NBA Draft 2011: Top 10 Prospects the Philadelphia 76ers Should Target (Video)
With the NBA draft only three days away, one thing should remain clearer than ever to fans of the 76ers:ย This team needs a big man like LeBron James needs an NBA finals clutch gene (too soon?).
While the Sixers plan on extending qualifying offers to center Spencer Hawes and forward Thaddeus Young, Marreese Speights is currently the Sixers' only player above 6'9" under contract with more than 35 career minutes logged in the NBA.
The Miami Heat may be able to survive without a dominant post presence, but the Sixers don't quite have James and Dwyane Wade in their corner.
Luckily for the Sixers, sweet relief should be only a few days away at this point. This draft may not hold a Blake Griffin, but with the No. 16 pick in the draft, the Sixers should have a solid number of big man projects available for the taking.
With that in mind, here are 10 players (in no particular order) that the Sixers should set their sights on in the draft class of 2011.
Note: This list assumes that Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, Enes Kanter, Jonas Valanciunas, Brandon Knight, Jan Vesely, Marcus Morris, Kawhi Leonard and Chris Singleton have all been drafted/are unavailable.ย
1. Nikola Vucevic, USC
1 of 10At the NBA draft combine this year, Vucevic measured out as the tallest prospect in the draft, landing at just a shade under seven feet tall in shoes. For a Sixers team currently desperate for a true big man, Vucevic fits the bill quite nicely.
Throughout the college season, Vucevic was projected more in the second-round range, but since draft preparations kicked into second gear, Vucevic's been on one of the quickest rises up the draft board (possibly only matched by Marshawn Brooks of Providence).
Equipped with a phenomenal 7'4.5" wingspan (three inches longer than that of Enes Kanter) and a draft-high 9'4.5" standing reach, Vucevic should at least be able to come into the NBA right away and pull down his fair share of rebounds on a nightly basis.
This past season, Vucevic averaged a plenty respectable 17.1 PPG, 10.3 RPG and 1.4 BPG. And for a big man, Vucevic isn't a half bad three-point shooterโhe ended the 2010-11 season having hit 34.9 percent from long range.
Vucevic would give the Sixers a solid, young backup plan in case another suitor blows Spencer Hawes away in free agency and the Sixers don't feel inclined to match.
2. Tristan Thompson, Texas
2 of 10Chad Ford's most recent Mock Draft 5.0 projects the Sixers picking Thompson 16th, saying, "Thompson could go as high as No. 5 or No. 6. But he also could slide. Just about every team I spoke to likes him a lot, but I've yet to find the team that's fallen in love."
If Thompson does slide to No. 16 on draft night, the Sixers would presumably love to take advantage of their good fortune. Thompson, a freshman this past season, averaged 3.8 offensive rebounds per gameโgood for seventh overall in the NCAA, according to statsheet.com.
The 6'9" Thompson measured out extremely well at the NBA draft combine, with a 7'1.25" wingspan and a 9'0.5" standing reach. Those long arms enable him to dominate on the offensive glass and with shot blocking, as he averaged 2.4 BPG this past season, including a seven-block performance against Oakland in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Throw in a vertical leap of 38", and it's not difficult to see why Thompson is considered one of the more gifted athletes in this year's draft class. Thompson won't be able to step in and give minutes at the center spot, but he could easily step in and take up Thaddeus Young's role on the team if Young decides to play elsewhere this offseason.
Long story short, Thompson would give the Sixers a true building block at the 4 for when Elton Brand's contract (mercifully) expires in two years. Assuming he slips to No. 16, expect the Sixers to swoop in and stop Thompson's draft-night freefall.
3. Bismack Biyombo, Congo
3 of 10I'd argue that Biyombo is the most intriguing prospect in this year's draft class, seeing as scouts can't even seem to agree on his age (Biyombo says he's 18; some scouts swear that he's in his early 20s).
The 6'9" prospect from Congo burst onto NBA scouts' radars at the Nike Hoop Summit in April, when he posted the first triple-double in Hoop Summit historyโa 12-point, 11-rebound, 10-block tour de force.ย
While Biyombo reportedly struggled during his workout at the adidas Eurocamp (his workout focused on perimeter shootingโan admitted weakness for Biyombo), it's done little to stop the hype train for Biyombo. His 7'7" wingspan and 9'3" standing reach have NBA GMs salivating, as he's been drawing comparisons to anyone from Ben Wallace to Dennis Rodman.
Biyombo recently told NBA.com that he plans on leading the league in both rebounds and blocks. Suffice it to say, he's a player who's not short on confidence.
