Could Sixers trade up and pick Dunn? He hopes so
NEW YORK - Word around the league is that the 76ers would love to come away with Ben Simmons and Kris Dunn in the NBA draft Thursday night.
NEW YORK - Word around the league is that the 76ers would love to come away with Ben Simmons and Kris Dunn in the NBA draft Thursday night.
Dunn would love for that to happen as well.
"My dad [John Selden] is from is Philly," the Providence point guard said Wednesday. "He would definitely love that. They're a young team, and I'm willing to go there and work."
The Sixers are trying to get in position to draft Dunn or someone of his caliber.
They will have three first-round picks - Nos. 1, 24, and 26 - in the draft at the Barclays Center. The Sixers are expected to take Simmons, a point forward out of Louisiana State, with the first pick. As of Wednesday evening, they were also looking to move up in the draft, preferably into the top eight. The team was widely known to be shopping players, primarily centers Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, to teams around the league. They were also dangling their two late first-round picks to move up.
The Sixers were focused on acquiring the third overall pick from the Boston Celtics, knowing that's their best option to ensure they'll get Dunn, a league source said.
Boston, which was shopping the pick, believed as of Wednesday that the Sixers' asking price for Okafor or Noel - the third pick plus more assets - was too high.
It was obvious Wednesday that Dunn hoped that the teams could work out a deal. He raved about Philadelphia during his media availability. He added that team president Bryan Colangelo has changed the mind-set of the Sixers.
"I couldn't wait to be part of something like that," he said. "I would be a part of helping change the orchestration of an organization that's trying to rebuild."
Dunn believes in a few seasons the Sixers will be "really, really" good. He said folks will remember when they turned things around.
"In a few years, we are all going to look back at the Sixers and think, 'What happened?' " he said. "They are all going to be so good."
Small forward Brandon Ingram (Duke) was considered to be the candidate opposite Simmons for the first overall pick. He said Wednesday that the Sixers had not informed him that they were taking Simmons.
However, according to several reports, the Sixers promised Simmons they would draft him first overall.
"When I left the Sixers workout [on June 13], they told me not to listen to everybody," Ingram said. "So I'm just listening to them. I don't really read the reports that come out about anything else."
No deal here
The Sixers had been in discussions with the Atlanta Hawks to acquire veteran point guard Jeff Teague in a multiplayer deal. The teams stopped negotiating, and the Hawks ended up sending Teague to the Indiana Pacers in a three-team trade that included the Utah Jazz. Indiana point guard George Hill will go to the Jazz, and the Hawks will receive Utah's first-round pick, No. 12 overall.