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To the surprise of absolutely no one, LSU freshman forward Ben Simmons will hire an agent and declare for the NBA Draft.
“I’m making it official,” Simmons told ESPN late Sunday night.
Simmons has withdrawn from school officially and is moving to Phoenix until the NBA Draft, a source told SNY.tv.
As many had expected, the 6-foot-10 Simmons will sign with Klutch Sports, the agency that represents James, as first reported by The Vertical. Rich Paul will be Simmons’ agent.
“We knew that there was a great possibility that Ben would only be at LSU for one season,” LSU coach Johnny Jones said Monday.
“And if you are going to have a guy to do that, Ben was the perfect one because of how much of a team player he is. We are happy about the development that transpired during his time here and think he will continue to make great strides as he transitions into the NBA.”
Now that Simmons has declared, he’s in line for a $100 million sneaker deal, as SNY.tv first reported.
The 6-foot-10 Simmons was recently moved to the projected No. 2 pick behind Duke’s Brandon Ingram on the DraftExpress.com Mock Draft.
Ingram has been compared to Kevin Durant.
“Right now, I think [Simmons] is the No. 1 pick but there will be a lot of people talking about ingram at 1 because he is still playing,” one NBA executive said.
Charles Barkley recently said he didn’t think Simmons was ready for the NBA at all.
“I do not think Ben Simmons should come out, he’s not dominating college,” Barkley said.
Simmons averaged 19.0 points, 11.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists for LSU (18-13, 11-7 SEC), which didn’t make the NCAA Tournament and then declined an NIT bid. Simmons finished the season with 23 double-doubles, the most by a freshman in Division 1 history.
