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Brandon Ingram is now ranked the No. 1 prospect in the 2016 NBA Draft class by Draft Express over Ben Simmons.

"Ingram is 14 months younger than Simmons, has a longer wingspan by four inches and a standing reach six and a half inches higher," writes Jonathan Givony. "Ingram is a better shooter – which is perhaps the most important skill in today’s NBA – and has shown a much better trajectory throughout the college season. The intel on Ingram as a teammate and competitor has been much stronger than Simmons’. Yes, Ingram has a much more frail frame now, but it’s easy to envision him filling out as he ages and matures."

Simmons has received criticism for his lack of competitiveness and also for producing hollow box scores.

"One NBA executive described him as a “taller Rajon Rondo, a more athletic Evan Turner, or a skinnier Royce White”," wrote Givony.

Via Jonathan Givony/The Vertical

People are a little to focused on his shooting. When you're this talented and multi-skilled, you still end up being a great player despite having one weakness. Are people still worried that Giannis will struggle because of his shooting?

Yes 3 point shooting is a focus for many offenses now but the ability to pass, handle, break down defenses, get to the rim and just make plays hasn't been completely dismissed. Those skills will always be extremely important.

Yeah right.. from Next Lebron or Magic to "skinnier Royce White"...
people are waaaay overreacting to how LSUs season ended..

The "best since/next Lebron" hype was wrong from the first minute and anybody with half a brain knew it was way overblown..

But to compare him to a role Player or even a guy out of the League.. is crazy stuff..

Character Issues?,Competitiveness? What are those "reporters" smoking? Listen to his interviews.. read what his coaches and Teammates say about him... "Highly intelligent,Manic Work ethic,Leader,crazy will to win".. a 19yo Kid was frustrated by his bad LSU Team the last few Games.. and thats suddenly "Character Red Flags" ... wow.. just wow...

Lamar Odom.

The_Hater wrote:People are a little to focused on his shooting. When you're this talented and multi-skilled, you still end up being a great player despite having one weakness. Are people still worried that Giannis will struggle because of his shooting?

Yes 3 point shooting is a focus for many offenses now but the ability to pass, handle, break down defenses, get to the rim and just make plays hasn't been completely dismissed. Those skills will always be extremely important.

I don't question that he'll leave a mark on the next level, but his non-shooting does hurt his stock as a potential superstar. Beyond his shooting, I believe there are questions concerning his overall offensive game, especially in the half court. He is bigger and faster than athletes in college but among NBA athletes does he have elite athleticism or a notch or two bellow???

The_Hater wrote:People are a little to focused on his shooting. When you're this talented and multi-skilled, you still end up being a great player despite having one weakness. Are people still worried that Giannis will struggle because of his shooting?

Yes 3 point shooting is a focus for many offenses now but the ability to pass, handle, break down defenses, get to the rim and just make plays hasn't been completely dismissed. Those skills will always be extremely important.

THIS

The 3 WORST 3-point shooters in the entire league this year are:

98th Russell Westbrook .298 (81/272)
99th Lebron James .293 (73/249)
100th Kobe Bryant .277 (100/361)

http://tinyurl.com/zl2tqdw

Two of those guys are doing just fine.

Triple M wrote:

The_Hater wrote:People are a little to focused on his shooting. When you're this talented and multi-skilled, you still end up being a great player despite having one weakness. Are people still worried that Giannis will struggle because of his shooting?

Yes 3 point shooting is a focus for many offenses now but the ability to pass, handle, break down defenses, get to the rim and just make plays hasn't been completely dismissed. Those skills will always be extremely important.

I don't question that he'll leave a mark on the next level, but his non-shooting does hurt his stock as a potential superstar. Beyond his shooting, I believe there are questions concerning his overall offensive game, especially in the half court. He is bigger and faster than athletes in college but among NBA athletes does he have elite athleticism or a notch or two bellow???

for a guy 6'11 he has elite athletism. most of all insane speed

I think a Michael Beasley comparison is a worst case scenario for him

Lamak wrote:I think a Michael Beasley comparison is a worst case scenario for him

He should be better than that. Beasley's problem is for all his talent and skill he has a terrible attitude and a terrible bball IQ. All these years later he still doesn't make smart basketball decisions (or perhaps doesn't care). I don't question either of those with Simmons, especially his bball IQ which is one of his biggest strengths.

