2015 NBA Draft: Updated Sixers Related Big Board

1) D’Angelo Russell

Not a surprise that D’Angelo Russell ends up No. 1 on my big board. The Ohio State guard is a prolific three-point shooter along with slick passing and playmaking abilities. My decision to have Russell at the top spot has a lot to do with the Sixers building around two big men in Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel. The Sixers are going to need Russell’s shooting ability to space the floor and to make him a shooting threat out of the p-n-r.

The huge concern about Russell has been his poor play against top competition. Derek Bodner of Libery Ballers details that here:

"And Russell absolutely feasted on that weaker competition. In 18 games against defenses ranked outside of the top-100, Ohio State went 16-2, with Russell averaging 20.8 points per game, shooting an incredible 52.2% from the field, including 47.4% from 3, while having a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (5.6 assists to 2.8 turnovers). Those numbers plummeted against top-100 defenses, where Ohio State went just 8-9 on the season. Russell averaged 17.7 points per game in those games, but shot just 38% from the field, including 34.7% from three. He averaged 3 turnovers to only 4.4 assists in those games."

But, the bigger question: Was Russell’s poor play due to the lack of talent on Ohio State or his own shortcomings? For now, I’m confident to go with the former. The Ohio State squad that Russell was on was extremely weak and when Russell became such a hot prospect, defenses started to shut him down. On a squad with some shooters and talent, this shouldn’t be a huge issue. It isn’t enough for me not to see the great fit with this Sixers team.

Next: Mario Hezonja