Speaker 1: A sure sign that the NBA Draft is drawing that
Speaker 1: much closer. Seventy Sixers hosting a six player prospect workout
Speaker 1: at their training complex and Camden on Monday. We'll talk
Speaker 1: with SB Nation College Hoops editor Ricky O'Donnell on this
Speaker 1: episode of the podcast. We'll talk about the Bridges, Miles
Speaker 1: and mcale, and also some other guys who the seventy
Speaker 1: Sixers had in the gym for the workout on Monday.
Speaker 1: Before we get to that chat, a reminder that to
Speaker 1: subscribe to the broadcast, you can go to a couple
Speaker 1: of places. We're on iTunes, We're on Google Play and Stitcher.
Speaker 1: You can type in Sixers podcast Network that should take
Speaker 1: you to our feeds. We're also on SoundCloud at SoundCloud
Speaker 1: dot com, backslash Sixers. Just like that, it feels like
Speaker 1: the draft is at our doorstep. Just a month ago,
Speaker 1: the seventy Sixers were in postseason action. Now, with Brett
Speaker 1: Brown in control of the basketball operations department for the
Speaker 1: time being, the Sixers setting their sites forward on the draft.
Speaker 1: On Monday, the Sixers had a handful of prospects in
Speaker 1: Camden to work out, among them Miles, Bridges and Lonnie
Speaker 1: Walker the fourth a pair of projected top ten picks,
Speaker 1: depending on which mocks you like. Also shake Milton, the
Speaker 1: guy who's hovering in the second round range. So to
Speaker 1: talk about that stuff and other subplots related to what
Speaker 1: we'll go down on June twenty. First, we bring on
Speaker 1: a great friend of our draft coverage at SPN Underscore, Ricky.
Speaker 1: It's Ricky O'Donnelly as the college hoops editor and NBA
Speaker 1: assign editor at SB Nation. Ricky, what's going on? Man?
Speaker 1: Okay brand? How are you now? I don't want to
Speaker 1: start the interview off on a relatively testy note, but
Speaker 1: I gotta ask are you a dissenter by nature? Do
Speaker 1: you view yourself as a contrarian? I was looking at
Speaker 1: other mocks as of late, and I think the latest
Speaker 1: one you put out has Luca donchich at number one
Speaker 1: of the Suns. Yeah. I did that a few weeks
Speaker 1: ago before it sort of has become apparent that it
Speaker 1: looks like Eton is going to be the first pick.
Speaker 1: I guess we'll find out for sure a week from Thursday,
Speaker 1: but I guess, in general, my overall evaluation of the class,
Speaker 1: I do think Don Sitch is the best player. Downstitch
Speaker 1: and Jaren Jackson are our two favorite players in this class.
Speaker 1: It's crazy, given the recent buzz, it seems like both
Speaker 1: those guys might fall out of the top three, top four,
Speaker 1: maybe even so. I mean, we'll see how it goes.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't say that I'm a contrarian by nature, but
Speaker 1: I think, you know, just sort of evaluating the way
Speaker 1: the league has gone recently, I think that those are
Speaker 1: sort of the two players that fit BEAST in the
Speaker 1: way we play basketball today. And that's kind of what
Speaker 1: I wanted to get to the point of before we
Speaker 1: dive into some seventy six ers related things. Even though
Speaker 1: Aton appears on the top of a lot of mocks,
Speaker 1: there's this, I feel like general undercurrent of feeling that
Speaker 1: Donch very well might be the best all round player
Speaker 1: that could be in this year's draft class. Is that
Speaker 1: kind of what the point of view putting him there
Speaker 1: was all about? Yeah, I think that to me, down
Speaker 1: Stitch is just going to have the greatest impact on winning.
Speaker 1: So if you want to talk Downstitch versus eighton, like,
Speaker 1: I think Eton is safe back to put up absolutely
Speaker 1: huge numbers. He could average, you know, twenty five and
Speaker 1: thirteen or something like that. But what's his impact on
Speaker 1: winning going to be? I feel like his question marks
Speaker 1: on the defensive end of the floor are really legitimate.
Speaker 1: He just showed off poor instincts at Arizona. Now he
Speaker 1: certainly has the physicality to end up being a good
Speaker 1: defensive player, a great defensive player, maybe even he really
Speaker 1: has that DeAndre Jordan Dwight Howard type of size, athleticism,
Speaker 1: strength combination. But he's the first player in that mold
Speaker 1: who really has touch with the basketball. He's a really
Speaker 1: good free throw shooter, He's going to be a quality
Speaker 1: three point shooter, soft touch around the rim, he can
Speaker 1: finish in just a variety of ways. So it's very
Speaker 1: easy to see the appeal of DeAndre eighton to me.
