The NBA draft is around 3 weeks away and teams across the league, including the Sixers, will be looking at every little detail as they get ready to sit and draft the next generation of NBA players. This year's draft will be interesting, given it’ll take place during the COVID pandemic, and whether that hurts or elevates teams' choices and methods will be determined in the future.
A new era for the Sixers
The Sixers will be heading into the draft with some new faces to the front office after Doc Rivers became their head coach and Daryl Morey will be joining the team as the overseer of basketball operations for the franchise. Whilst they’ll have to sit down and get their draft boards filled quickly, it’ll be interesting to see what the new faces believe the Sixers team needs and it will give us a slight insight into what philosophy Morey and Rivers will be bringing to Philadelphia.
The Sixers currently have 1 1st rounder and 4 2nd rounders and in this piece, I’ll be looking at some 2nd round sleepers that the Sixers could be looking at, depending on what they decide to do with their 4 second-round picks.
Reggie Perry – PF – Miss. State
The Sixers are really struggling at power forward after the Al Horford experiment crashed and burned, turning into one of the worst contracts in basketball and the fact that they don’t really have an alternative at the position. That’s why I think the Sixers will target some power forward prospects in this draft and one they could find in the second round is Reggie Perry from Mississippi State.
Perry stands at 6 foot 9 and weighs in at 249 pounds and played with a real edge during his college career. His main skill set fits a typical center skillset, however, he doesn’t have the size to do so in the NBA, which is why many see him as a project wing player for a team. His offensive game has improved immensely in the past year or so, which definitely helps with his transition to power forward and plays an incredibly unselfish game, which guys like Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons will love.
Whilst its yet to be determined if Perry can adjust perfectly to a wing role for a team, and he may be lacking a 3 point shot that the Sixers are in desperate need of, he’s definitely a prospect I’d take a chance on for the team.
Sam Merrill – SG – Utah State
I think everyone who knows anything about the NBA can recognize the Sixers are in dire need of shooters and bench players, well I think I’ve found the guy for the Sixers in the second round and his name is Sam Merrill.
Merrill, a shooting guard from Utah State, is one of the best shooters in this years draft class. With an incredible 42% three-point shot and an 89.1% free throw shot over the four years he’s spent in Utah, Merrill is the perfect fit for the Sixers. He ended his college career with a total points tally of 2,197 and his senior season averages were 19.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
Merrill will be a great pick and roll player on the outside, given teams will have to respect his three-point shot and put pressure on him beyond the arc. Merrill is a pretty impressive passer too, averaging 2 assists for every turnover in college, which is pretty decent for a guy who was the entire offense in Utah.
Now comes the bad bit, he’s a second-round pick for a reason and it’s mainly due to him already being 24 years old so people are questioning his upside in the NBA, that shouldn’t really hurt him for the Sixers though because they need impact players now, especially off the bench. Other downsides Merrill possesses are his lack of vertical game, you’ll hardly ever find him dunking and his footwork on defense can let him down.
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Photo by Boyd Ivey/Icon Sportswire
Udoka Azubuike – C – Kansas
The Sixers have the best center in the league with Joel Embiid and easily one of the best players in the NBA in general, but even he needs a rest during games and the Sixers are struggling in that department. Al Horford can keep the boat steady...ish for now but they need a guy for the future. Well, step up Udoka Azubuike.
Udoka is a 7 foot tall, 275 pound monster at center and has been bruising teams all across the college system during his time in Kansas. I’m a sucker for an old school player and that’s exactly what Udoka is, he is easily one of the strongest and most powerful players I’ve ever seen, it truly scares me when he posts up players in the paint. He easily overpowers his matchups and with a wingspan of 7 foot 5, rebounding comes quite easily to him.
His size surprisingly doesn’t hurt him too much as an athlete, he’s pretty speedy for his size and leaps pretty quickly too. If he starts going in the lane, no opponent will want to get in his way and he genuinely seems to love getting hit by opponents. I love his patience on the court too, he knows what role he has to play and won’t force shots or become almost cocky on the court given his sheer size and power.
The main reason he will fall quite far in the second round is the fact that he’s incredibly raw and will need a fair amount of time to develop for the NBA, he’s a work in progress and may not develop into the highest scorer in the game but what he will give you is a bruising, old school center that will be a great addition to the Sixers rotation for when Embiid finally decides he needs to rest.
Markus Howard – PG – Marquette
The Sixers have one of the best point guards in the league with Ben Simmons, and although they’ve experimented with him at other positions since they drafted him, he’s meant to be a point guard and the focal point of the team. However, when he’s off the court, they have no real replacement for him and it’s about time they got one, which is where Markus Howard steps in.
Like I said previously, the Sixers are in dire need of scorers and my god is Markus Howard a scorer. In 4 years at Marquette, he finished with a 44.4% 2 point shot, a 43.4% 3 point shot, and an 88.2% free throw percentage and he led the nation in scoring for the 2019-20 season.
The main issue with him is his size and weight, at just 5 foot 11 and 175 pound, Howard will be a real liability on the defensive side of the ball and you can count him out if you want him to drive into the paint. However, with an incredibly smooth 3 point shot, alongside the fact that he’s extremely craft with his dribbles and shot creation, Howard could be a really great piece for the Sixers in years to come, especially off the bench.
Jordan Nwora – SF – Louisville
Now onto my final 2 round prospect and this one may not be an immediate need for the Sixers. At this current moment in time, Tobias Harris is the Sixers starting small forward and with Doc Rivers arriving in Philly, I’d imagine Harris is here to stay, even on that awful contract. However, why not add another small forward to the room with one of the best shooting power forwards in the class with Jordan Nwora.
The Louisville small forward has an exceptional 3 point shot for his position and isn’t afraid to use his 6 foot 8, 225-pound frame to use and play with his back to the basket adding another dimension to his impressive scoring. His scoring potential will be the biggest selling point for teams and obviously, the Sixers will be scoring buyers during this offseason.
There are two main issues with Nwora though. He is on the older side compared to the other prospects in the draft, being born in 1998 and also struggles at being a run jump athlete that could hurt him on the defensive side of the ball. However, his great strength, quickness, and the fact he’s showing great improvement every season he’s played will definitely help the Sixers and their small forward core in the future.
Photo by Boyd Ivey/Icon Sportswire
