2015 Sixers Big Board 4.0
By Derek Bodner
Updated: Saturday, March 28, 2015 08:00 AM
This is v4.0 of my 76ers-focused 2015 NBA draft big board. Note, this is how I would rank them if I were running the Sixers. That is not necessarily the same as how I would rank them as prospects overall, or a prediction on how I think the Sixers rank them within their front office.
Last updated: March 28th, 2015
| Pick | Player | Position | College | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karl Towns (last: 1) | C | Kentucky | Freshman |
| Stays at the top of the board. Continues to play well (when needed) during Kentucky’s run to the Elite 8, is as talented as anybody in the draft, and is a good fit to play with either Nerlens Noel or Joel Embiid. Note: Drafting Towns or Okafor does not mean Noel needs to be traded. | ||||
| 2 | Jahlil Okafor (last: 2) | C | Duke | Freshman |
| Still as unique, both good and bad, of a prospect as I’ve ever seen. Not a good fit with Embiid, but helps increase the odds that the Sixers have a superstar in 3 years. There’s really only one “sure thing” in this draft that fits with Embiid, so at #2 I’m going with talent. | ||||
| — End tier 1 — | ||||
| 3 | Mario Hezonja (last: 7) | SG | Barcelona | |
| The biggest change in this version of the big board. I mentioned in the last board that the only reason that Hezonja was at #7 is because there were 6 other guys that I really liked. Why the big jump? It’s two-fold. First, in the past month I’ve spent a lot of time going back and re-watching some of Hezonja’s games, and really liked what I saw. Second, I don’t look at anybody in this group as a sure-thing to be great, Russell and Mudiay included. In this group, Hezonja has a very intriguing combination of relatively low risk (or, at least, roughly equal to the other guys), and his upside is as high as just about any of them. He’s as athletically gifted as any perimeter player in this draft, and he has a perimeter skill level that ranks up there with anybody at the top of the draft, with the exception of Russell. | ||||
| 4 | D’Angelo Russell (last: 3) | PG/SG | Ohio State | Freshman |
| The common reaction when Russell struggled against Arizona was not to make too much out of one game. And that is absolutely true, as you never want to put too much weight on one game. But those struggles weren’t an isolated game, but the continuation of a trend that has been going on all year. In 17 games against Top-100 defenses, Russell shot only 37.9% from the field and 34.8% from three point range. The three point range is solid (albeit a far off drop from the 47.4% he shot against defenses outside of the Top-100), but his two point field goal percentage fell all the way to 40.4% against Top-100 D’s, from 56.4% against other teams. Some of this is certainly his lack of help on Ohio State, as good defensive teams could easily focus in on Russell, and that’s the reason he’s still top-4 for me. It’s a concern, not a conclusion. But Ohio State played one of the worst non-conference schedules in the nation and there’s simply a lot of noise there, both in his stats and in our recollection of his play, as it’s frequently tough to separate out highlights from context. There’s no top prospect that I’m going to focus in and scrutinize over more during the next 3 months to try to separate cause and effect than Russell. | ||||
| 5 | Kristaps Porzingis (last: 4) | PF | Sevilla | |
| This is where my Sixers big board really differentiates from my ‘rest of the league’ big board. I would have Mudiay in there ahead of Porzingis on my normal big board, and perhaps Stanley Johnson, too. But right now the Sixers need talent, and talent that can also fit in well with Embiid is at a premium. I think Porzingis the athlete is getting underrated by some. He can move his feet well and rotate defensively. My only major concern, and it’s a very legitimate one, is his bulk, whether he can add substantial muscle mass, and whether he can handle the physicality of the NBA. If he can, I think he’s going to be a good player. | ||||
| 6 | Emmanuel Mudiay (last: 6) | PG | Guangdong | |
