NBA Draft Combine: Philadelphia 76ers Meeting With Mid-First Round Prospects

With the 2017 NBA Draft Combine underway in Chicago, the Philadelphia 76ers are already keeping tabs on a variety of prospects.

The 2017 draft class presents a handful of exciting opportunities for the Philadelphia 76ers, starting with next Tuesday’s lottery. How the Sixers will determine their course of action, though, starts before that — most notably with the NBA Draft Combine this weekend.

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Philadelphia has their own top 5-favorable lottery pick, as well as pick swapping rights with Sacramento and the potential to attain the Lakers’ pick should in fall outside the top three. Statistically speaking, the Sixers actually have a higher chance of wielding two picks this upcoming draft, rather than just one.

Given their standing, Bryan Colangelo and company will rightfully be focused on some of the top flight talent that decides to participate in this weekend’s combine. Markelle Fultz is there on a limited basis, where he has already shown interest in playing for the Sixers according to Keith Pompey. And, while some prospects among the likes of Lonzo Ball and Jayson Tatum won’t be showcasing themselves in Chicago, players like De’Aaron Fox and O.G. Anunoby will also garner significant attention.

The Sixers, however, are going beyond players who lie within the confines of their draft range. According to CSN Philly’s Jessica Camerato, Philadelphia is also talking to a handful of mid-first round prospects — with Justin Jackson and Justin Patton meeting with the team today and tomorrow, respectively.

Both players present different skill sets and, in turn, differing fits with the team, but the common ground is relatively obvious — Philadelphia is taking a look at players outside of the lottery’s upper echelon.

Not too much can be drawn from these singular reports alone. Typically, teams meeting with players outside of their projected range are putting out feelers more so than anything else. They can get a feel for the draft’s strengths, as well as players’ attitudes and develop a general consensus of who’s who — all without gearing up to draft a player like Patton 5th.

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There is, however, some notoriety here. We’ve seen the power that solid interviews and, eventually, team workouts can have on player’s draft stock. The Bucks became enamored with Thon Maker last season, rocketing him from fringe first round status to the 10th overall pick. Caris LeVert was a consensus second round prospect in most circles last season, yet ending up going to the Nets at 21st in June.

When looking back on their decision, Brooklyn’s general manager Sean Marks had this to say on their pre-draft interview:

"“I go back to the draft interview when Kenny [Atkinson] and I sat and interviewed Caris and we left the interview and said, ‘that’s a Brooklyn Net right there. Honestly it was that simple.”"

If the Sixers were to trade up — or back — in the first round, feelers like these interviews could come into play directly with their inevitable decisions. Even a potential drop to 7th puts a wider range of players onto the proverbial table, opening up options like Jackson and Patton if the front office in genuinely impressed during the pre-draft process.

And while Jackson is the better fit by virtue of position — Patton, being a 7-footer, has an inherently limited role — players of the sorts could work their way into the conversation later on given the variability the NBA Draft presents. Teams often shift around via trades depending on which pieces are available and the logistics behind their targets.

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If the Sixers aren’t happy with their options at the 4th spot, a trade to the 10th spot in well within the realm of possibility.

These sorts of mid-first round interviews could have implications that, at surface level, aren’t all that obvious. When you delve further into the unpredictability of draft night, though, it makes such endeavors far from pointless in the front office. Whether it inevitably be for the purposes of general insight or eventually used as justification in an unforeseen draft slot, there’s reasons for Philadelphia to probe the combine for players of the sort.