Each NBA team with a first-round pick will enter the 2016 NBA Draft with a wish list of players they hope will be available to them when they make their selection. It’s no secret that the teams with the top picks will have the best opportunity to lock up the player they covet the most and we took the time to break down each of their biggest needs to predict who they should take with their selections. Here is a look at the ideal prospect for each of the first five NBA lottery teams.
Philadelphia 76ers
PF: Ben Simmons, LSU
The 76ers will enter this offseason with nearly $50 million in salary cap space, a wealth of young talent and the first-overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. Those are some considerable assets that general manager Bryan Colangelo has to work with and it will be very interesting to see how he approaches this offseason. Philadelphia might very well have to move one of its young big men in order to address another area of need and if they do hold on to the first-overall pick there is no doubt they should take the best available player. That appears to be Simmons as an ultra-talented, athletic wing that can play with pace and really attack the opposition. Simmons will have to refine his game including his shot in particularly but there is no doubt he has enough raw talent to make him worthy of the first-overall pick.
Los Angeles Lakers
SF: Brandon Ingram, Duke
L.A. didn’t get the first-overall pick but they have to be happy about the fact that Ingram will be available to them at No. 2. The freshman forward out of Duke is a natural fit for the Lakers as an excellent spot-up shooter that doesn’t need many touches to do some serious damage. LA ranked dead-last in the NBA in three-point shooting this past year and if we have learned anything in this year’s playoffs it is that strong three-point shooting is an absolute must for a championship contender. The Lakers already have a quality young big man in Julius Randle and a potential star point guard in D’Angelo Russell, so Ingram makes a lot of sense at No. 2 for this NBA lottery team.
Boston Celtics
PF/C: Dragan Bender, Croatia
The Celtics would love to get their hands on Simmons of Ingram but it wouldn’t be a surprise if they grabbed Bender if neither of those two falls. The Croatian big man has the chance to be an absolute stud in the NBA as a 7’1’’ big man that can stretch the floor with the three-ball. Head coach Brad Stevens has done an excellent job developing his young talent and it would be very interesting to see what he would do with Bender as a stretch-four that could make an immediate impact for this NBA lottery team.
Phoenix Suns
SF/PF Jaylen Brown, California
Phoenix is in a very interesting position because they have some quality young talent in place, substantial cap space and the fourth-overall pick. The Suns already have Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight and Devin Booker to build around and while Bender would probably be the ultimate prize if he falls to No. 4 they may have to settle on Brown. An athletic wing that can run the floor and be a force in the transition game, Brown has the potential to put up big numbers right away in the NBA.
Minnesota Timberwolves
SG: Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
The Timberwolves have locked in back-to-back Rookie of the Year award winners as their franchise cornerstones in forward Andrew Wiggins and center Karl-Anthony Towns. Now this NBA lottery team gets the chance to lock in another potential star at the shooting guard position in Hield. The 22-year-old is already physically ready to compete and he’s coming off an impressive shooting season in which he hit the most triples of any player not named Stephen Curry since 1994. Hield’s true shooting percentage is above 66-percent so there is no reason to doubt that his skills will translate to the next level. The Timberwolves are building a team that appears capable of contending in the Western Conference for years to come and Hield will slide in as the perfect fit at the two to compliment what they already have in place.