"I want to (play) defense as a team," Biyombo said back in April, after the Nike Hoop Summit. "I want to help everybody on my team and I want to win the game ... That's what I heard from my first coach, that the good offense is defense. If I block a lot of shots then it's good offense. If I get a lot of rebounds, then it's good offense.''
While there are questions abound about the type of player Biyombo will develop into, he's the type of high-upside prospect that teams with mid-first-round picks will undeniably covet.
4. Markieff Morris, Kansas
4 of 10Philadelphians aren't shy about showing their love for hometown athletic heroes. Take one look at Vince Papale, the man who inspired the movie Invincible, for instance.
The Philadelphia-born Morris brothers fit that mold all too well. While Marcus Morris is off the board for the purposes of this list, his brother Markieff could realistically step in and contribute right away as a backup 4 for the Sixers this season (assuming we have a season, of course).
Unlike Marcus, who projects himself as more of a sharp-shooting small forward, Markieff knows that he'll be making his money in the NBA as a defensively-minded power forward. He's a stronger rebounder and shot-blocker than his brother, although he's still developing a cohesive offensive identity.
At 6'9" and 240 pounds, Morris has the requisite size for an NBA power forward (he's slightly larger than Udonis Haslem), and he managed to pull down 8.3 rebounds per game in just over 24 minutes of play for Kansas this past season.
A number of mock drafts have pegged the Sixers as a likely landing spot for Markieff in the past month or two, and given his size, college pedigree and hometown, it's not tough to understand why. Morris could provide the Sixers with some much needed toughness at the No. 16 pick.
5. Jordan Williams, Maryland
5 of 10The big concern about Williams heading into the draft appears to revolve around his conditioning, as he struggled to stay in tip-top shape during his years at Maryland. At the NBA draft combine, Williams clocked in with 12.1 percent body fat, which only ranked behind Trey Thompkins (15.5 percent) and Jeremy Tyler (13.4 percent).
That said, ESPN's Chad Ford reported back on May 12 that Williams had dropped 10 pounds, and shrunk his body fat percentage to only eight percent. This photo, which he offered as proof, says it all.
At 6'9" (in shoes), Jordan lacks the prototypical size for a centerโhe projects much more as a 4 in the NBA. His 7'0.25" wingspan and 8'10.5" standing reach gave him the ability to be one of college basketball's more prolific rebounders (especially on the offensive end), evidenced by his 11.8 RPG this past season at Maryland (third best in the NCAA).
Better yet, Williams was a guy in college who loved to score from the post. Any player who could take some pressure off Elton Brand, the Sixers' current go-to post scorer, should be under serious consideration for the Sixers at this juncture.
The No. 16 pick might be seen as a reach for Williams, but if guys like Biyombo, Vucevic, and Tristan Thompson are all off the board, Williams could be the best post option available for the Sixers.
6. Donatas Motiejunas, Lithuania
6 of 10Motiejunas won't fit the prototypical big man mold that the Sixers so desperately crave. He won't be your team's leading rebounder. He won't bang bodies down low for 40 minutes. Let's get that straight right off the bat.
That said, if the Sixers see no fault in riding Elton Brand's mid-range jumper/low post game for a few more years, Motiejunas could serve as an ideal perimeter-based frontcourt complement to Brand.
Motiejunas is a true 7-footer, but at only 220 pounds, he can't bang bodies with the likes of Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum and the like. Instead, the Sixers would rely on Motiejunas as a stretch 5 until he could add some much-needed muscle to his frame.
ESPN's Fran Fraschilla wrote an excellent draft preview breaking down Motiejunas' strengths and limitations, where he said that Motiejunas "may be the most polished and have the best overall skill set of the five [international lottery pick] players at this point."
If the Sixers' top few prospects are already off the board by the No. 16 pick, they could do far worse than drafting Motiejunas.
7. Jon Leuer, Wisconsin
7 of 10Leuer would unquestionably look like a reach for the Sixers at No. 16, as he's being considered a late-first-round/early-second-round pick at this point. He's much more in the Donatas Motiejunas mold than the Jeremy Tyler moldโa 7-footer who'll camp out on the wing for a majority of his career.
What Leuer mostly brings to the table is unbelievably strong shooting range for a big man. He knocked down 39.1 percent of his three-pointers during his junior year, and 37 percent in his senior year, while dramatically improving his free throw percentage throughout his college career (from 48.3 percent as a freshman to 84.3 percent as a senior).
Like Motiejunas, Leuer doesn't grab as many rebounds as you'd hope from a 7-footerโhe only averaged 7.2 boards per game in his senior season at Wisconsinโand won't be making a living scoring in the post. Leuer could easily stand to add 20 pounds to his 223-pound frame, as he only measured in with 5.4 percent body fat at the NBA draft combine.
