Well folks, today is draft day. Keep it here at The Sixer Sense/FanSided for draft coverage all night. To start off your day, let’s look at the mock draft I told you about yesterday. Just some details/background: The editors of each of the sites acted as GM’s of the teams that the sites represent. So, for this post, you can call me the Sixers mock GM. Cool? Cool. I enlisted the help of the staff and they gave great feedback. But, ultimately, I had to make the final call. I should mention here that we have two new writers to the site. Well, one of them is new but another is a former writer making a return. I’ll introduce them to you a little later. Also, we were allowed trades and stuff like that. Keep in mind, that with the recent real life trades, we still kept with out original set-up.
Here’s all of the picks from the draft as to how they have been updated to me:
1. Anthony Davis (NOH)
2. Thomas Robinson (CHA)
3. Brad Beal (WAS)
4. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (CLE)
5. Harrison Barnes (SAC)
6. Andre Drummond (POR)
7. John Henson (GSW)
8. Jeremy Lamb (TOR)
9. Arnett Moultrie (DET)
10. Tyler Zeller (BOS from NOH)
11. Austin Rivers (POR)
12. Perry Jones (MIL)
13. Kendall Marshall (PHX)
14. Damian Lillard (HOU)
15. Terrence Ross (PHI)
16. Dion Waiters (HOU)
17. Terrence Jones (DAL)
18. Meyers Leonard (HOU)
19. Moe Harkless (ORL)
20. Jared Sullinger (DEN)
21. Royce White (NOH from BOS)
22. Tony Wroten, Jr. (NOH from BOS)
23. Quincy Miller (ATL)
24. Andrew Nicholson (CLE)
25. Marquis Teague (MEM)
26. Fab Melo (IND)
27. Evan Fournier (MIA)
28. Draymond Green (OKC)
29. Doron Lamb (CHI)
We were only doing the 1st round. I haven’t got the 30th pick update yet. I encourage you to go to as many sites as you want to see why the teams picked their players. We were given a template to answer questions on about the player and reason for selecting him. Sixers had the 15th pick and, as you saw, I went with a non-big man. Here’s my explanation:
Player name: Terrence Ross
Position: SG/SF
Height: 6-7
Weight: 197lb
School: Washington
Short summary of the player and his stats from college:
A solid shooter and a good defender. Able to catch and shoot, pretty good at running through screens to get open. Has the body to defend players, and is quick enough on recovery to take risks i.e. go for steal. Shot 37% 3PG in sophomore year and 46% FG. Not a very good ball handler. Doesn’t really attack the rim all that often. But, kinda Thad Young-ish in that he does fight for rebounds and can get a shot up quickly for second chance points. In fact, his quick release on his shot makes it hard to defend his shot, especially in catch and shoot situations. He runs on the break and is Kyle Korver-ish in that he can make cuts into the post along the baseline and as mentioned earlier, has a quick release on catch and shooting. Or he can just move from one side of the court to another. His size helps him get through screens. He’s athletic but still he will settle for a jump shot. As his ball handling improves, he should be able to attack the rim without losing control.
Why the decision was made to select this player:
Rod Thorn: “Essentially, You Draft for Talent and You Trade for Need” In accordance to that quote, Ross seemed to be the best talent at the time. The thought here is that you can trade Andre Iguodala for a needed big man, plus picks and other pieces for salary matching.
How he will fit in with the team:
His biggest strength is his shooting; especially catch and shoot. Playing alongside ball handlers Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner should do Ross well. Evan and Jrue go attack the rim while Ross waits for the defense to collapse and for the ball to be kicked out to him. Very confident shooter but doesn’t really force anything; plays within the offense. Could possibly turn into clutch shooter that team needs. On defense, he, once again alongside Jrue and Evan, can form a formidable perimeter defensive line. Plays the passing lanes and is able to use his strength to get through screens on defense, able to chase (useful for the Rip Hamilton’s and Ray Allen’s). Has good recovery speed in case he fails on steal attempt; can extend himself on “D”. Sixers need shooting and he will provide that, in what should be more productive than Meeks, who will most likely not be on the roster for next season. Also, his being able to play SG or SF helps with rotations as coach Collins loves versatility. Turner and Ross are good rebounders for their size so that may allow more small line-ups, which is another thing Collins likes.
Best case and worst case scenarios for this player:
Best case is Jason Richardson
Worst case is Jeremy Richardson
(the last names are completely coincidental)
Do I think the Sixers actually make this pick? No. Do I think they should? Well, it goes back to what they intend on getting back from an Iguodala trade. If they want to trade Iguodala for a shooter/scorer, then you draft big. If you draft for a wing player, then trade for the big. It’s that simple. for me, Ross is more of a sure thing than many other bigs that will most likely be available at 15. Also, Rod Thorn is aiming for drafting the talent and trading for need. Sixers have those two glaring needs so it’s going to be interesting to see where they go, even though it’s most likely a big.
So, are you liking Ross, or are you set on getting a big in the draft? How did I do; who would you pick? Feel free to grade my pick (I’m talking to the staff too!).