NBA Draft: 5 Players the Sixers Should Avoid

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Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Dragan Bender, Croatia

Simply put: enough with the big men.

During the past three drafts, the Sixers obtained Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor; all of which are 6’11” or taller. Philadelphia got each one of these players with the mindset of taking the best player available and figuring the rest out from there. This year, they’re expected to take LSU’s Ben Simmons (who is 6’10” himself) first overall.

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But after three consecutive horrid seasons, it’s time to start building a team; not drafting more big men strictly based on their level of talent.

While Dragan Bender probably has more upside than anyone in the draft besides Ingram and Simmons, the only way that the Sixers will have legitimate shot at drafting him is if they trade back into the top-10 for a second lottery pick.

And if the Sixers do decide to trade back up, they’ll need to select a guard in order to balance their roster, not take another big-man.

Also, other than the New York Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis, can you name the last overseas bouncy big-man with an outside stroke that panned out? I sure as heck can’t, but I can tell you that it certainly wasn’t Nikoloz Tskitishvili or Darko Milicic, both of whom had similar playing styles to Bender heading into the draft.

While Bender could very well be a future superstar in the NBA, he’s also a project, meaning he could take a few years to develop into a true NBA player. The 76ers’ fan base has seen too many losses over the past three seasons and this team doesn’t need another project, especially with Joel Embiid and Dario Saric still yet to play a game in a Philadelphia uniform.

Could Bender end up being a great player down the road? Sure, there’s a chance, but the Sixers should pass on him and let another team take that chance on Thursday.

Next: Buddy Hield, University of Oklahoma