Again, if the Sixers are comfortable riding Elton Brand as their low post horse (and with his enormous contract, it's not like they have much choice), a guy like Leuer could end up being an excellent perimeter-based counter punch in the Sixers' frontcourt.
And for what it's worth, ESPN's Doug Gottlieb says that teams should pick Leuer before selecting either of the Morris brothers. So, at least I'm not the only crazy one.ย
8. Kenneth Faried, Morehead State
8 of 10Say what you will about the quality of opponents Faried faced on a nightly basis while playing for Morehead State, but anyone who can lead the nation in rebounding with 14.5 boards per game is clearly doing something right.
Faried smoked the competition in the offensive rebounding department as well. Faried's 5.7 offensive boards per game put him more than a full offensive board ahead of the NCAA's next best offensive rebounder, Augustine Rubit of South Alabama.
There's no question that Faried lacks the ideal size you'd expect from a power forward, as he measured out as only 6'7.5" in shoes at the NBA draft combine. That said, something tells me the Sixers don't need convincing that an undersized PF can make a dramatic impact, given the five-year, $80 million contract they handed Elton Brand back in the summer of 2008.
And, while Faried won't measure up to many opposing PFs in terms of height, his 7'0" wingspan and 9'0" standing reach give him the athletic tools to battle down low with guys a few inches taller than him. For what it's worth, Faried led the NCAA in PER last season, according to ESPN's John Hollinger.
While Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer believes that Faried is a long shot for the Sixers, he's one player on this list who will almost unquestionably be available when the Sixers draft at No. 16. Considering that the Sixers ranked 18th in rebound differential this past season, the sight of college basketball's most prolific rebounder should be tempting for the Philly front office on draft night.
9. Jordan Hamilton, Texas
9 of 10The selection of Hamilton with the No. 16 pick would all but ensure that the Sixers intend to part ways with Andre Iguodala before the start of next season.
Right now, the Sixers have no shortage of swingmen on their roster, with Iguodala, Evan Turner and Andres Nocioni all under contract, and Thaddeus Young as a restricted free agent. Adding Hamilton to the mix without making any further moves would frustrate Sixers fans to no end.
However, if the Sixers finally decide to move Iggy, the 6'9" Hamilton has the size and scoring ability to step in and produce right away at the 3 (if only in a backup role to Evan Turner). Hamilton drained 38.5 percent of his three-point tries this past year at Texas, and his 18.6 PPG and 7.7 RPG suggest that he's a player who isn't shy about shouldering the load for his team.
One of the big knocks on Hamilton coming into the draft has been the question of selfishness, as he had a tendency at Texas to take highly questionable shots at times. But, haven't Sixers fans been clamoring for a go-to presence on the wing instead of the do-it-all Iguodala?
Sixers coach Doug Collins proved last year with Evan Turner that rookies will have to earn their minutes on this team. In other words, if Hamilton started chucking terrible shots with the Sixers, he'd almost certainly get the quick hook from Collins.
If the Sixers are truly ready to move on from the AI2 era, Hamilton could be just the type of young, athletically talented player that they need to keep the positive momentum from last season flowing.
10. Jeremy Tyler, Tokyo Apache
10 of 10For the No. 16 pick, Tyler's likely the biggest reach on this listโhe's hardly being mentioned as a potential first-rounder at all. But, as the New York Knicks proved last year with Landry Fields, the rankings of pre-draft services hardly matter come draft night.
Tyler decided to forgo his senior year of high school and play overseas back in 2009, at a time when he was being hyped as the No. 1 prospect in the high school class of 2010. After struggling with Israel's Maccabi Haifa (2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10 games), he joined Japan's Tokyo Apache in July and averaged 9.9 PPG and 6.4 RPG in 15.4 MPG last season.
The fact of the matter is, the 20-year-old Tyler stands 6'10.5" in shoes, has a 7'5" wingspan (widest of all players at the NBA draft combine), and a 9'2.5" standing reach. The kid is an athletic freak, in other words. At 262 pounds, he's got the bulk to come in and bang around in the post with NBA bodies immediately.
While Tyler doesn't come into this draft with nearly as much hype as he might have had he finished high school and played a year in college, it's critical for the Sixers not to be blinded by pre-draft rankings if they fall in love with his talent.
As one NBA GM told ESPN's Chad Ford, "if Tyler had gone the more traditional route, I think he would've been a lottery pick. He does some things that are pretty impressiveโฆas far as basketball talent goes, he has the chance to be really, really good."
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