Will Philadelphia 76ers NBA Draft Selections Hinge Upon Age?

The Sixer’s summation

And so, the five prospects may take on more significance than first imagined. But upon what do I attribute this? Well, we know that it had required a significant effort to bolster the team’s ability to handle so many young men simultaneously, a point Brett Brown has admitted on may occasions. You see, this team is at the forefront of player development, far and away more invested than any other team in the league. And for the first half of the season, the man solely responsible for the player’s outlook and growth fell upon Brown.

"“Where do I begin?,” said Brown on Saturday morning, following the Sixers’ shoot-around at Moda Center. “It is so ever-present all over the place, just like it would have been for all of us if you said you’re 18 or 19 and now you’re 22 [years old]. hink about college paths, how things change in your head, and your body, and your mind in the games. And I see it with those two (Portland Trail Blazers guard duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum), versus like when Nerlens [Noel] first came in, or Jahlil [Okafor] first came in.” – Brett Brown as interviewed by Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com"

The value of staying in school longer also resonated with current starting point guard Ish Smith, who echoed some of the same sentiments as that of his head coach:

"“Being in school four years, and really learning the game really helps you out. A great coach in [former Wake Forest head coaches ]Skip Prosser and Dino Gaudio, and [Wake Forest assistant] Jeff Battle were unbelievable in teaching us the game of pick-and-rolls, and how to run a team and stuff like that. It really, really does help. And it prepares you for this, and the NBA, running a team, running older guys, telling them on the floor and different things like that. So it does prepare you, and it helps you a lot.  The crazy thing about me is, shoot, I haven’t even touched the tip of the iceberg.  I think it just depends.  You look at (Portland Trailblazer point guard) Damian Lillard.  He stayed four years.  He’s just now kind of tipping the iceberg how good he can be.  (Portland Trailblazer shooting guard) C.J. (McCollum) stayed four years, and it took him two or three years to get rolling out on the floor.  To me, it doesn’t matter if you come out two years or four years, it’s how much time you put in, and how much better you get.  If the guy can play, he can play.  He’s going to develop and get better.  It’s just how much time he puts in it.” ” – Ish Smith as interviewed by Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com"

In the face of coaches and players who value the maturity of an upperclass prospect, and with the additional complication of overcapacity if the Philadelphia 76ers try to bring on too many young men simultaneously, Trusting The Process may be facing its first true hurdle: a limit to how young the team can go and how often it may do so.  Now this is not to say that the Philadelphia 76ers will skip any chance at either Brandon Ingram or Ben Simmons if they are picking first or second in the 2016 NBA draft.  But it does correlate the fact that the team has core players in the 20-22 age range.   Only T.J. McConnell at age 24, Hollis Thompson at age 24, and Robert Covington at age 25 are likely to have the opportunity to play for the Sixers beyond next year.

Next: Could Sixers land at 3 3 years in a row?

So with that being the landscape, and the team finds two prospects of nearly identical skillsets, but one at age 19 and another at age 21, it would not surprise me in the least to expect the team to lean more towards the maturity of a 21 year old this year.  You see, the team must be very careful who they add to the roster going forward.  Building a winner depends on cohesion, and cohesion depends on the maturity of the roster.  While there is no evidence to cite the NBA outcomes versus age of NCAA hopefuls, there is the lingering experience of the Sixers in trying to mentor so many this year which could drive the team towards the older prospects.