What will Sixers do at No. 3?
Sam Hinkie and his Philadelphia 76ers have had no shame when it comes to tanking the last few years. They’ve drafted injured players, stashed Euros, dealt away talented youngsters and fielded rosters full of no-name players to help secure more high draft picks.
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Of course, these last few awful years have all been a part of Hinkie’s plan to get the Sixers back to relevancy, and I don’t think we can say the efforts have been a failure. Those injured players? Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, two players who could potentially form one of the more dominant frontcourts in the league in the near future. Noel blossomed into a high-impact defensive player in his rookie season, and if Embiid can stay healthy, he has the skills to be a dominant presence on both ends of the floor.
The Euro prospect is Dario Saric, and while he’s not coming over for another season or two, he’s a talented player who could pay off down the road. He’s also exactly the type of player the Sixers need on the wing to go along with a solid, cheap player in Robert Covington.
One of the talented youngsters the Sixers traded away (for good value, by the way) was Michael Carter-Williams, leaving a gaping hole at point guard. That gaping hole could be filled in this draft, and Philly will likely have its choice of two point guards to fill that gap.
D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay are the two best point guards in the draft, and assuming the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers take Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor in whichever order, both of those guards will be on the board for Philly.
Both players have a ton of talent, but it’s Russell who looks like the better fit. The Sixers are in dire need of three-point shooting, especially if they plan on moving forward with a frontcourt of Embiid and Noel. Russell was an excellent shooter at Ohio State, knocking down 41 percent of his three-pointers on the year.
Russell is a smooth scorer and playmaker who can do just about everything well, even if he’s not the most athletic player. Mudiay is an athletic freak who can get to the basket at will, but his jumper is a bit lacking, which is why he’s not quite as good a fit in Philly as Russell.
No matter what though, the Sixers should be able to draft their point guard of the future in this draft. The franchise is creeping closer toward respectability, and at some point, the checkbook will come out to spend on free agents to put around the talented core of youngsters. Philly has taken a lot of ridicule because of its tanking efforts, but at some point, they’ll likely have the last laugh.