Speaker 1: But I do think there's legitimate questions that has impact
Speaker 1: on the defensive end of the floor. And we're in
Speaker 1: an error right now. We're even good defensive centers like
Speaker 1: Rudy Gobert and Clint Capella are started becoming part time
Speaker 1: players in the playoffs, So I think it's fair to
Speaker 1: question is impact on that end, And then you can
Speaker 1: contrast it with Luca. I don't know if Luca's ever
Speaker 1: going to put up huge per game numbers, but he's
Speaker 1: someone to me who just does all the little things
Speaker 1: you need. He sort of fits perfectly into an era
Speaker 1: that values ball handling, passing, and shooting. There are questions
Speaker 1: about his athleticism, to be sure, but you know, you
Speaker 1: can contrast that with the prospects like Andrew Wiggins, who
Speaker 1: was a great raw athlete, and maybe he hasn't totally
Speaker 1: lived up to the hype as a former number one
Speaker 1: pick because the skill level wasn't as high as some
Speaker 1: people thought it could be. So I would go Luca
Speaker 1: number one. I think Jaren Jackson also has a great,
Speaker 1: great case to be number one. I would put him
Speaker 1: as the best of the big man group, despite the
Speaker 1: fact that you know, he didn't have the per game
Speaker 1: numbers that matched up with eight or Marvin Bagley. But
Speaker 1: it's a loaded draft class, there's no doubt about it.
Speaker 1: It's interesting that it's all bigs during a time you
Speaker 1: know five of the first seven picks could be big
Speaker 1: man during a time when you know the center position
Speaker 1: is really evolved. So I think that that's what makes
Speaker 1: this draft class fun and it's going to be fascinating
Speaker 1: to see how it all plays out next Thursday before
Speaker 1: we move off of Luca. What if he drops out
Speaker 1: of the top three or four. What type of domino
Speaker 1: effect can you see that? Having on perhaps the team's
Speaker 1: currently in those slots and then teams that would you
Speaker 1: expect there to be a possible push for teams to
Speaker 1: get up towards that range to possibly grab him. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean you could definitely see a scenario playing out
Speaker 1: where Eighton goes number one, Badley goes number two, and
Speaker 1: then three it's either Jaren Jackson or Bomba. So potentially
Speaker 1: he could be there at four. He could even be
Speaker 1: there at five for Dallas. Four from Memphis, five for Dallas.
Speaker 1: I do think you could see teams trade up, but
Speaker 1: you know, it is so tough to trade up in
Speaker 1: the NBA draft. It's like you really just want to
Speaker 1: get your guy, if you want to compare it to
Speaker 1: like the NFL Draft, when you always want to trade
Speaker 1: back and try to accumulate picks. In the NBA, I
Speaker 1: feel like with only two rounds and only one round
Speaker 1: of true impact players, I think that you just want
Speaker 1: to get your guys. So, you know, that could potentially
Speaker 1: be really interesting if someone does want to trade up
Speaker 1: for Luca and someone based in Chicago. I mean, I
Speaker 1: would love to see my bowls to try to move
Speaker 1: up with seven and twenty two and maybe Bobby Partists
Speaker 1: to move up a few spots to get a chance
Speaker 1: as at Luca. But you wonder how realistic that is
Speaker 1: in the NBA, I feel you rarely see big trade up.
Speaker 1: Of course, it happened last year with Donovan Mitchell between
Speaker 1: the Nuggets and the Jazz for the Jazz to go
Speaker 1: up and get Mitchell. So you know, that could be
Speaker 1: a fascinating subplot as the draft gets closer. I do
Speaker 1: think that Luca is the type of talent that teams
Speaker 1: would want to make a move for to get up
Speaker 1: in the draft to take. It's just a question of
Speaker 1: is there enough value coming to Memphis or to Dallas
Speaker 1: for them to pull the trigger on that. When your
Speaker 1: latest pieces for sp Nation wanted monitored NBA big Men,
Speaker 1: you referenced Eton and where he's at. But the other
Speaker 1: three that you could throw into that class of top
Speaker 1: tier big men that are available this year, how would
Speaker 1: you break those guys down? Yeah? I think they all
Speaker 1: are really intriguing in their own way. Mo Bomba. I
Speaker 1: mean just so tantalizing. His combination of length, impossible shooting, touch,
Speaker 1: seven ten wingspan will be the longest in the NBA.
Speaker 1: From the minity steps on the court, He's someone who
Speaker 1: really does have the quickness to stay with guards on
Speaker 1: the defensive end. You would think that would make him
Speaker 1: a perfect fit for the current league, but I do
Speaker 1: think there's some certains about what he can do on
Speaker 1: the offensive end. He's someone who I've been watching since
Speaker 1: he was sixteen. I saw him at USA Basketball Camp
Speaker 1: back in twenty fifteen when he was just sort of
Speaker 1: establishing himself as a top recruit. I haven't seen him
Speaker 1: got that much better since then. He's still sort of
Speaker 1: the same guy who's more prospect than player. To me,
Speaker 1: I just wonder what he can do with the ball
Speaker 1: in his hands. He's gonna be able to make him
Speaker 1: move to put the ball on the floor or to
Speaker 1: beat you at the jump shot. He's always had potential
Speaker 1: as a jumpshooter, but I think that as a shot
Speaker 1: NBA teams are going to give him from day one.
