The NBA 2016 Draft is months away but the speculation is already rife with speculation.
Since the mock drafts have started, there has been only one player penciled in as the first overall pick-Ben Simmons. Unlike the past three drafts where the top choice was more of a toss-up until the last few weeks, the 2016 edition seems to resemble the 2012 draft with Anthony Davis head and shoulders above the rest of the pack.
However, that situation may change as Brandon Ingram of Duke is starting to build a case for himself. Also, as the college basketball season progressed, there were glaring weaknesses that unraveled in Ben Simmons' game.
ESPN Insider draft experts Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton evaluated the two top prospects.
Simmons has been tagged as a "playmaking 4," a term traced to Zach Lowe of ESPN, because of his passing skills and versatility and he has been compared to one of the best players in the NBA today: Draymond Green.
There are some quarters who believe that the success of the Golden State Warriors has as much to do with Draymond Green as Stephen Curry. While Curry makes the impossible shots and starts the play with his ballhandling, Green does a lot of the dirty work and his deft passing allows the Warriors' machine to run seamlessly.
If a player is even mentioned at the same breath as Green, NBA teams would scour to take him. But the comparison may not be as accurate as Green is a very capable three point shooter and Chad Ford notes that this is Simmons' shortcoming.
"That said, how much will his lack of shooting affect Simmons' ceiling in the NBA? Green was a career 36 percent 3-point shooter in college and has shot 34 percent in the NBA. Simmons won't even take midrange jumpers right now. Would Green be as effective if he lacked a serviceable jumper?" wrote Ford.
Ingram has been compared to Kevin Durant because of his shooting and his length but he has not been as dominating as Durant was in college. The better comparison, according to Ford and Pelton, was Paul George or maybe Giannis Antetokounmpo. The knack is that Ingram is not as dominant as George but he is a better shooter than the Greek Freak.
Simmons is still comfortably ahead despite the publicizes flaws in his game, or character for that matter. But the debate rages. SI.com has named Ingram and even Buddy Hield as possible contenders for the first overall pick.
It's hard to imagine teams passing up on Ben Simmons, but today's NBA places a premium on shooting and Simmons should at least commit to improve that aspect of his game.