2015 NBA Draft Prospects Philadelphia 76ers Should Already Be Considering
The Philadelphia 76ers have geared the entire season toward the 2015 NBA draft, and there are a number of prospects they should already be considering.
In two seasons, general manager Sam Hinkie has done everything in his power to send the Sixers into the toilet bowl in hopes of securing top draft picks.
It began with trading away All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday for Nerlens Noel and a future first-round pick in 2013, and has more recently ended with moving Michael Carter-Williams—last year's Rookie of the Year—for a top-five protected first-round selection in this year's draft. Hinkie is all about building on young and unproven potential.
The same applies for what's to come.
The Sixers will clearly have one of the top choices coming up as their 14-49 record has them tied for the second-to-worst team in the league. What's crazy, though, is if everything worked out just right, then Philadelphia could find itself with four of the first 30 picks this offseason.
It's a pretty mind-blowing position for a franchise to be in.
The organization needs to look at both need and talent in order to get a feel for who would fit best among the young roster going forward.
With this in mind, here's a look at five talented draft prospects the Sixers should already be considering.
Top-Five: Emmanuel Mudiay, China, 6'5", PG, 1996
1 of 5
Each year there seems to be an international prospect with a ridiculous amount of talent who is surrounded by question marks. The question marks generally come from the fact they have been playing overseas, and not in the United States where in-person scouting is readily available.
The weird part about this year's situation is the international prospect is Emmanuel Mudiay, and he played his high school basketball at Grace Preparatory Academy in Arlington, Texas, but decided to play professional basketball in China instead of going to college.
There is one word that describes his game more than anything else: raw.
He isn't nearly as fundamentally sound as you would want or expect out of a top prospect. He only shot 57 percent from the free-throw line while playing in China, and he was prone to the kind of silly turnovers a 19-year-old makes. It's incredibly easy to overlook because of his sheer athleticism, though.
Grantland.com's Danny Chau wrote an article about Mudiay and his lone season overseas. Here's what Chau had to say about the 6'5" point guard's physical tools:
"What Mudiay lacks in fundamentals, he makes up for with an innate sense of pace and timing that shouldn’t come so naturally for a player so raw. While he’s prone to mistakes, Mudiay has shown the ability to take advantage of changes in speed, something that took guys like Wall and Russell Westbrook years to accept.
Mudiay, standing 6-foot-5 with a solid 200-pound frame, is easily categorizable. He falls under the tree of John Wall and Tyreke Evans, guards who take full advantage of their physical superiority on the court. He’s impressively strong, and while his powerful first step is usually enough to get him to the line, he’s shown the ability to fight for extra possessions on his misses. Nearly a third of his total rebounds this season were offensive.
"
Drafting someone like Mudiay comes with risks, but isn't anything new. The NBA is a potential-based league, and a number of top picks arrive without the necessary skills to immediately contribute. It's their athletic abilities that get them selected in such high spots.
Philadelphia could be faced with this kind of decision.
The Sixers' need at point guard makes Mudiay an attractive option. His style of play is perfect for Philly's up-tempo pace, and he only turned 19 years old on March 5. There is plenty of time for him to grow with the organization.
Mudiay will be a top-five pick in the upcoming draft. We'll just have to see if the Sixers are the ones who select him.
Top-Five: D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State, 6'5", PG/SG, Freshman
2 of 5
D'Angelo Russell started the year off as another good Division I recruit at a major program. He was expected to help Ohio State at the guard spot, but there wasn't any talk of being a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft.
He went from a relatively unknown freshman to a guy who is averaging 19.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
Russell's climb to the top is truly unprecedented. In fact, ESPN's Chad Ford didn't even have Russell on the first version of his mock draft back in August, 2014.
There isn't another player in the 2015 draft class who is able to single-handily take over a game like he can. If the Buckeyes need six straight points, then Russell gets them six straight points. If they need him to deliver passes with pinpoint accuracy, then that's exactly what he does.
He's in a class by himself among guards at the college level.
Philadelphia's biggest area of need comes at point and shooting guard. There isn't a franchise-caliber starter at either position on its roster, and it'll make a potential top pick interesting.
If the Sixers decide to draft small, then the choice will almost certainly come down to the explosive and raw Mudiay, or NBA-ready and savvy Russell.
Top-Five: Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky, 6'11", PF/C, Freshman
3 of 5
That's right, Karl-Anthony Towns is on this list and Jahlil Okafor is not.
