The 76ers Have Three Picks, But Will They Get What They Need?
Uncategorized June 12th. 2007, 6:45pm
Can somebody get this man some help? He, of course, is Philly’s Andre Iguodala, an incredible dunker who turned into quite an all-around talent after Allen Iverson was shipped to Denver for spare parts in February. After the deal, Philly actually made a run at the playoffs. With three draft picks, why couldn’t they reach the playoffs next season?
First, here’s our up-to-date list of who is off the board as we near the end of the lottery:
1. Oden, 2. Durant, 3. B Wright, 4. Horford, 5. Brewer, 6. Conley, 7. Noah, 8. N Young, 9. Hawes, 10. J Green/J Wright, 11. Law/Crittenton
Philly’s needs are simple: scoring. The 76ers were the 5th worst team in the league in scoring last year, 6th worst in field-goal percentrage, and 7th worst in rebounding.
Sam Dalembert is an adequate shot-block center, Iguodala is ensconced at small forward, and Andre Miller is your point guard. Kyle Korver’s getting $5 million a year to come off the bench and jack 3’s, so you could use a shooting guard (unless like your shooting guard to hit 41 % from the field and 32 % from three, which is what Willie Green did last year).
But the real need is a power forward to come in and become an immediate scorer. Can you trade the 12th, 21st and 30th picks, along with a bad salary, for a scoring power forward? There seem to be plenty on the market (Gasol, Randolph, Jermaine O’Neal). But – and this is actually a good thing – Philly doesn’t have any contracts to match.
And here’s the problem with the 12th pick – there are no impact power forwards at this spot. You’ve got some very good undersized power forwards (either Jeff Green or Julian Wright) and a bunch of scorers. Do you really want to take a chance on Colorado State’s Jason Smith? How do you feel about Duke’s Josh McRoberts? (The one plus with McRoberts – he did perform well at Duke as a freshman when he had Shelden Williams as a wingman. Downer? Philly’s already got one underachieving Duke forward, Shavlik Randolph.) Is Nick Fazekas a lottery pick? Wild-card Sean Williams (led the country in blocks last year until getting booted from the team) would give you two shot-blockers and no scoring. Pittsburgh’s Aaron Gray?
If you want to go best-on-board, it’s Green or Wright. Chad Ford’s got the 76ers taking Green, which would give the Sixers two guys named Green who can’t shoot. Thanks, we’ll be here all week.
We’re stumped on this one. What about punting on the power forward here, chasing one in free agency, moving Iggy to shooting guard and taking a scorer like GT’s Thaddeus Young or FSU’s Al Thornton? But then what of last year’s top pick, Rodney Carney, who would play SF?
Or trade all three picks to Memphis in an attempt to leap up and grab Horford? Or up far enough to get Spencer Hawes?
Gun to head … we’d flip a coin over McRoberts or Thornton. Love Julian Wright, but only on a team that doesn’t need him to start.
23 Responses to “The 76ers Have Three Picks, But Will They Get What They Need?”
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June 12th, 2007 at 7:15 PM
I’d say Thornton. Possibly Yi, but Philly will eat him alive.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:22 PM
I say Yi if he’s still on the board. I see the Sixers doing a high-risk/high-reward guy here.
Like you said, they have three picks. They can fill in the cracks later.
I don’t see Carney doing much.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:28 PM
Why does it matter….or better yet why even ask the questions…..you know Billie King, dumbest of the bunch, maybe second to Danny Ainge, will ultimately make a HUGE!!!!!! mess of this. I know the team tried/fought hard at the end of the season, effectively killing their draft, but I don’t think they did that for Billie. Remember, he’s the reason they are so bad right now, he put the team together. AAGH….I just can’t believe that these guys keep their jobs for so long. Seriously, if TBL wrote as bad as some of these GMs managed they would probably take the site down…..sheesh, at some point they have got to admit some sort of failure and move on. But, no, they continue to make even crazier decisions to try to get out of the hole they have dug. It’s like watching a gambler on a serious losing streak uping the ante to continue to lose more.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:38 PM
Can you pick one player for each of 10 and 11. (thinking is Julian Wright and Crittenton). McRoberts is the pick, king has a long history with duke. Thornton is best available but him and dalembert would be a small front line.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:40 PM
When you give Kyle Korver and Willer Green 5mil each per season your going to struggle…the only thing they can do is move Miller (who is in hot demand) and throw in another contract to move after O’Neal or Randolph. If they bring in Randolph, on my knees praying, they would be very solid…they could then draft a PG, Acie Law, and use him with Kevin Ollie…Acie Law at PG, Iggy at SG, Carney at SF, Randolph at PF, and Dalembert at C…not that bad…to bad that Billy King is a tool and it won’t happen
June 12th, 2007 at 7:52 PM
This team needs a PF in the worse way. They could even use 2 since they don’t even have an adequate back-up. Problem at # 12 you’re out of range of a guy like Horford, but still are too high to take a guy like McRoberts. If they keep the #12, might have to take the best guy available. Though, Acie Law could make sense, the Sixers could use a back-up PG, and if Law progresses well they could just ship Miller out, who is about 31 anyways & only has a few years left on his deal.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:55 PM
Super5, you may be onto something with the trade but does Portland want Miller? And Indy would need to move Tinsley first (supposedly they want to) … but Miller IS a winner, and probably made Iggy better by taking away the ball handling duties.
