June 25, 2015
Best player available, best player available, best player available.
That is the mantra you often hear when Sixers GM Sam Hinkie's draft philosophy is described, and we all saw it on display during Thursday night's NBA Draft. When the Los Angeles Lakers made a late change and selected Ohio State guard D'Angelo Russell, a player that the Sixers reportedly (key word there) had interest in, Jahlil Okafor fell to the Sixers.
Sam Hinkie and the front office then selected the Duke center with the No. 3 pick in the draft.
Okafor isn't a particularly obvious fit with the Sixers, who drafted big men Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid in the last two lotteries. Likely the most gifted low-post offensive player to enter the draft in quite some time, there are major question marks surrounding Okafor's defense. In his one college season, the 6'11" 19-year-old had a dream freshman season, as he averaged 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and shot 66 percent from the field while helping lead the Blue Devils to a national title.
If Embiid is healthy by the time the season starts, the team's last three lottery picks won't be able to play on the floor together at the same time: Their heights are respectively listed at 6'11", 6'11", and 7,0". Hinkie doesn't care about fit more than who he think is the best player at this point of the rebuild, though. That much is now clear.
And if you're looking to catch up on Okafor, here is his installment of the, "What I like, what I don't like" series.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
