The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers NBA Draft Plan Isn’t Complete

By Josh Wilson

Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; General view of the full first round draft board at the conclusion of the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; General view of the full first round draft board at the conclusion of the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia 76ers may have a large portion of their NBA Draft plan complete, but it’s not all finalized just yet.

The Philadelphia 76ers have had a month to come up with a solid NBA Draft strategy. As of Friday afternoon, it’s largely completed. With a face-to-face meeting with presumptive first overall pick Ben Simmons, it looks as if the Sixers are prepared to select him first overall. In fact, it would surprise most experts if anyone else was selected first overall.

At that meeting, head coach Brett Brown (who previously knew Simmons) and president Bryan Colangelo were present.

The Sixers received Simmons’ medical information, which was the last missing piece needed before the Sixers banked their future on him. This has been important to Sixers’ picks in the past. They selected Joel Embiid with the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft knowing that he had injuries. The Cleveland Cavaliers, who had the first overall pick that year, passed on Embiid after news of his injury was made available one week before the draft.

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If I had to make a bet, I wouldn’t be afraid to put money on Simmons going first overall. The Sixers have it easy, as a large portion of their draft strategy involves the top overall pick, which give them the most possible options out of any team in the league.

That’s not what’s uncertain, however. What’s left for determination is the two other picks the Sixers hold in this draft, the 24th overall pick and the 26th overall pick. Sure, the team has likely gone over some prospects and has some plans in the back of their mind regarding those picks, but nothing is solid.

In fact, nothing can be solid just yet. At that late in the first round, there are a ton of variables. It all depends on who has already been selected, who is left on the board, and of course, if any teams want to make a trade to take those picks. For the Sixers, there’s not a ton of reason to want 24 and 26, so if people are calling for them, the Sixers are likely to move them.

That makes the middle 50 percent of the first round uncertain as well. There’s reason to beleive the Sixers would want a pick in that range. They have worked out players like Malachi Richardson and Jaylen Brown, both players who are slated to go anywhere from 7th overall to 20th overall.

Perhaps, then, the plan is to try to get a team to take 24 and 26 overall, and maybe another player, in return for a pick in the top 10. That trade likely won’t happen until draft night, though, so the Sixers have to plan in case they themselves end up keeping those picks.

Next: Sixers Should Not Draft Jamal Murray

The Sixers can make several “what if” situations to bounce off of on draft night, but they will have to wait until Thursday before they can see what really happens.