NBA Draft: 5 Players the Sixers Should Avoid

Apr 2, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) reacts during the first half against the Villanova Wildcats in the 2016 NCAA Men
Apr 2, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) reacts during the first half against the Villanova Wildcats in the 2016 NCAA Men /
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Mar 18, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Denzel Valentine (45) motions while guarded by Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders forward Perrin Buford (2) during the first half of the first round in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Denzel Valentine (45) motions while guarded by Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders forward Perrin Buford (2) during the first half of the first round in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

Denzel Valentine, Michigan State University

While the value of swingmen has drastically risen over the past few seasons, it just doesn’t make sense for the Philadelphia 76ers to draft Denzel Valentine.

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He’s a bit undersized and doesn’t have the elite athleticism to hang with many of the small forwards (that he would have to cover on defense) in the NBA.

Valentine is an excellent shooter and was certainly a top-notch college player, but he’s already 22 years old (will turn 23 in December) and the Sixers already have a few swingmen rostered in Dario Saric, Jerami Grant, Robert Covington and either Brandon Ingram or Ben Simmons. The frontcourt is already crowded enough, and Philly needs to improve its backcourt before crowding yet another position.

If the Sixers do decide to take a small forward in the draft, there’s others that should be available around the same time as Valentine (Malachi Richardson, DeAndre Bembry) that would benefit the Sixers more than him.

Also, in order to get Valentine, Philadelphia will need to trade up from the 24th pick. And if they do trade up, this isn’t exactly the ideal guy worth moving up the board for; it just feels like he has “bust” written all over him.

Next: Brice Johnson, University of North Carolina