June 26, 2015
Usually, we format these posts by highlighting one article at the beginning, delve into it in-depth, and then eventually run through a sort of lightning round on some other pieces. Not today, but like we did with the Eagles’ draft. By now, you know the subject matter: The Sixers selected Duke center Jahlil Okafor with the 3rd pick in the draft. Just as importantly to much of the city, they did not select Ohio State point guard D’Angelo Russell with the second pick in the draft.
We’ll break this post up into two sections, local and national angles.
Smallwood had zero problem with the Sixers selecting Okafor at 3, but thought there was an opportunity to package some of the team’s bandied about assets to move back into the first round:
Why didn't the Sixers make a move like that? Those are exactly the type of draft deals teams stockpile second-round picks to make. The Sixers got the best player available with the third pick last night - one who looks to be a major piece to help move this program forward.
Still, when a team has as many needs as the Sixers, acquiring more players would have been a better move than holding on to a bevy of future assets.
After Okafor pick, Sixers' plan remains unclear: Bob Ford, Philadelphia Daily News
Like myself and I’d imagine many other people, Ford is wondering what the Sixers are going to do with all of these big guys:
Heading into the Sixers' third season under Sam Hinkie, the time is finally right to think about fitting together a roster that makes sense on the floor. One of the worst shooting teams in NBA history, the Sixers desperately need to improve their perimeter play. Okafor can do many things for a basketball team. That isn't one of them.
So, yet another size 16 shoe has to drop somewhere along the way. When the Sixers are ready to move forward, they won't be moving forward with Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, and Okafor all on the roster. Thursday night's draft didn't begin a new chapter for the team. It merely added some pages to the one that has been open for a couple of years.
NBA Draft Analysis: Jahlil Okafor Offers Sixers More Questions Than Answers: Kyle Neubeck, Liberty Ballers
In the piece, Neubeck linked to an unbelievable tweet from February that I had seen originally and completely forgot about. Holy hell is Okafor an example of two absolute extremes:
Okafor's top NCAA stat-comps O/D separately: Off: S. O’Neal 92, G. Oden 07, Z. Randolph 01 Def: M. Doleac 96, M. Doleac 97, S. Pollard 95
— Layne Vashro (@VJL_bball) February 21, 2015
Neubeck also wrote a balanced article, but what stood out to me was a point he made about Okafor’s low-post game. As a 19-year-old freshman, this guy was special on the low block at Duke in a way that few are:
Better yet, Okafor has learned how to leverage his scoring ability in the post to make his teammates better, an advanced skill that many bigs never master. He took advantage of a bevy of good shooters around him at Duke, hitting cutters and open men when confronted by double teams. He is unselfish, and doesn't get tunnel vision when collapsed on by double teams and zones.
Jahlil Okafor: One of the Best Low-Post Scorers We’ve Seen: Derek Bodner, Philly Mag
I went back to Bodner’s scouting report on Okafor from a few weeks ago. He came to the conclusion that there were two major problems with the Sixers drafting Big Jah, defense and fit. Here’s the bit about fit with Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid:
The second problem with the Sixers drafting Okafor is his fit with Embiid and Noel. Offensively, Okafor's entire value is derived from his ability to dominate near the basket and make his teammates better when defenses rotate to help. Embiid looks like he's on his way to developing enough of a perimeter game that you could let Okafor camp out in the paint, but that would be wasting another potentially dominant post player in Embiid, and it would also require Noel's jump shot, which he did show signs of improving this past year, to improve rather dramatically for his fit with Okafor to work as well.
Believe it: Knicks among NBA draft's winners, Sixers among losers: Chad Ford, ESPN
As the title spells out, ESPN’s draft analyst rated the Sixers among the night’s three biggest losers:
Okafor is a talent. But once again the Sixers walk away from a season of tanking without the guy they wanted and without a clear plan forward. They may have wanted Joel Embiid last year, but not an injured Embiid (and an Embiid that one year later, still hasn't recovered). This year, Russell and Towns were their targets.
Instead they settle for the guy who, while talented, doesn't fit a need and doesn't have the transcendent talent they need. And for the third straight year they draft a center. At least he's not an injured one. With no guards or wings to really build around, the Sixers still seem years away from being anything more than a perennial loser in the lottery.
Leroux's 2015 NBA Draft Review: Danny Leroux, RealGM
Leroux’s opinion was completely different from Ford’s, as he rated the Sixers’ haul as one of the league’s five best:
He may not fit perfectly with their existing talent but I had Jahlil Okafor as the No. 2 player in this draft for a reason. He has a great back to the basket game and can actually pass from the post. They took Richaun Holmes and Guillermo Hernangomez in the second round but traded Hernangomez to the Knicks.
2015 NBA draft grades: Pick-by-pick analysis of the entire first round: Chris Mannix, Sports Illustrated
Mannix liked what the Sixers did as well, giving the selection of Okafor an A- grade:
Philadelphia wanted D’Angelo Russell, but it will settle for Okafor, a potentially dominant offensive center. The Sixers, though, could move him. Okafor is the most appealing prospect on the board, and over the next few hours GM Sam Hinkie will be on the phone with half the GMs in the league who will try to pry Okafor out of Philadelphia. Still, if Joel Embiid’s most recent setback is real, Philadelphia would be wise to keep the talented center, whose skills would be a nice complement to defensive-minded forward Nerlens Noel.
Sixers take Duke's Jahlil Okafor at No. 3, add to glut of high-potential big men: Eric Freeman, Yahoo Sports
Freeman makes the argument that drafting three centers could get the Sixers nowhere, but there’s danger in getting stuck with a mediocre core if you get too hung up on fit:
There's no guarantee that Hinkie's approach to always select the best-available player will yield excellent results (or even a single All-Star), but it makes slightly more sense if you consider that any rebuilding process is fraught with potential pitfalls and disasters. Many teams plan for the future before players develop fully, to the point where they project players as potential stars who never really turn into anything more than quality role players, if even that. If nothing else, Hinkie has maximized the chance that Philadelphia will end up with a top-quality big man. It's a basketball version of risk management, albeit in service of a plan that could end years from now with everyone wondering why they were ever willing to be so patient.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