Speaker 1: And then you wonder about his defensive impact. If he's
Speaker 1: forced to guard more of a perimeter player at the five,
Speaker 1: someone like let's just say Draymond Green, someone who can
Speaker 1: beat you from the perimeters. You can be able to
Speaker 1: stay locked in as he's someone who is going to
Speaker 1: rely a little bit too much on his instincts to
Speaker 1: defend the paint. So bomb is certainly in treating. Some
Speaker 1: people have him in this class in the top three.
Speaker 1: I would be a little less optimistic on Bombo, but
Speaker 1: you know, his ceiling is really as high as anyone's.
Speaker 1: If he hits it, he's going to be a terrific
Speaker 1: and unique player. Then you can go to Marvin Bagley.
Speaker 1: Bagley sort of similar to Eton in a sense where
Speaker 1: they both put up massive per game numbers for big
Speaker 1: time schools. Bagley, of course a duke, just a terrific
Speaker 1: offensive player. I think that he's an automatic finisher inside.
Speaker 1: He's so athletic, he could jump two or three times
Speaker 1: before anyone else can jump once. And he has does
Speaker 1: such soft touch around the rim, and really he's more
Speaker 1: advanced with his footwork than a lot of people give
Speaker 1: him credit. For two. I think he just finds ways
Speaker 1: to sort of leverage his athleticism and leverage his strength
Speaker 1: to score around the basket. I think defensively, there's major
Speaker 1: questions similar to Eton, because he doesn't really have a
Speaker 1: true fit. Is he four? Is he fives? He can
Speaker 1: be able to defend on the perimeter enough to be
Speaker 1: a four, that's a question mark. Is he can be
Speaker 1: able to block shots enough to be a five. He
Speaker 1: doesn't really have the length to do it. He put
Speaker 1: up a really bad shot blocking and steals numbers while
Speaker 1: at Duke. So you know Bagley, you can see the
Speaker 1: talent there. I think if he develops as a shooter
Speaker 1: and as a ball handler, he couldn't eventually turn into
Speaker 1: a really unique offensive player. I would probably take a
Speaker 1: gamble on Bagley, you know, somewhere around I don't know,
Speaker 1: four or five. But then you transition to Jared Jackson
Speaker 1: and to meet Jaren Jackson started the most complete big
Speaker 1: man in this class. He didn't put up big numbers.
Speaker 1: I think only average about eleven points and six rebounds
Speaker 1: a game from Michigan State. This year he barely even
Speaker 1: played in the round at thirty two loss to Syracuse.
Speaker 1: But he's someone who just has the total package of
Speaker 1: what you're looking for for a modern big man today.
Speaker 1: He's a forty percent three point shooter. And eighty percent
Speaker 1: free throw shooter. He actually blocked more shots per minute
Speaker 1: than Mobamba, so he's terrific on the defensive end. He
Speaker 1: also sort of has that agility to switch every position defensively,
Speaker 1: and I think his ball handling is just sort of
Speaker 1: scratching the surface too. There are a couple of plays
Speaker 1: this year where you just don't see guys who are
Speaker 1: six to eleven with a seven five wing spender Jaren
Speaker 1: Jackson be able to cross the guy over between his
Speaker 1: legs and take him off the dribble. So I like
Speaker 1: Jackson the bast side of the big men class. And
Speaker 1: you know, we'll see if NBA teams agree with that
Speaker 1: when the draft rolls drown on Thursday. Could you see
Speaker 1: a situation which Wendell Carter could be on the board
Speaker 1: at number ten where the sixers are currently slotted, as
Speaker 1: we'd be into segue our conversation that way, that would
Speaker 1: be a pretty big fall. I mean, is he gonna
Speaker 1: get past the Bulls at seven, the Calves at eight,
Speaker 1: the Knicks at nine? All those teams could potentially take
Speaker 1: Wendell Carter. Certainly, there's a lot to like about his game.
Speaker 1: I mean, Wendell Carter just does everything so well. He's
Speaker 1: another player I've been watching since high school doing recruiting
Speaker 1: coverage fresponation dot com. I could see him turning into
Speaker 1: the best jump shooter of the eight and Bagley bomba group.
Speaker 1: He just has a really smooth, compact stroke. He didn't
Speaker 1: take a lot of threes at Duke, but he made
Speaker 1: over forty percent of him when he did. Terrific rebounder,
Speaker 1: really good inside and score. In a league that's downsizing,
Speaker 1: you wonder if someone with Carter's just interior strength and
Speaker 1: his ability to bully people in the paint could be
Speaker 1: a good way to zag when everyone else is digging.
