NBA rumors, latest news: Ben Simmons works out for 76ers, Celtics trade a possibility

The Sixershave made their decision.

First broken by the Philly Inquirer earlier Tuesday, the team held a private workout with Ben Simmons Tuesday morning and informed the 6-foot-10 LSU star that he will be the No. 1 pick in Thursday’sdraft.

It was also reported that Sixers officials met with Simmons and his agent in Cleveland before Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

Simmons posted averages of 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game during one season playing in the SEC.

Trade rumors heat up

Philly — which, as mentioned above, will take Simmons (who has no jump shot, scouts say) — also is quite enamored with Providence guard Kris Dunn, a player with a killer jump shot.

The Celtics hold the third pick, and according to CSNNE’s Tim Welsh, a trade that would give the Sixers Dunn and the C’s Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel is likely by Thursday night.

One big problem, though, is that there is no guarantee that Dunn will go off the board third overall, with a group of like-rated players expected to go in the 3-to-7 range.

Kentucky’s Jamal Murray, Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield or international prospect Dragan Bender could all go before Dunn. But the Sixers, according to Welsh, do not want to risk missing out on their desired shooting star.

“They don’t want to take the chance,” Welsh said. “They like him so much that they say ‘OK, we have extra assets, we have extra bigs. The Celtics need a big player. Now how much do the Celtics value Okafor? How much do they valueNoel?’ They are putting all their eggs in Embiid’s basket.”