Supposedly Yi wants to go only go city with a large Asian community … I don’t know if he’s even willing to work out for the 76ers. Could be wrong on that, though.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:55 PM
I watched Thornton for his whole college career. He is not a 4. No way. Maybe on Golden State, that would be it. His athleticism might get him a bunch of rebounds and some blocks, but there no way he can guard the NBA’s better power forwards. Even at FSU he should have been a 3, but their lack of size made him play the 4. Personally, I think there are better fits for Philly and Thornton.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:13 PM
Jesus H., how about a little consistency with the picks? A week ago Conley was going at 3 and now there are two guys each at 10 and 11… way to waffle.
If Yi is still around (you never know with this mock draft) the Sixers will take him. The Sixers need some “name value” of this team of generic ballers. With three picks they can afford to take someone risky that will generate some buzz. They could also take Noah for the same reason if he slips; his game doesn’t translate well to the NBA but then again, neither does the Sixers’.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:19 PM
Anybody but McRoberts, but of course Dukie Billy King will probably pick him
June 12th, 2007 at 8:23 PM
There has been talk around Philly about drafting a back-up PG, so don’t rule that out. Sixers want someone to learn from Miller, as they love him, but know he’s too old to be a long-term solution at the 1.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:28 PM
If Yi wants to play in a place with a large Asian community… Penn’s got a great engineering program – put him up in the Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science, he should feel right at home.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:30 PM
Gotta be Thornton if he is available. he may not be a prototypical PF in terms of size, but he more than makes up for it in athleticism. plus he gives you versatility between the 3 and 4, if carney doesn’t work out. the other options, smith and mcroberts don’t provide the sixers with the scoring they so desparately need. miller at PG, iggy at 2, carney at 3, thornton and dalembert. its a smallish lineup, but athletic as hell, you can finally bring korver off the bench.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:47 PM
Andre can’t play the two. He’s a natural three and they’re obviously building around him. I think Stuckey would be a great sleeper pick.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:22 PM
Philly definitely has a large Asian community. I suspect Philly’s Chinatown is only smaller than those in NYC and SF.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:47 PM
USM – That 82games site had Iggy putting up good #s at the 2. Not sure about this Stuckey guy … Chad Ford’s been on his nuts, but I can’t recall seeing him play.
Also, agree with some others – no shot at Thornton at the 4. He’s a SF for sure. Not sure if McRoberts will be there at 21. Washington, NJ, Golden State all could go big. Even the Lakers would probably consider McRoberts there.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:00 PM
great lead…
Pau Gasol or bust…the game is international and he is the rock that we never have…won’t happen though and more debacles are looming…we will pick a stiff as always…
Randolph would be great for Philly fans and would work well w/ Dalembert…but, he doesn’t help towards a championship…this should be the only goal and Randolph is not the answer, though very talented and the kinda PF filler we need…
June 12th, 2007 at 10:28 PM
Why not trade Andre Miller & Aaron McKie to Portland for Zach Randolph & Dan Dickau. Philly might have to throw in either pick 21 or 30 to entice Portland to go for it. Then Philly would have their power forward in Randolph and with pick #12 they take their point guard of the future in Acie Law or Javaris Crittendon (whoever Atlanta passes on). That’s a much better idea than reaching for McRoberts at #12!!
June 13th, 2007 at 12:10 AM
The Philly media rips players to shreds even at their best times, always something wrong so picking a player like Yi who can barely do anything outside of scoring in the paint( most footage of him is only of dunks) and rebounding, Philly won’t be able to deal / a project player like him, I say take tThornton a proven player or trade up for Noah, Horford or, Hawes
June 13th, 2007 at 12:11 AM
i meant philly media wont be able to deal with a project like Yi and
( not deal as in trade) another scenario
June 13th, 2007 at 1:33 PM
I think that a team like portland would love Andre miller, a proven winner/teacher, that can take that young team to the next level…the deal makes sense, but Philly also needs miller badly as they need to grow too…
June 13th, 2007 at 2:39 PM
McRoberts sucks.
And yes, on behalf of the Memphis Grizzlies organization I offer the #4 pick for Philly’s three picks. I’m serious. We can make it happen right here today.
June 13th, 2007 at 3:32 PM
After watching this team all year long they need a PF and a slasher at SG. If they could get Brewer or Horford they would be set. I think Brewer might make a little more sense because of his offensive prowess, and the 76ers total lack of it.