Speaker 1: In a sense, I do think there's questions about his
Speaker 1: lateral quickness, and certainly that's going to be a big
Speaker 1: issue in today's game when everyone's switching defensively so much so,
Speaker 1: you know, you watch the Western Conference finals and could
Speaker 1: Wendell Carter or survive in a Rockets Warriors series. To me,
Speaker 1: he's probably only playing in twenty or twenty five minutes
Speaker 1: a game in that scenario. At the same time, he's
Speaker 1: going to be a really dependable big man. And you
Speaker 1: look at all the teams that were in you know,
Speaker 1: even reached the second round of the playoffs this year.
Speaker 1: They all had good big so Wendell Carter to me,
Speaker 1: could end up being really underrated if people are over
Speaker 1: analyzing his lack of quickness. I don't know if he's
Speaker 1: going to be available for Philadelphia at ten, you know,
Speaker 1: but if he did, he could be a really good
Speaker 1: fit in that front point next to Mbid and Simmons.
Speaker 1: Probably no accident though, right that. A lot of the
Speaker 1: mocks out there are, including one that you guys did.
Speaker 1: Sp Nation has a Bridges, whether it's Miles Bridges or
Speaker 1: mcale Bridges at number ten for the Sixers, right yeah,
Speaker 1: I think you just sort of look at what Philadelphia needs.
Speaker 1: They definitely have a hole on the wing. You saw
Speaker 1: this year they're playing Ilio Silvan Bell and Elly and
Speaker 1: crunch Time Minutes, two guys they picked up in the
Speaker 1: middle of the season. So I think either of the
Speaker 1: Bridges would be a great fit for the seventy sixers.
Speaker 1: If you want more of a pure three and D guy,
Speaker 1: I think McHale is the pick. Obviously, he's from the area.
Speaker 1: He played at Villanova, won two national titles there. He's
Speaker 1: someone who just got better every single season during his
Speaker 1: four years of college basketball, He's turned into basically a
Speaker 1: knockdown shooter. He's one of the best shooters in this class. Defensively,
Speaker 1: he's able to get after it because of his length.
Speaker 1: He really competes on that end as well. He is
Speaker 1: a little skinny, though, so I wonder, you know, if
Speaker 1: you're drafting a guy who sort of has limited creation
Speaker 1: ability offensively like McHale does, you sort of want him
Speaker 1: to be a lockdown defender, the type of guy who
Speaker 1: potentially defend James Harden, Kevin Durana, Lebrown, James as well
Speaker 1: as anyone could defend those guys if it's even possible.
Speaker 1: But I think he's really gonna need to add a
Speaker 1: lot of strength to do that. He's also one of
Speaker 1: the older prospects who's going to be taken in the lottery,
Speaker 1: being in college for four years. So as long as
Speaker 1: McHale Gridge just stays in his lane as someone who
Speaker 1: can get into the passing lanes, disrupt defensively of his length,
Speaker 1: and hit open threes, he's gonna be really good. I
Speaker 1: do think someone like Miles Bridges might have a little
Speaker 1: more upside because I think that he's much more athletic,
Speaker 1: and he has some more potentials to create. He's someone
Speaker 1: who at Michigan State he was always sort of putting
Speaker 1: a weird position playing small forward when he's a little
Speaker 1: bit more of a downhill combo for it. I would
Speaker 1: think you'd like to see him uses the lead athleticism
Speaker 1: to get to the room a little bit more often.
Speaker 1: I think that that could happen in the NBA with
Speaker 1: a more spaced floor, with you know, a more traditional
Speaker 1: point guard around him who can get him the ball.
Speaker 1: So Miles Bridges, he was settling for the jumper a
Speaker 1: little too often at Michigan State. But you know, you
Speaker 1: just watch a series like Celtics has in the Eastern
Speaker 1: Conference Finals, or you look at the Western Conference finals
Speaker 1: series between the Rockets and the Warriors. To me, Miles
Speaker 1: Bridges is he's the type of guy who could be
Speaker 1: on the floor in that setting. Six foot six super athlete,
Speaker 1: can pass a little, can shoot a little, can dribble
Speaker 1: a little. He's not lead at any of those skills,
Speaker 1: but I think his baseline competency is high enough for
Speaker 1: him to be able to do all of them at
Speaker 1: a reasonably high level. And you know, His athleticism is
Speaker 1: just so intriguing too, So as long as you sort
Speaker 1: of get him going downhill, I would love to see
Speaker 1: him running in a transition with Ben. I think that
Speaker 1: would be really fun. In Philadelphia, seventy six ers had
Speaker 1: Miles Bridges in for a workout on Monday, the same
Speaker 1: day that Lonnie Walker was a part of that group.
