Feb 20, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Evan Turner (12) against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center. The Timberwolves defeated the 76ers 94-87. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA Draft is less than two months away. With the Sixers missing the postseason after entering the season with such lofty expectations, here’s a look at some of the decisions that have led to this point.

While it is much easier to dissect a decision after the fact; for instance, the trade for Andrew Bynum. Regardless, here is the draft selections made by the Sixers over the last decade, and analysis of each draft.

2003: In a draft regarded as one of the best in NBA history with talents like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony, the Sixers had just a late-second round pick. Enough said. On the bright side, the Sixers didn’t have the second overall pick. If they had, we know that they would have made the same franchise-crippling mistake that the Detroit Pistons made, and drafted Darko Milicic over Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade.

2004: “With the ninth overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select Andre Iguodala.” It’s hard to blame the Sixers for this pick. Iguodala was a jack of all trades in Philly. He played suffocating perimeter defense, made plays for others, scored, rebounded well, and mentored younger players in his later years under Doug Collins. A few notables taken after Iguodala were Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, J.R. Smith, and Kevin Martin. With that said, the Sixers made a rare solid pick.

2005: In 2005, the Sixers may have gotten their best value in comparison to their draft position. Without a first-round pick, the team wasn’t on the clock until midway through the second round. With the 45th pick in the draft, the Sixers selected Louis Williams. Williams was the best player off the bench during his time here, and even led the team in scoring last season before heading to Atlanta.

2006: The Sixers had the 13th pick in the 2006 draft, and used it on Thabo Sefolosha. Sefolosha has been a solid pro, now with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Rajon Rondo was still on the board when the Sixers were on the clock, and was eventually taken 21st overall. Paul Millsap, soon-to-be-free-agent, slipped all the way to the second round before Utah took him 47th. It’s hard to put the blame here on the Sixers for passing on these guys in favor of Sefolosha, especially Millsap, who had a second round draft grade according to everyone.

2007: Thaddeus Young was the Sixers lone selection in the first round in 2007, taken 12th overall. Not much criticism can come of this draft; Thad has proven himself to be a capable change-of-pace power forward in the NBA. In his first season as a full-time starter, Young established himself as the most consistent, hardest working 76er.

2008: Ha! This is by far the pick that should be scrutinized the most. Not only is this easy to blame the organization for now, but the pick drew much criticism from the day of the draft. The Sixers took Marreese Speights of Florida with the 16th pick overall, passing on the likes of Roy Hibbert, Javale McGee, J.J. Hickson, Ryan Anderson, Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum, Nikola Pekovic, DeAndre Jordan, and Omer Asik. It is far too simple to say this pick was a bust simply because of Speights’ inability to produce, but the pain in knowing the number of impact guys remaining in the draft is astronomical.

2009: Jrue Holiday. Not much to say here. Jrue Holiday made his first All-Star appearance this season and established himself as one of the NBA’s up-and-coming stars. Ty Lawson was still on the board when the Sixers were on the clock, but no harm done.

2010: Evan Turner was selected 2nd overall in 2010, and was instantly dubbed the savior of a struggling franchise. It hasn’t been that smooth of a transition to the NBA for Turner, and he hasn’t been as consistent as expected from the Naismith Award winner at Ohio State.  Anyone who tells you the Sixers made the wrong decision here is delirious. John Wall was the consensus fist pick; Evan was the consensus second. However, DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe, and Paul George all went after Turner, and have had more productive NBA careers thus far.

2011:  Ah, Nikola Vucevic. Vucevic was selected 16th overall by the Sixers, and after just one season was shipped to Orlando in the blockbuster trade for superstar center Andrew Bynum. Doug Collins has taken much criticism for hindering the growth of the 7-footer from USC in his rookie year, especially after blossoming into a budding star with the Magic. Vucevic has established himself as a double-double threat on a nightly basis after playing only sparingly in Philly. Kenneth Faried was taken after the Sixers’ selection, along with Chandler Parsons and Isaiah Thomas, who were both selected in the second round.