| Again, Mudiay is talented, and talented enough to be higher on this list, but his shooting, how much I value shooting in pick and roll play with Embiid, and my lack of confidence in his shooting being fixed long term, all combine to have me lower than most with regards to Mudiay. I also think some overstate his athleticism: he’s extremely quick, he’s strong, and he’s a solid leaper, but he’s not in the Rose/Westbrook/Wall class that some put him in. On the flip side, I think he’s a more natural point guard and passer off the pick and roll than some portray him as. At 6, he’s a great value pick, because if he improves that jumper substantially he could be a really good player. | ||||
| — End tier 2 — | ||||
| 7 | Stanley Johnson (last: 5) | SF | Arizona | Freshman |
| At the top of the draft, I think some look for #1 scoring option potential in players that don’t really have that potential, which causes some mistakes. Johnson likely maxes out as a #2 or #3 option at best, which has some souring on him. He just doesn’t have the dribble penetration, explosion around the hoop, or touch/body control to be what some want him to be. That being said, he’s so fantastically versatile on the defensive end, and he’s shown so much improvement in his jumper, that he’s going to be a very valuable member of a team for years to come, in my opinion. | ||||
| 8 | Justise Winslow (last: 9) | SF | Duke | Freshman |
| Winslow’s been playing incredible all-around basketball in the tournament, and really since Sulaimon left Duke. Winslow had 13 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks against San Diego State, then 21 points and 10 rebounds against Utah, absolutely crucial in both victories. His defense is consistently good, he consistently finds ways to contribute outside of scoring, his jump shot continues to be much better than predicted and remarkably consistent, and I think in the NBA he has more potential as a volume scorer off of dribble penetration than he’s shown at Duke. He’s another one where getting back into that 6-10 range could make a lot of sense for the Sixers. | ||||
| — End tier 3 — | ||||
| 9 | Kelly Oubre (last: 11) | SF | Kansas | Freshman |
| Just a hard talent to peg. After a 25 point explosion against Texas Christian in the conference tournament, he then failed to reach double figures in his last 4 games, shooting only 36% over that span. Great athlete, but “slows down” in game situations, as his ball handling just isn’t advanced enough to really take advantage of his athletic gifts. | ||||
| 10 | Myles Turner (last: 8) | C | Texas | Freshman |
| Another guy who struggled down the stretch, and struggled as the competition got stronger. His rebounding and defense remained elite, but his jumper was really his only consistent offensive move, and his jumper failed him down the stretch. I recently wrote about him for DraftExpress. | ||||
| 11 | Kevon Looney (last: 10) | PF | UCLA | Freshman |
| I don’t think he’s all that great of a fit with Embiid and Noel, nor do I have a tremendous amount of confidence in him really developing a go-to offensive move. Has a lot of potential as a glue guy, and his defense is easy to like. Probably has more value for other teams than the Sixers, due to the Sixers floor spacing needs in the front court. | ||||
| — End tier 4 — | ||||
| 12 | Devin Booker (last: 12) | SG | Kentucky | Freshman |
| Relatively boring pick, but size, solid athleticism, defense, and elite shooting is a good combination, and a combination that is going to be needed by the Sixers. They have shooters, and they have defenders, but they don’t have many who do both. | ||||
| 13 | Willie Cauley-Stein (last: 13) | C | Kentucky | Junior |
| Really bad fit for the Sixers. At this point he is a value pick, but it’s hard to see him on the offensive end with Embiid and Noel. | ||||
| 14 | Jakob Poeltl (last: nr) | C | Utah | Freshman |
| Never really got the sense that Poeltl would come out this year, so I’ve been leaving him off the big board, but some are starting to speculate that he could. Really good, athletic, team defender who also rebounds well. Offensive game is still a work in progress, but he’s been improving at a fast learning curve, and has some really good physical tools. | ||||
| 15 | Trey Lyles (last: 14) | PF | Kentucky | Freshman |
| In the Bobby Portis vs Lyles debate, I’m certainly on team Lyles. Stock would probably be higher if he weren’t playing out of position on Kentucky, but the perimeter focus probably opens up his true offensive skill set as a face-up power forward down the line. | ||||
Just missed: Jerian Grant, Kris Dunn, Tyus Jones, Caris LeVert, Christian Wood, Frank Kaminsky, Justin Anderson.
You can view previous versions of my big board here.