Speaker 1: What type of momentum has Walker built up himself. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Walker was a guy who was a five star recruit
Speaker 1: out of high school McDonald's All American. He tore his
Speaker 1: meniscus right before Miami season started. He came back relatively
Speaker 1: quickly from that operation, but it took him some time
Speaker 1: sort of build up, strengthened that leg and confidence in
Speaker 1: his game making the transition to the ACC when he's
Speaker 1: a just bastl Lonnie Walker definitely looks like a lottery pick.
Speaker 1: He's someone who's six four six ten wingspan, really wiry athlete,
Speaker 1: very strong, good compact shooting stroke. His numbers didn't always
Speaker 1: back up his talent level though. I think he only
Speaker 1: had a fifty three percent true shooting percentage at Miami
Speaker 1: in his one year. Coincidentally, that's the same number as
Speaker 1: Jaylen Brown. I had questions about Jaylen Brown when he
Speaker 1: was coming out of cow into the draft. He's proven
Speaker 1: me wrong. He's been terrific for the Celtics. So you
Speaker 1: wonder if perhaps Lonnie Walker could be the same thing
Speaker 1: where he was in a great situation in college. His
Speaker 1: talent level sort of supersedes his production, and you know,
Speaker 1: the best version of Lonnie Walker. If he does reach
Speaker 1: you know, his ceiling, he's just gonna be a really
Speaker 1: valuable player in this league because he's gonna be able
Speaker 1: to defend, he's gonna be able to shoot, and he
Speaker 1: gives you some added creation ability that maybe some of
Speaker 1: these other guys in that spot don't have. So I
Speaker 1: like Lonnie Walker a lot. I'd be willing to roll
Speaker 1: the dice on him. To me, the question with him
Speaker 1: is more like, where's his feel for the game at
Speaker 1: it It's kind of hard to tell that at Miami.
Speaker 1: I think physically he sort of does have everything you're
Speaker 1: looking for. But is he gonna be able to lockdown defensively?
Speaker 1: Is he gonna be able to read the floor, make
Speaker 1: the right pass, make quick decisions? Those are the question
Speaker 1: marks with Lonnie Walker heading into this draft. He said
Speaker 1: in recent weeks that he thinks he might be able
Speaker 1: to defend one through three. Do you see that you
Speaker 1: see him more strictly limited to the backcourt. Well, he's
Speaker 1: got the length to do it, and I think just
Speaker 1: in this era of the league, everyone switches defensively, So yeah,
Speaker 1: Linie Walker is the type of guy you're looking for.
Speaker 1: Him makes up for his lack of height with that
Speaker 1: six ten wingspan. So yeah, theoretically, why couldn't Lennywalker guard
Speaker 1: one through three? I think that he's one of the
Speaker 1: players in this draft who's sort of uniquely suited to
Speaker 1: do that, because, let's be honest, most of this draft
Speaker 1: is big. Man. If you're looking for a wing with
Speaker 1: some athleticism and some shooting potential, he's definitely an intriguing option.
Speaker 1: You referenced your bulls a few minutes ago. What about
Speaker 1: Michael Porter. How has he been handling himself and what's
Speaker 1: been some of the scuttle butt on him to the
Speaker 1: pre draft period. Obviously everyone knew where he stood in
Speaker 1: terms of prospect rankings this time a year ago. The
Speaker 1: college season didn't go his way, but he seems to
Speaker 1: have a lot of confidence in himself. Definitely a confident
Speaker 1: player already carries himself like an NBA guy. I saw
Speaker 1: him player as a high school junior and senior when
Speaker 1: he was healthy, I thought he was terrific. But in
Speaker 1: those settings there was no doubt about his role, and
Speaker 1: his role was as a go to scorer. He's been
Speaker 1: built up his entire life as someone who's going to
Speaker 1: score thirty points a game in the NBA. The question
Speaker 1: I have is, even if he ends up being healthy,
Speaker 1: and the back injuries certainly really scary, I think, but
Speaker 1: even if he ends up being healthy, how much of
Speaker 1: an impact is he going to have on winning if
Speaker 1: he's not a guy who's going to score thirty a game,
Speaker 1: and is he going to be able to do the
Speaker 1: little things that contribute to winnings, just make plays on
Speaker 1: the defensive end. He really hasn't try to propensity to
Speaker 1: do that. I don't think he uses his scoring very
Speaker 1: well to set up his teammates. He doesn't read the
Speaker 1: floor while he's not advanced passer or ball handler at
Speaker 1: this point, So basically the book on porters at the
Speaker 1: raw talent level is obvious for anyone to see. He
Speaker 1: measured at six foot eleven hypothetically he's a three level scorer,
Speaker 1: but we don't have any data on where his three
Speaker 1: point shot is at. Is he gonna be a thirty
Speaker 1: five percent shooter, Is he gonna be a forty percent shooter.
Speaker 1: Is he gonna be a thirty percent shooter from deep?
