmons’ debut season with our Ben Simmons NBA fixtures page
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Duke’s Brandon Ingram staked his claim for the throne of best College prospect along with Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield who shot the lights out.
A lot of college prospects use the extra bright lights of the March Madness tournament to showcase their skills to potential suitors, Simmons unfortunately wasn’t presented with this opportunity.
Luckily for him it wasn’t required as his body of work was enough to maintain his lead atop the leaderboard.
With all eyes set to be on whom Commissioner Adam Silver will read out as the fabled No.1 draft pick, the news may already be common knowledge, with Fox Sports’ Olgun Uluc reporting that Philadelphia has advised Simmons they’ll be selecting him with the pick.
Even with that piece of information history has taught us that Draft Day is full of ups and downs. Anything can happen on this day with so many teams wanting to either enhance their standing or shift picks you just never know what may happen.
Watch for plenty of trades, especially from the Boston area and maybe even the odd surprise selection. With a rising cap coming into play, rookie scale contracts are virtual gold so teams may even be looking at players they can pick and stash overseas – hello NBL!
While Simmons should go at the very top of the draft another Australian is causing rumblings among scouts and team GMs, Thon Maker.
Maker is expected to fall in the latter half of the first round with rumors that the Celtics have an eye on 216cm dynamo. Taking the unconventional path of coming straight from high school many teams are unsure on Maker although he tested through the roof at the Draft Combine.
There is an abundance of NBA Mock Drafts readily available, however, I’ll give you how I think proceedings may unfold today.
1: Ben Simmons (Philly)
2: Brandon Ingram (Lakers)
3: Kris Dunn (Celtics) – Should be traded away
4: Dragan Bender (Suns)
5: Buddy Hield (Wolves) – potential trade
6: Jamal Murray (Pelicans)
7: Jaylen Brown (Nuggets)
8: Marquese Chriss (Kings)
9: Henry Ellenson (Raptors)
10: Jakob Poeltl (Bucks)
Join The Roar from 10am AEST and don’t miss any of the action, be sure to add your own comments below.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Again big thanks for a great job James, brilliant work, lets go Celtics !
James McKern
Roar Guru
Thanks for tuning in Roarers.
James McKern
Roar Guru
Oh and I'll just leave this here....
James McKern
Roar Guru
2016 NBA Draft Recap In what was a historic night for Australia, Ben Simmons became the second Australian to be taken with the number 1 draft pick. Following in the foot steps of Andrew Bogut, Simmons will now begin his career with the Philadelphia 76ers. Perhaps the worst kept secret in NBA circles was the news of Simmons going Number 1 however the excitement was still over the top with Simmons and his family celebrating the announcement. Right before the Draft went live, ESPNs Chad Ford released his latest Mock Draft and much to the bemusement of fans he had Thon Maker listed at number 10 (Milwaukee), I for one was excited for the chance of seeing Maker in Milwaukee alongside Giannis and Jabari and now we can all bask in that thought as Milwaukee did eventually select Thon Maker as the number 10 draft pick. This marks the first time in Australian Basketball History that two players have been selected in the Top 10 in the same draft. Speaking to the media straight after being selected Simmons sounded optimistic about the future of Philly and stated that he'd be looking to play a "point-forward" role. With the Lakers taking the obvious choice of Brandon Ingram with the second pick we all braced for carnage however it didn't quite unfold until around the 9th and 10th pick. Boston sent shockwaves throughout the league by selecting Jaylen Brown with the third pick, a move that seems a little left field considering all of the pre-draft trade talks they had involving Philly and Chicago. My big winners for the night were Philly, Phoenix, Memphis & Milwaukee. All grabbed solid pieces and they should fill big holes and play important minutes almost immediately. How did I fare with my predictions? Surprisingly not too poorly. I had Simmons, Ingram, Bender & Chriss all falling where they eventually did. It was an exciting NBA Draft that was historic for our shores, the future of Australian Basketball is bright. Our eyes now turn to July 1st when the Free Agency market opens!!
James McKern
Roar Guru
And that'll do it folks, the 2016 NBA Draft is in the books.
James McKern
Roar Guru
With the 60th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz select Tyrone Wallace
James McKern
Roar Guru
And now we're up to the final pick in the 2016 NBA Draft
James McKern
Roar Guru
With the 59th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings select Isaiah Cousins
James McKern
Roar Guru
With the 58th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics select Abdel Nader
James McKern
Roar Guru
With the 57th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Memphis Grizzlies select Wang Zhelin
James McKern
Roar Guru
With the 56th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder select Daniel Hamilton Denver sold this pick to OKC
James McKern
Roar Guru
Only 5 to go.
James McKern
Roar Guru
With the 55th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz select Marcus Paige
James McKern
Roar Guru
My pleasure bud. Will be a draft analysis sitting waiting when you get back. Just a brief report on the top picks
James McKern
Roar Guru
6 picks left!!
Worlds Biggest
Guest
James I am heading off line for a couple of hours, big thanks for covering the draft, great job mate !
James McKern
Roar Guru
With the 54th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks select Kay Felder. (traded pick to Cleveland for cash)
James McKern
Roar Guru
Boston are planning to keep Ben Bentil and have him compete for a roster spot next season (via Shams Charania)
James McKern
Roar Guru
With the 53rd pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Denver Nuggets select Petr Cornelie
James McKern
Roar Guru
With the 52nd pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz select Joel Bolomboy