NBA Draft 2016: 5 reasons Brandon Ingram won’t be No. 1 pick

3. Relatively nonexistent passing ability

When you think about all of the things that make Brandon Ingram such an intriguing prospect, you’re talking about things like upside, his prowess and playmaking ability as a scorer, the potential to one day use his length to be a devastating defender, and even his ability to rebound coming off of the win. What you never hear anything about is his ability to make plays for others with his passing and that’s largely because that’s not a part of his game right now.

For all of the knocks that people give Simmons because his jump shot isn’t NBA-ready and isn’t near the level that Ingram’s already is, one thing that’s undeniable about Simmons is his overall ability to make plays. Even with his size and athleticism, there’s not a situation on the floor where he can’t create a good look for his teammate and then get them the ball in that spot. That’s not a skill Ingram has just yet.

Again, this isn’t something that should always be the case with Ingram. In fact, you have to think that the length of the Duke forward might actually lend itself to making him a lethal passer as he matures as a basketball player. However, as Ingram has similar upside to Simmons and Simmons already has such a key component of his game under full control, that gives the edge to the LSU product.

Next: No. 2 Ben Simmons