Speaker 1: We don't really know yet. His ball handling is definitely
Speaker 1: the thing he needs to work on the most, so
Speaker 1: you can say that about arguably every young wing. I
Speaker 1: do think that with the fact that he measured at
Speaker 1: six to eleven, he really gives you some versatility to
Speaker 1: move him around the chessboard in a sense, like an
Speaker 1: NBA center might look more like Michael Porter Junior than
Speaker 1: DeAndre eight five years from now. Everyone used Porter as
Speaker 1: a three, but what if he ends up being a
Speaker 1: five because he's that tall, That could really give you
Speaker 1: some flexibility offensively. So Porter, to me the biggest boomer
Speaker 1: Bus pick in the draft. I think that he's got
Speaker 1: a super high ceiling. I also think he's got a
Speaker 1: low floor. So you know, if you're if you're sort
Speaker 1: of weighing Porter for someone like Wendell Carter, like Wendell
Speaker 1: Carter is a safer pick, but he doesn't have the
Speaker 1: upside that Michael Porter Junior has. That's just one of
Speaker 1: the many interesting decisions they're gonna be facing teams and
Speaker 1: sort of the mid portion of the lottery in this draft.
Speaker 1: We've been talking for the last fifteen minutes or so
Speaker 1: about some players who might be around the number ten
Speaker 1: spot for the seventy sixers, but they've also gotten number
Speaker 1: twenty six, number thirty eight, number thirty nine, and oh,
Speaker 1: by the way, fifty six and sixty. So that's a
Speaker 1: tenth of the draft that the seventy sixers have control of.
Speaker 1: Who are some of the players that you have been
Speaker 1: hearing or you feel might be most likely to hover
Speaker 1: on the back end of the first round bubble that
Speaker 1: could possibly be there at twenty six, but also might
Speaker 1: filter back into the early thirties. Yeah. I like Kevin Herder,
Speaker 1: who's a guard from Maryland. He was really impressive at
Speaker 1: the combine, six foot eight, one of the best pure
Speaker 1: shooters in this drafting. Was also someone who showed a
Speaker 1: propensity to make quick decisions with the ball, which is
Speaker 1: a really underrated skill that doesn't show up in the
Speaker 1: box score. Just making fast decisions on when to pass,
Speaker 1: one to shoot, when to dribble, so I think that
Speaker 1: hurder high basketball IQ, great shooter, limited athlete. Obviously, he's
Speaker 1: not someone who's really gonna beat you by putting the
Speaker 1: ball on the floor, but he's intriguing to me. I mean,
Speaker 1: if he was available for Philadelphia around twenty six, I
Speaker 1: think he'd be pretty interesting if you're looking for another
Speaker 1: three and D type guy. Melvin Frazier from Tulane. Physical
Speaker 1: tools are obvious. Six foot six, strong frame, seven foot wingspan.
Speaker 1: He's someone who can really shoot the ball and who's
Speaker 1: developed into an intriguing player during his four years at Tulane.
Speaker 1: Anthony Simons is another high upside guy who if you're
Speaker 1: willing to develop him for a few years, he could
Speaker 1: end up being, you know, one of the better guard
Speaker 1: prospects in this draft. He's a fifth year high school
Speaker 1: player out of IMG Academy. He was originally pegged as
Speaker 1: a potential top five pick in the twenty nineteen draft.
Speaker 1: He enters this draft through the same loophole the thomb
Speaker 1: Maker wants did as a fifth year high school guy.
Speaker 1: His skill set is sort of what Mark Folds's skill
Speaker 1: set was purported to be when he came out of Washington.
Speaker 1: He's a guard who's really athletic, who can create his
Speaker 1: own offense and hip pull up jumpers off the dribble.
Speaker 1: So those are just a few names that could be available.
Speaker 1: I do think this is a deep draft. I mean
Speaker 1: you could look at everyone from Jalen Brunson, a point
Speaker 1: guard from Villanova who everyone listening to this certainly knows,
Speaker 1: Kyrie Thomas from Creighton who's a three and D guy,
Speaker 1: really athletic. Maybe even Gary Trent Junior who is a
Speaker 1: freshman at Duke this past season. He's someone who is
Speaker 1: limited athletically and sort of limited in terms of how
Speaker 1: he can finish at the room, but he can really
Speaker 1: shoot the ball. Those are the type of guys that
Speaker 1: fit well around Ben Simmons, and I think that that's
Speaker 1: what Philadelphia has to look at building this roster going forward.
Speaker 1: Shake Milton was a guy the Sixers had in for
Speaker 1: a workout on and they seem like his season was
Speaker 1: off to a pretty decent start before he broke his
Speaker 1: right hand. Where is he in terms of where people
Speaker 1: view him on draft boards? Yeah, I like sig Man.
Speaker 1: I projected him to the Sixers of twenty six for
Speaker 1: a while in my mock draft. Now it appears that
Speaker 1: his stock is falling a little bit, so we'll see.