It all comes down to versatility.
Anyone who has watched Okafor play knows he is arguably the most offensively polished collegiate center since Tim Duncan in 1997. His footwork is years ahead of his peers, however, and he has a feel for the game that just can't be taught. Everything from his spacing to how the ball comes off his hand is a sight for any basketball fan.
The concern with Okafor falls squarely on defense. He isn't laterally quick enough to defend the most athletic centers at the NBA level, and it's an area few tend to significantly improve on throughout their career. He has a great chance of turning into an All-Star at some point, but defensive limitations will likely prevent him from becoming a complete and well-rounded superstar.
Towns could be a different story.
Kentucky's 6'11", 250-pound power forward is clearly big enough to play at center in the NBA, but he is more suited for the power forward position based on his great mobility. He has had nine games of four blocks or more, to go along with a shooting percentage of 55.8. Towns' foundation is built on the defensive end. He just happens to be a good offensive player as well.
Okafor doesn't fit that mold.
Philadelphia could very well be looking at deciding between drafting the best available player or someone in a position of need. The Sixers already have Noel and Joel Embiid, but they also have a man by the name of Sam Hinkie at the helm.
Everybody is at risk of being traded if he believes it will help Philadelphia.
Lottery: Mario Hezonja, Croatia, 6'8", SG/SF, 1995
4 of 5
Mario Hezonja would likely be in the conversation for one of the top-three picks if he were playing college basketball in the United States.
He's that talented.
Hezonja has a number of valuable traits, but his athleticism and shooting are the likeliest to translate to the NBA. His 6'8", 200-pound frame is clearly far from where it needs to be, but he makes up for it with a wild amount of explosiveness. He's similar to a lot of younger players in that he thrives in open space, but Hezonja has quick first step and vertical ability to elevate over the majority of defenders he faces. (The audio in the linked highlight is absolutely incredible. Not knowing Spanish makes it even more entertaining.)
One of the key differences between him and most other young athletic players, though, is he has a jumper to always fall back on.
The NBA is an entirely different beast when it comes to game preparation. Hezonja will be scouted heavily, and opposing teams will know most of his tendencies after the first couple games of the season. There are things he's currently able to do in Europe that won't work when he gets to the United States. But he has the potential to be so valuable because shooting is almost universally impossible to stop.
If you can shoot, you can shoot. Regardless of if you're in a Spanish or American gym.
Combine both of his most valuable skills with length and room for physical development, and Hezonja begins to look like a possible prize in the 2015 draft.
Mid-to-Late First Round: R.J. Hunter, Georgia State, 6'6", SG, Junior
5 of 5
Before the 2014-15 collegiate season began, Roundball Direct's Jack Crouter wrote about R.J. Hunter and what stood out about his game. He had this to say about his offense and athleticism:
"Hunter remains a versatile scorer. He can catch and shoot, attack the paint, pull up off the dribble, and use his really nice footwork to create scoring opportunities other players wouldn’t think of. It doesn’t seem to matter if there is a hand in his face. Hunter makes a lot of well-contested shots that give cause to wonder what a low-percentage shot is for him.
Athletically R.J. is a solid collegiate athlete, though not really in an explosive way. He uses his ridiculous 6’9.5” wingspan in passing lanes and on opposing shot attempts to the break up plays... He’s by no means a dominant defender due to lack of real explosiveness and strength, but he’s certainly capable and disruptive. He rebounds at an above average rate for his position as well, bringing in 4.5 per game.
"
There isn't much press that comes with playing at a school like Georgia State. Mid-major programs fail to capture the national spotlight because the level of talent is consistently lower than the powerhouse universities such as Kentucky or Duke.
Still though, there are a handful of players from smaller schools who slip through the cracks. People who project as potential professionals without much upside turn into absolute superstars. Every team in the NBA would love to find the next Stephen Curry if the situation presented itself.
Hunter's similar skill set and small college pedigree could lead him to being that guy.
He managed to shoot 39.5 percent from three-point range on 7.7 attempts during last season. This year's number has dipped down to 30.5 percent, but a key factor is the added attention being paid to Hunter every possession, game-by-game.
The drop in shooting numbers have forced his stock to decline a bit, but it can definitely be used in Philadelphia's favor. Finding someone who is able to pull up from anywhere and heat up like an oven while doing so is difficult to acquire in the middle-to-later part of the first round.
The Sixers might have a chance at being the team that does it.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
