NBA Draft: 5 Players the Sixers Should Avoid
Brice Johnson, University of North Carolina
During his senior season at UNC, Brice Johnson was vital toward the Tar Heels’ NCAA Tournament run, which ended with a loss in the championship game. Without Johnson, it’s hard to imagine the Tar Heels would have made it as far as they did, but that doesn’t mean his game translates to the NBA.
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Sure, he’s a big and athletic forward who can protect the rim well, but he hasn’t shown the ability to consistently defend out on the wing and he also doesn’t have a great outside shot. In today’s NBA, big men need to play effectively both inside and outside, and it might be difficult for Johnson to adjust at the next level.
Listed at 6’11”, he’s a mere twig at just over 200 pounds. He’ll need to add weight if he plans on banging down low with the likes of Jonas Valanciunas and Al Jefferson.
Johnson has similar attributes to former UNC player John Henson (now with the Milwaukee Bucks). Henson is a serviceable bench player in the NBA and has shown flashes of being above-average, but is pretty inconsistent overall, just like Johnson.
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To reiterate, there’s already a number of forward/centers on the Sixers’s current roster. There’s no need for Philadelphia to draft another.