Speaker 1: I mean, he could potentially be available from one of
Speaker 1: Philadelphia's second round picks as well. I do think he'd
Speaker 1: still be a good option at twenty six. He's someone
Speaker 1: who hit over forty percent of his threes each of
Speaker 1: his three years at SMU. He's someone who had six
Speaker 1: foot six has the size to defend other positions off
Speaker 1: the ball. You know, you just think about what the
Speaker 1: Sixers need. You need shooting next to Simmons. You want
Speaker 1: a point guard who doesn't necessarily need to have the
Speaker 1: ball in his hands to have an impact and sake.
Speaker 1: Milton's that type of guy. Fake Milton's not going to
Speaker 1: break you down off the dribble and baring you to
Speaker 1: the hole. But he's someone who's in space the floor,
Speaker 1: whose great size to defend. Here must have been a
Speaker 1: little bit of George Hill. Maybe, you know, George Hill
Speaker 1: had a great career, especially when he was on the
Speaker 1: Pacers and the Jazz, So I think he's in a
Speaker 1: sort of a similar vein to that, and he would
Speaker 1: be a good pick for Philadelphia in my opinion. Grayson Allen,
Speaker 1: another name that's come up he's a guy where especially
Speaker 1: even after listening to some of his comments his availability
Speaker 1: at the combine, I'll be honest, I find myself you
Speaker 1: come around a little bit more to Grayson Allen, regardless
Speaker 1: of what the perception might have been to him prior
Speaker 1: to that. When you hear him talk, he seems like
Speaker 1: an energetic, outgoing guy, and then when you see him
Speaker 1: in person, it's like wow that you can see some
Speaker 1: of the reasons why he really was an effective, impactful player,
Speaker 1: not just a guy who happened to be surrounded by
Speaker 1: talent while he was a duke. But he's got a
Speaker 1: pretty solid skill set of his own. Yeah, super athletic, obviously,
Speaker 1: he's someone who can really get off the floor as
Speaker 1: a six five off guard. He also has some shooting ability.
Speaker 1: Shooting is going to be his make or brick skill
Speaker 1: in the NBA. Is he's going to be sort of
Speaker 1: a knockdown guy in the vein of a current sixer
Speaker 1: in JJ Raddick, someone who can beat you from deep
Speaker 1: and has to be accounted for, who will have a
Speaker 1: lot of gravity off the ball. My issue with Alan
Speaker 1: I just wonder like, is he gonna be able to
Speaker 1: beat anyone off the dribble and finish at the hoop.
Speaker 1: In the NBA, there's gonna be someone who's solely reliant
Speaker 1: on his jump shot. Also, defensively, you know, he has
Speaker 1: the tools to defend, and he did it a little
Speaker 1: bit of duke, But do get a switch to his
Speaker 1: own this year because none of their guys were good
Speaker 1: enough in individual defense. I don't see him being a
Speaker 1: stopper in the NBA. He wondered, like, can he develop
Speaker 1: his handle enough passing skills enough to be a point
Speaker 1: guard or is he a pear gunner. If he's a gunner,
Speaker 1: I think he works best as a bench guy, which
Speaker 1: can certainly have a lot of value in the NBA.
Speaker 1: You know, I look at him as just someone who
Speaker 1: didn't get much better between his sophomore and senior seasons.
Speaker 1: His sophomore year he was terrific. He was on that
Speaker 1: team with Brandon Ingram, and they were really really good.
Speaker 1: I mean, he was arguably the best player in the
Speaker 1: country is a sophomore. Junior year, he got sort of
Speaker 1: bogged down by the tripping controversies and some of that stuff,
Speaker 1: and as a senior he just sort of seemed like
Speaker 1: a forgotten man To be Bagley and Carter got all
Speaker 1: the attention. There were games when you forgot Grace Allen
Speaker 1: was even on the floor. I like Grayson. There's definitely
Speaker 1: the potential for him to just, you know, carve out
Speaker 1: a ten year career as an NBA role player. And
Speaker 1: you know, if you get a guy like that in
Speaker 1: the second round, I think that you made a really
Speaker 1: good pick. He's definitely one of the most fascinating prospects
Speaker 1: in this draft. Man. And as we begin to wind
Speaker 1: down the conversation and bring the talk full circle, I
Speaker 1: guess whether we're talking about someone like a mcale Bridges
Speaker 1: or a Miles Bridges, someone like a Kevin Herder who
Speaker 1: you mentioned, or a Shake Milton for the seventy sixers,
Speaker 1: do you view this draft more about or more than
Speaker 1: it could have been previous years? Fit now the Sixers
Speaker 1: are in a spot where they've established some key guys
Speaker 1: that they can build around as far as their nucles concerned,
Speaker 1: and find some complimentary talent that, whether immediately at over
Speaker 1: time they can build and just try and make the
Speaker 1: piece a little bit more whole. I think absolutely. And
Speaker 1: what makes the Sixers so intriguing from that perspective when
Speaker 1: you have those two pillars already in place, they already
Speaker 1: have young guys who come into their own like cork
Speaker 1: Moths or like TLC. Now you're just looking for guys
Speaker 1: who can sort of get in that mix. And it's
Speaker 1: going to be a competitive atmosphere in Philadelphia, I think,
Speaker 1: which is what's really exciting. That competition is going to
Speaker 1: breed more success for whoever comes out of it. To me,
Speaker 1: you're looking for shooters around Ben Simmons. You're looking for
Speaker 1: people who can run the floor with them. I think
Speaker 1: that they probably need to find someone else who would
Speaker 1: create their own offense off the dribble a little bit.