Somebody mentioned a young Lamar Odom. That's a fairly good comp although I think Simmons is definitely more athletic.

The_Hater wrote:

Lamak wrote:I think a Michael Beasley comparison is a worst case scenario for him

He should be better than that. Beasley's problem is for all his talent and skill he has a terrible attitude and a terrible bball IQ. All these years later he still doesn't make smart basketball decisions (or perhaps doesn't care). I don't question either of those with Simmons, especially his bball IQ which is one of his biggest strengths.

Somebody mentioned a young Lamar Odom. That's a fairly good comp although I think Simmons is definitely more athletic.

I think Beasley has some legit mood and personality issues that were never addressed growing up because of his talent. When you read any in depth stories about him going to 4 different high schools in 4 years it reads like a nightmare. But man could he ball! He winds up self medicating and then we get down on him for that. Rinse, Repeat.

The_Hater wrote:People are a little to focused on his shooting. When you're this talented and multi-skilled, you still end up being a great player despite having one weakness. Are people still worried that Giannis will struggle because of his shooting?

Yes 3 point shooting is a focus for many offenses now but the ability to pass, handle, break down defenses, get to the rim and just make plays hasn't been completely dismissed. Those skills will always be extremely important.

I hope he falls to the Lakers...

Wildcard wrote:

The_Hater wrote:

Lamak wrote:I think a Michael Beasley comparison is a worst case scenario for him

He should be better than that. Beasley's problem is for all his talent and skill he has a terrible attitude and a terrible bball IQ. All these years later he still doesn't make smart basketball decisions (or perhaps doesn't care). I don't question either of those with Simmons, especially his bball IQ which is one of his biggest strengths.

Somebody mentioned a young Lamar Odom. That's a fairly good comp although I think Simmons is definitely more athletic.

I think Beasley has some legit mood and personality issues that were never addressed growing up because of his talent. When you read any in depth stories about him going to 4 different high schools in 4 years it reads like a nightmare. But man could he ball! He winds up self medicating and then we get down on him for that. Rinse, Repeat.

For sure. I think he's one of the most underrated college players of all time too. The guy averaged 26/12 on 53% shooting as a freshman in the nations strongest conference. By comparison, Melo put up 22/10 on 45% shooting and people said he had one of the best freshman seasons in history.

With his head screwed on straight, I think that's the type of NBA player he could have been. He had Melo level talent anyways.

Passing on Simmons will be filled with regret.

Boris Diaw 2.0

Right at the moment, he's projecting like a stable Lamar Odom. Looks like a 7-8 rpg player waiting to happen, looks like 3.5 - 5 apg waiting to happen. Can't shoot, and that draw rate is going to vanish in a hurry at the NBA level. Even Harden doesn't draw at that level, which will dramatically impact his ability to score efficiently without the ability to shoot all that well.

He's young, he's got good physical tools, and he's got a decent array of skills. Lamar Odom was quite good in the NBA for a decade or so. Odom was a 17.6, 9.4 and 3.8 player at Rhode Island, you know what I'm saying?

I guess it'll depend if he ends up at the 4 or the 3, but really, I'm not excited about his potential as a scorer, and that really puts a crimp on his ceiling. I like Simmons, but he's crap for a top-end guy who isn't a dominant scorer at the line and doesn't exhibit a lot of range. The passing is great, the rebounding is great, he's got the size, he looks interesting. He COULD surprise and develop, but if he's a mediocre scorer (which is what he looks like), then he will only ever be so good. That's what worries me. At 19, it's tough to tell, but he's not dominating at the college level, so we'll have to see over his rookie season and his second year.