Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo joined Adrian Wojnarowski on The Vertical Podcast, and had very high praise for the team’s number one overall draft pick (Transcribed by Tommy Chalk of the Washington Times):
“What we saw in Ben, was about the immense talent level that he has, and the possibility for greatness that he has. All those things that got us excited about him about a possible No. 1 selection, it’s all coming to fruition, and hopefully over the next five to 10 years, we’ll all be part of that same growth of him becoming a great basketball player, and becoming a Hall of Fame type of player,” Colangelo said. “Does he have it in him? I think he does. Does he have some work to do? Absolutely.”
Simmons has been lauded as a future NBA superstar since he was in high school. He is frequently compared to the likes of Draymond Green, Magic Johnson, and LeBron James. That’s some serious pressure to put on a kid who just turned 20 two months ago, and this doesn’t help.
Really, Colangelo is not wrong. Simmons absolutely has the potential to become a player worthy of being in the Hall of Fame. However, making the Hall of Fame is about far more than potential; you have to have one hell of a career to make the Hall.