Speaker 1: I think that that would sort of alleviate some of
Speaker 1: the burden on Simmons's shoulders that he showed in the postseason.
Speaker 1: You know, Ben Simmons is a point card, but what
Speaker 1: if you also move Ben Simmons to center during some
Speaker 1: lineups where he's set in the screens at the top
Speaker 1: of the keynot always initiating the offense as a ball handling.
Speaker 1: There's so many different ways to move Simmons around the chessboard,
Speaker 1: and I think that that's what gives Philadelphia so much
Speaker 1: flexibility heading into this draft. Obviously they have a ton
Speaker 1: of picks they have. Having the tenth pick, you know,
Speaker 1: theoretically that's gonna be another cornerstone player for them, alongside
Speaker 1: having Beating Simmons and probably Mark hel Folts too, So
Speaker 1: they just have so many different ways they could go.
Speaker 1: I think that one of the Bridges would be a
Speaker 1: really good pick. I tended to fault to Miles in
Speaker 1: that conversation just because he's more athletic and I think
Speaker 1: he has a little more values and offensive creators. But
Speaker 1: you know, they really can't go wrong either way with
Speaker 1: that tenth pick. There's so many intooging talents in this draft.
Speaker 1: Philadelphia is in a really good position right now, both
Speaker 1: at the start of the draft end as it goes
Speaker 1: into free agents. Yeah about faults, that makes it sound
Speaker 1: like you still feel like the Sixers are gonna be
Speaker 1: able to get something out of him. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: I view Mark helt Folts is the best player in
Speaker 1: the draft last year, no doubt. Obviously what happened with
Speaker 1: the loss of his shooting touch was really bizarre. But
Speaker 1: I mean you got to realize next year Mark el
Speaker 1: Folts would only be going into his junior year of
Speaker 1: college hypothetically, so he's still so young, he has so
Speaker 1: much athletic potential, so good at breaking down players off
Speaker 1: the dribble. We saw him have a triple double too,
Speaker 1: and he was able to get some minutes at the
Speaker 1: end of the year. So I was always a big
Speaker 1: believer in Mark heel Faults. I still think he should
Speaker 1: be able to be a very good NBA player. You
Speaker 1: just hope he is able to find a shooting touch,
Speaker 1: because if that happens, the sky's the limit. A man
Speaker 1: who clearly knows his stuff NCAA, NBA levels everything else
Speaker 1: there is to know about it. We didn't even get
Speaker 1: into the foreign stuff before letting you go, Ricky. Any
Speaker 1: storyline or storylines that you think are not being discussed
Speaker 1: about the draft that need attention and should be brought
Speaker 1: to light, I guess. I mean the most interesting thing
Speaker 1: is what happens to Luca. It seems like there's a
Speaker 1: lot of franchises at the top of this draft who
Speaker 1: aren't as sold on him as some independent scouts or evaluators.
Speaker 1: Him possibly fallen off to three, four or five. I
Speaker 1: think that's the biggest storyline in the draft. And then
Speaker 1: just sort of how do all of these big men
Speaker 1: fit into the modern NBA. It's they're entering the league
Speaker 1: at a time when that type of traditional center is
Speaker 1: being marginalized. So I just think, you know, how they
Speaker 1: all fit into the league. That's going to ultimately determine
Speaker 1: how good of a draft class this is because it
Speaker 1: is so defined by the big man in this season.
Speaker 1: Ricky o'donald from Espnation has always been willing to help
Speaker 1: the Sixers digital draft cause, and for that we appreciate
Speaker 1: you man. Thanks so much. Cool, Thanks Ricky O'Donnell with
Speaker 1: our latest view on the state projective of course, of
Speaker 1: the twenty eighteen NBA Draft. Twitter handle is at SBN Underscore.
Speaker 1: Ricky following has great information, especially this time of year
Speaker 1: when things are coming to a head with a draft
Speaker 1: coming up in a week and a half. Later this week,
Speaker 1: we will bring you more draft pod coverage, so be
Speaker 1: sure to check your feeds until then. Talk to you
Speaker 1: next time you see you