2015 NBA Draft Prospects Guaranteed to Interest the Philadelphia 76ers
The 2015 NBA draft will be arriving on June 25, and there are a number of prospects guaranteed to interest the Philadelphia 76ers.
There's quite a difference between where Philly is currently at and where they were just a couple years ago.
Rewind the clock to the 2013 offseason, and the Sixers' roster had more holes than the freshest Swiss cheese. The team consisted of poor shooting, a lack of effort and defensive problems that were sure to take years to fix.
General manager Sam Hinkie had to have been licking his chops at the time, as he was about to change the entire makeup of the franchise.
Spencer Hawes and Evan Turner were moved halfway through the 2014 season, and Thaddeus Young would follow suit at the end of the year. If that wasn't enough, last year's Rookie of the Year, Michael Carter-Williams, found out the harsh reality of the NBA after being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2015 deadline.
Hinkie's end goal was to build Philadelphia into a league-wide force through the draft—even if took him years to do it. Giving players to other teams in exchange for stockpiling picks meant the Sixers could be in a place to dominate one of the most important times of the year.
They did it last offseason, and they're perfectly positioned to do it again.
Sixers.com's Max Rappaport put together a fantastic picture that gives us an idea of how Philly's draft could end up after the NBA lottery on May 19. Here's a breakdown of the Sixers' chances at ending up with multiple picks in the top 11:
The odds are low, but it's possible for Philadelphia to land the No. 1, No. 6 and No. 11 picks.
We'll take a look at three players the team will be looking at if it were to get multiple first-round selections, on top of the five second-rounders currently in their possession.
Emmanuel Mudiay
The biggest question mark in the draft could end up having the most potential, and it makes acquiring him all that more intriguing.
Emmanuel Mudiay skipped out on Larry Brown and Southern Methodist University in order to play a year of professional basketball in China. It was a risky move for the 6'5" point guard, but one that kept his visibility low and interest high.
The opportunity to see him play for the Guangdong Southern Tigers in person was barely there—even to NBA personnel. The rare scout, word of mouth and online clips of him playing kept his name in the conversation at the top of the draft.
Mudiay's game isn't all hearsay, though, as he clearly has elite tools.
He is a superb athlete with prototypical size. His shooting is inconsistent at best, but there isn't a more active and explosive person in the draft. It doesn't hurt that he managed to play great while overseas as well.
An ankle injury limited him to 12 games, but RealGM.com had his numbers at 18.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 steals in 31.5 minutes per game. This is a guy who would have been a freshman at a Division I college, and he was putting up numbers like these against grown men.
He's a possible project as it could take time for him to improve certain fundamentals like ball-handling and a consistent jumper, but there's no reason to think those won't come.
Mudiay will be more than dangerous when they do.
His up-tempo game clearly matches a team like Philly. He won't do much to help the squad's shooting problems early on, but Mudiay could end up turning into a franchise-caliber floor general down the road.
Expect to hear his name popping up more and more as organizations bring individual players in for pre-draft workouts. There could be talk of him going No. 1 if he puts in work on all of his opponents during this time frame.
He fills a need, and the Sixers will be watching very closely.
Projected Draft Spot: Nos. 1-5
R.J. Hunter
If making the shot of the NCAA tournament wasn't enough to boost R.J. Hunter's draft stock, then his performance at the NBA Draft Combine certainly helped him even more.
Hunter's shooting numbers plummeted during the 2014-15 season to 39.5 percent from the field and 30.5 percent from deep. It made scouts wonder if he was truly as good at shooting as his prior year's 39.5 three-point percentage suggested, or if defenses were just paying more attention to him.
As ESPN's Chad Ford pointed out, he took care of all those concerns with his shooting display at the combine:
He shoots the ball incredibly quickly, which offsets his slightly lower release point. He is also able to get into his jumper off the dribble and has no problem with using his handle to create space for himself. It's a tool that should translate well to the NBA, as he had to do it nearly every night while playing for Georgia State.
Hunter's biggest hurdle at the NBA level is easily his lack of athleticism. He plays the game below the rim and struggles to separate from his defender, leaving him on the perimeter and resorting to longer jumpers.
So much is said about his offense that NBA personnel are already worried about his capabilities on the defensive end of the floor as well.
""They sit me down, say what's up, then ask me about my defense." RJ Hunter joking about Q's in interviews about his transition out of zone D
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) May 16, 2015"
Still though, shooting is at a premium in the league. If he continues to make shots during workouts as well as he did at the combine, then there's a real possibility of him sneaking into the lottery.
It's no secret the Sixers need shooting more than flowers need sunlight. If the Miami Heat end up with a top-three selection in the draft, then Philadelphia will land the No. 11 pick.
They'll have to think about taking Hunter if they get lucky enough to fall into this position. His ability to space the floor and hit shots would give the team a dynamic it hasn't had in quite some time.
Projected Draft Spot: Nos. 10-20
Rakeem Christmas
Hunter had a great showing at the combine. However, nobody helped his draft stock more than Rakeem Christmas.
Christmas was fortunate enough to be selected to be in the event's first 5-on-5 game, where he ended up putting on a show when the anticipation for the event was at its highest.
ESPN's Chad Ford felt he boosted his draft stock by measuring well during the tests and playing lights out during the actual game situation:
"Not only were his measurements terrific -- 6-foot-9¾ in shoes, with a crazy 7-5¼ wingspan and 9-2½ standing reach (enough to project as an NBA center) -- but he also came out and dominated in the 5-on-5, scoring 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting, grabbing 6 rebounds and blocking a shot.
"
Ford even heard from an unnamed NBA general manager who was thinking the same thing:
"He had an advantage [over his combine competition] as a four-year senior. But that wasn't what set him apart. I felt he showed that he could disrupt shots, attack the rim and play bigger than I felt he did at Syracuse. There aren't many centers in this draft after the lottery, and I think he'll draw a lot of interest for teams in the late first and early second.
"
Philadelphia has five second-round picks—including three of the first seven—and will have to think about a backup big for Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid.
They had success with a guy from Syracuse last season in small forward Jerami Grant. Christmas' availability and potential impact might have the Sixers looking at turning a Syracuse success story into a regular occurrence.
Projected Draft Spot: Late First Round/Early Second Round
Zachary Arthur is a Featured Columnist for the Sixers on Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @Zach_ArthurSLC for thoughts on everything basketball.
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