The State of the Sixers
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by user Jason Mish
Now that the years of Allen Iverson are done in Philadelphia, it is time to start looking towards the future for the Sixers. Last year the Sixers got rid of the tandem that many fans hoped would be prosperous in Philly, Iverson and Webber. Through three years with the duo in place, the results were sub par. Their departures however create what now can be called a wide open future for the Sixers and an important part of that will be the upcoming draft. Philly has three first round picks, the 12, 21, and 30. These picks will be huge to a team that lacks much of an identity because of the combination of older veterans (Joe Smith, Kevin Ollie, and Andre Miller) and several young contributors (Kyle Korver, Rodney Carney) that hope to be valuable in the rotation. The only consistency they got from anyone in a Sixers uniform last season came from Andre Iguodala. The new “AI” had career bests last season in points (18.2), rebounds (5.7), and assists (5.7). Obviously the 07’- 08’ team will have to rely heavily on Iguodala if the roster, other than rookies, stays the same. Since the Sixers still face salary cap issues stemming from numerous overpaid contracts (thanks Billy King), the draft (or trades) will be their primary tool for offseason moves. With that being said, three positions are already secure and two remain question marks, at least in my opinion. Andre Miller at the point, Iguodala at small forward, and Samuel Dalembert at center are locks, leaving SG and PF areas of concern and the positions I would like to see addressed in Thursday’s draft.
Let’s start with power forward. The options that are currently on the roster would be Joe Smith and Steven Hunter. Smith’s age and mobility, and Hunter’s lack of any scoring presence leave this decision in the hands of King with the 12 th pick. A good power forward at #12 will be difficult and could force the need to package two of their first round picks to move up to something between picks 6-9. The necessity of moving only a couple of picks down in the draft is due in fact to the four projected power forwards in the top 10 (Horford, Noah, Jianlian, and Brandon Wright). In the 6-9 range, Brandon Wright would probably be the pick of the Sixers, if they were to make that move. If they were to stay at the 12 th pick, I think they would strongly consider Florida State’s Al Thornton and Kansas’s Julian Wright. Both guys are versatile and athletic and at 6-8 and 6-9, respectively, could get away with playing power forward in a smaller Eastern Conference.
Any picks outside the top 15 in the NBA Draft are uncertain and give no guarantees to a team but for the sake of prognosticating, I will forecast the Sixers 21 st pick. With a need at shooting guard very visible in my eyes, I wouldn’t mind seeing Aaron Afflalo taken here with the pick. Maybe Afflalo would be a slight reach at #21 based on some projections. However, in a draft that has a weak shooting guard class, I believe Aaron Afflalo would be a good value here. He was a good scorer and shooter at UCLA and led the Bruins to back-to-back Final Four appearances, an accomplishment that was mainly his doing. Possibly his greatest skill would be his defensive prowess where his 6-5 size could give him the ability to defend many “two-guards” in the league.
If somehow the Sixers duplicate the draft ineptitude of the Eagles this season, it’s okay. We’ve seen bad picks before. At least if you’re a Sixers fan, Keith Van Horn, Shawn Bradley, and Sharone Wright won’t be walking through the door next season.
