May 18, 2016
The Process gave the Sixers some serious results at Tuesday night’s NBA Draft lottery. Some fans might be slightly disappointed that the Lakers pick didn’t convey, but from a mock drafter’s perspective, this is a dream. I don’t have to change up anything I was already doing!
• Mock Draft 1.0
• Mock Draft 2.0
With the top pick, we don’t have to bother with any “If this team does X…” hypotheticals like in previous years, an added bonus. The Sixers have the pick of the litter. And similarly, I don’t have to sort through a group of players at 4 or 5 that I’m not all that enthusiastic about.
Let’s not waste any more time. With the top pick, the Sixers select…
Simmons is going to be picked apart over the next month, both locally and nationally. He was picked apart all year by college basketball writers and fans, especially because ESPN was marketing the talented Aussie as the next LeBron James. He’s clearly not that.
And sure, LSU had a very disappointing season, but we’re still talking about a player that averaged 19, 12, and 5 on excellent efficiency in the SEC. Simmons’ jumper is worrisome, but you could also spin it the other way: Imagine how efficient he can be if/once the outside shots start to fall. Let him play the 4 on both ends of the floor, give him some NBA shooting and spacing to work with at the 1-3 positions, and you should have a valuable piece (if not a mega-star).
Having the Simmons/Ingram debates over the next month is going to be a lot of fun. But if I had to bet, Simmons is going to be the guy on June 23rd.
We touched on Mr. McCaw’s combine performance the other day, and there is certainly a lot to like here. He’s still figuring some things out (ball-handling and shooting being the main ones) but the 6’7” swingman (DX #31) is already an effective two-way player. If he puts it all together, you could potentially have a steal late in the first round.
Potentially building around Simmons, Joel Embiid, and whoever else sticks around in frontcourt will require some strong three-point shooting in the backcourt and on the wing. McCaw has the potential (key word there) to provide that, plus strong defense.
The Chinese big man is actually who DX has the Sixers taking at 26 in their fine mock draft. Like Dario Saric a few years ago, Zhou would provide the benefit of the draft-and-stash option that can develop without taking up a roster spot in 2016-17. I personally can’t say that I’ve seen all that much of him, but just from watching him online, Zhou looks like a fluid athlete with the potential to become a stretch-5.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
