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It was a wild 2016 NBA Draft with plenty of shocking picks as well as a whole lot of guys getting drafted who most had probably never heard of or had no clue how to pronounce their names. So which teams were winners and losers on draft night? Time to hand out some 2016 NBA Draft team grades. [Read more…]
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Happy NBA Draft Day! Here is a look at The Sports Bank’s latest 2016 NBA Mock Draft. The Sports Bank is the only independently owned, mom and pop on the internet with a mock draft for the top four American professional sports leagues. Be sure to check out our 2017 NFL mock draft, 2016 NBA mock draft, 2016 MLB mock draft and 2016 NHL mock draft. [Read more…]
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The 2016 NBA Draft Lottery takes place Tuesday evening so the draft order will be official then. Here is a look at the second round of The Sports Bank’s 2016 NBA Mock Draft. [Read more…]
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The 2016 NBA Draft is stating to take shape, at least on paper- LSU’s Ben Simmons #1 to the Philadelphia 76ers, Duke’s Brandon Ingram #2 to the L.A. Lakers, and International prospect Dragan Bender, possibly the next Kristaps Porzingis, #3 to the Boston Celtics.
So who goes #4 to the Phoenix Suns? Oklahoma scoring Buddy Hield, the consensus national player of the year? Or Providence‘s Kris Dunn, the draft’s best point guard?
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The 2016 NBA Draft is stating to take shape, at least on paper- LSU’s Ben Simmons #1 to the Philadelphia 76ers, Duke’s Brandon Ingram #2 to the L.A. Lakers, and International prospect Dragan Bender, possibly the next Kristaps Porzingis, #3 to the Boston Celtics.
How about Marquette Power Forward Henry Ellenson? Where does he fit?
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The 2016 NBA Draft is stating to take shape, at least on paper- Ben Simmons #1 to the Philadelphia 76ers, Brandon Ingram #2 to the L.A. Lakers, and Dragan Bender, possibly the next Kristaps Porzingis, #3 to the Boston Celtics.
ESPN College Hoops and International Draft expert Fran Fraschilla discussed the 2016 NBA Draft on a media conference call, and Here are transcripts of some of the highlights of the Dragan Bender and Kristaps Porzingus discussion below, via an ESPN release.
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The #1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, now that the word is out everywhere, will hail from…..LSU? Yes, really. The Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly made it known to their new franchise player. The intrigue is over, sorry (no, we’re not really sorry) ESPN, if this hurts your ratings for NBA Draft night. We have Ben Simmons is the next big thing in basketball; the next Anthony Davis, Andrew Wiggins, Jahlil Okafor style player who has NBA scouts salivating.
Part of what makes Simmons special is that he’s a leader, not a follower. His individualistic streak is a big reason he choose Louisiana State.
Ben Simmons on Instagram: “Trust the Process.” If you needed more proof he’s Philly bound https://t.co/ohYk90MLTn
— ProBasketballTalk (@nbcprobballtalk) June 21, 2016
“If you’re born in America, you’re looking at Kentucky, Duke, and you’re more likely to pick a school like that,” said the Australian born Ben Simmons.
“But for me, I’m more of an individual type of guy and I want to pick a school where I feel comfortable.”
LSU does have a rich tradition though; if you go back a ways. They did make a Final Four in 2006, and boast two of the game’s best ever players in Shaquille O’Neal (who reached out to Ben Simmons and congratulated him after he made the decision) and Pistol Pete Maravich. Also, LSU has the second most SEC basketball titles all-time (behind Kentucky obviously).
ESPN College Hoops and International Draft expert Fran Fraschilla discussed the 2016 NBA Draft on a media conference call, and here below are transcripts of some of the highlights of the Ben Simmons discussion, via an ESPN release.
“Simmons is as good a passer as you will ever see from a 6-10 guy. And I know; I’m old enough to go back Magic. The kid is gifted. He’s as good a passer as there is, and he makes your team automatically faster because of his ability to rebound and not outlet it, but push it.”
“There’s things about Ben Simmons that have to be figured out in interviews, and he’s only going to interview for one or two teams anyway and the team is going to have to decide what to do.
“But by and large, Ben is obviously locked in at one or two, barring an injury. His camp will go from there.”
Here’s why we have Ben Simmons going first to Philly in our latest 2016 NBA Mock draft:
1. Philadelphia 76ers –Ben Simmons, F, LSU, 6-10, Fr.
There will be Simmons and Brandon Ingram debates up until draft night but Simmons is the clear cut number one pick in my opinion. The Aussie is an extremely versatile offensive weapon who ultimately plays a point forward type role. Add him to a young frontcourt of Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel, Dario Saric, and Joel Embiid (if he ever gets healthy) and Philly adds a huge piece to their ever-struggling and elongated rebuilding project. Go here for more on Ben Simmons
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram
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The #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft drama is over; we have an answer. Ben Simmons is going first overall to the Philadelphia 76ers, just like we all thought anyway. Most experts have though this for well over a year. The Sixers have informed Simmons, and now the word is out. Sorry (no, we’re not really sorry) ESPN, if this hurts your ratings for NBA Draft night. Here’s a link to our feature/scouting report on Ben Simmons.
I guess everyone gets at least one pick correct in their NBA mock draft now.
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The 2016 NBA Draft is just days away! Huzzah! Here’s the link to our latest NBA mock draft.
ESPN will televise the 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday, June 23, at 7 p.m. ET. In advance of what is annually always one of our favorite days on the sports calendar, we crowdsourced the Phoenix Suns selections from our most favorite and most trusted NBA mock drafts on the internet. In other words, we did some mocksourcing.
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Conventional wisdom holds that the Boston Celtics are the most intriguing and interesting team in the 2016 NBA Draft. It’s pretty much a done deal that Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram will go #1 and #2, meaning the draft actually begins at #3 with Boston. On top of this reality, the Celtics also hold pick #16, just outside the lottery.
We’ve already conducted some Boston Celtics mocksourcing, and you can view those results here at this link. Will it be Kris Dunn or Dragan Bender? What Jamal Murray, is he in the mix?
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The 2016 NBA Draft is just days away! Huzzah! Here’s the link to our latest NBA mock draft.
ESPN will televise the 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday, June 23, at 7 p.m. ET. In advance of what is annually always one of our favorite days on the sports calendar, we crowdsourced the Boston Celtics selections from our most favorite and most trusted NBA mock drafts on the internet. In other words, we did some mocksourcing.
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The much discussed, and very often scrutinized, Purdue Boilermakers Center A.J. Hammons will finally be drafted into the NBA in a little over a month. A four year guy, this seems like it’s been a very long time coming as there was chatter the last two seasons about whether or not Hammons would or should make an early entry into the professional ranks.
ESPN College Hoops and International Draft expert Fran Fraschilla discussed the 2016 NBA Draft on a media conference call, and he was asked about a handful of prospects from the state of Indiana.
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