Back in 2016, during the build-up to the NBA Draft, Chauncey Billups came out with a rather controversial take on the whole Ben Simmons situation. Five years later and it looks like Billups' hot take has aged quite well.
At that point in time, the Philadelphia 76ers had the first overall pick for the coming draft. The general belief was that the Sixers were going to select Simmons first overall. In his mind, however, Billups thought this was not the right move to make:
“No, I don't think so,” Billups responded sternly when asked if he thought the Sixers were right to tank for the opportunity to select Simmons as the first overall pick. “I don't even know if I would take him with the No. 1 pick right now.”
When asked who he would rather use the first overall pick on over Simmons, Billups answered adamantly that Brandon Ingram is the better option.
https://twitter.com/Tanner_McTanner/status/1405647899015323648
Half a decade on and Billups' statement appears to be quite accurate. Simmons has been taking a lot of heat of late for how the Sixers have struggled in the second round against the Atlanta Hawks. Unfortunately for him, he's emerged as the scapegoat for Philly.
Then again, it's hard to deny that Simmons still remains to be one of the top guards in the NBA today. The Sixers would not be where they are right now without him. Now whether or not the organization made the right decision of taking Ben Simmons over Brandon Ingram in 2016 is something that we can not determine. It's definitely worth talking about, though.
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