PhillySixers22 wrote:Honestly the amount of hate for Simmons in this thread is baffling. A petulant child, a prima dona and a headcase? What are we basing this all on? Unless you know him personally these all sound like baseless claims. I've also noticed that in all this there isn't any dissecting of Ingams weaknesses and flaws. What exactly did Ingram do or accomplish that suddenly he'sa much better prospect?
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Most of it comes from a series of articles or tweets from renowned psychologist Jonathon Givony p.h.d.
Ive followed Ben since he was 15, so therefore Im aware of Givony' long held thoughts on him. Now going back to when Exum and Simmons were first starting to make waves Givony' opinion was that Exum was by far the better talent, a view not held by most in Australia. Which is fine, he's allowed that pov no matter how wrong.
It was pretty clear from early into Bens junior year at Montverde he was the number #1 in that class, from memory it took along time for DX to put him above Jaylen Brown as the #1 pick of 2015, and then he didnt hold it long. All it took was for Skal Labissiere to hit a few jumpers over Thon Maker at hoops summit to move him to the top spot and have Givony and Evan Daniels gushing over how apparent it is that Skal is easily the best prospect. Again, its an opinion to which one is justified, no matter how laughable in hindsight.
When the college season was a couple of months old and it was clear Skal was hopeless and Simmons was a stud a few NBA scouts commented on how ridiculous Skal was still #1 on mock-drafts i.e. DX as its the most popular or how he was even #1 in the first place. Givony had a bit of a melt-down on twitter and from that point on his articles on Simmons took a weird, and frankly, unprofessional turn.
Every bad decision or act was highlighted with a trace of smugness or satisfaction, while all the good stuff was overlooked. When it was clear LSU was doomed he started assasinating his character and even stating his Aussie team-mates didnt think much of him (denied by every-one). All this just becasue a 19 year-old had the temerity to prove him very wrong.
You can also throw in the fact he signed with klutch sports, while Givony is now a lackey of Woj, has made things even more interesting.
PS. There is a belief that Rich Paul is directing Simmons on what he will do. Bens sister works for Klutch and is married to former NFL running back Michael Bush, so theyll make sure Klutch do what is in Bens best interests.
Rant over lol.
