The Philadelphia 76ers don’t have to send out smokescreens, but it appears that someone in the organization wants you to believe that Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram isn’t the obvious choice.
According to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer — Kentucky’s Jamal Murray has become an intriguing option with the No. 1 overall pick in the eyes of Marc Eversley, the team’s vice president of player personnel.
“Jamal Murray, we certainly got a chance to see him a couple of weeks ago. He’s certainly going to be one of those kids who’s going to be in contention for the No. 1 pick.
“We like him a lot. He’s going to bring a lot to wherever he goes in the NBA, certainly a talent.”
Murray — a sweet shooting talent from Canada — was a star at Kentucky — where he averaged 20 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while earning third-team all-American honors.
According to Pompey — some within the Sixers organization believe that Murray has the biggest upside of any of the draft prospects — but passing on Simmons or Ingram could set the organization back.
At this point I’ll chalk it up to rumor, but if the Sixers are able to move Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor — Murray or Kris Dunn could be there for the taking.