2012: It’s too early to tell what Maurice Harkless and Arnett Moultrie will amount to in the NBA, but both look to be promising for their respective clubs. Harkless was another piece in the Bynum trade, and showed glimpses of an above-average player in Orlando this season. Moultrie rarely played early in the season, coming back from a pre-draft ankle injury, but showed promise late in the season. The Sixers apparently had Moultrie in the top ten of their draft board so getting him late in the first round was a steal in their opinions. With a new coach and most likely more minutes, it should be interesting to see what Moultrie has to offer.

Needless to say, the Sixers have put themselves in a whole with some of their recent draft choices, but some weren’t as bad as they are made out to be. Of course it’s easier to sit here and criticize a struggling organization for not selecting players that we now know are impact players, some All-Stars, when they had the chance.

Just to give you something to ponder, here is what the Sixers’ roster could look like if they drafted differently.

• Center - Nikola Pekovic, Roy Hibbert
• Power Forward - Kenneth Faried, Serge Ibaka
• Small Forward - Andre Iguodala, Nicolas Batum
• Shooting Guard -Paul George
• Point Guard – Rajon Rondo
• Sixth Man – Louis Williams

Mar 05, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Dorell Wright (4) protests a call during the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center. The Celtics defeated the Sixers 109-101. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

There were huge expectations for this season when the Sixers made a blockbuster deal to bring in the All-NBA 2nd team center, Andrew Bynum. This was supposed to be the year we could possibly make a run at the Eastern Conference Finals, without getting help from opponents’ key injuries. With Bynum failing to play a single game and Jason Richardson being out since January 18th, the team has been playing with no production whatsoever from the trade. Not only did they not get production from Bynum for the entire season and Richardson for the second half, but they gave up Andre Iguodala, Nikola Vucevic, and Mo Harkless to make the deal. Many people forget that we also lost Lou Williams and Elton Brand from last year’s Eastern Conference Semi-Finals team.

This season has been labeled disappointing, embarrassing, and pathetic, but how fair is it to say that the Sixers missing the playoffs is really disappointing? How many seriously expected them to be playing basketball in May or June with no Bynum? When a team loses what the Sixers lost and get nothing in return, it is not surprising when they struggle.

Andre Iguodala was missed this season at both ends of the court. Iguodala has always been an elite defender, but he was also extremely effective in transition offensively. Along with Lou Williams, they got into the open court as often as possible and got to the line more than anyone on the team. Without the two, the Sixers fell out of the top ten in fast break points for the first time in Doug Collins’ era. Also, the Sixers finished second from the bottom in free throws attempted, only to the lowly Orlando Magic.

As this season comes to an end, we shouldn’t be all that shocked with the way it went. If Bynum was healthy from the start, it would have been a different story, but he wasn’t. He didn’t play a single minute for the Sixers, and the team along with its fans spent much of the season waiting for his return. That day never came.

With all that said, huge strides were made by Jrue Holiday and Thaddeus Young this season. Young stepped into the starting power forward role and played extremely well all season long. With hustle and skill, Thad was one guy the Sixers could count on to produce on a nightly basis. As for Jrue Holiday, he was selected for his first All-Star appearance and established himself as one of the better all-around point guards in the NBA. Holiday made improvements to every aspect of his game. Most impressively, the young point guard showed his ability to create offense for himself and others.

The hardest part of the Sixers’ struggles to swallow is not this season, but it’s the next five seasons. There is a huge chance Bynum will walk away from the Sixers this summer, and the team will get nothing in return. Once viewed as a foundation and building block to take this team to the next level, the 7-footer is now possibly a franchise-crippling acquisition. It looks like Bynum may never play a game for the Sixers, and if that is true, the team will be left directionless and stuck at mediocre.

This off-season will be one of the most intriguing in recent memory. Regardless of what Bynum decides to do, the Sixers have many more questions than they had entering this season. The team will be in the lottery for the first time in Doug Collins’ three years as head coach, and there will be many decisions to be made. As for how disappointing this season is, if we knew Andrew Bynum wouldn’t play a single game, what would our expectations have been for the Sixers?