NBA Draft: 5 Players the Sixers Should Avoid

Apr 2, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) handles the ball during the second half against the Villanova Wildcats in the 2016 NCAA Men

Buddy Hield, University of Oklahoma

While Buddy Hield’s draft stock rose tremendously during his senior season at the University of Oklahoma, and he will certainly be a lottery pick, the Sixers should do their best to avoid him.

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The only way that the Philadelphia 76ers will be able to obtain Hield is if they trade back up into the lottery, and if they decide that trading for a second lottery pick is the route they want to go, it would be more beneficial to act sooner rather than later and (if possible) trade up for someone like Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray or Jaylen Brown.

Hield very well may be the best pure-shooter in the draft and will certainly punish teams from the outside for years to come, but that might be all he can do. He hasn’t proven to be a quality defender and he’s a bit undersized for his position.

With many comparison’s to Stephen Curry coming out of college, many Sixers fans will be hoping that the organization does trade up to obtain Hield, but Philly would be wise to avoid him.

The main problems with Hield are that he’s already 22 years old, might already be at his peak and he just doesn’t seem to have as much upside that some of the other guards in this draft class do. Again, he can certainly shoot the lights out, but in order to succeed in the NBA, he’ll need to be more than a one-dimensional player.

Next: Thon Maker, Australia