Like 2015, the Los Angeles Lakers choose second in the 2017 NBA Draft, one spot ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers at three. Like 2015, you can bet the Lakers will not follow the script
Nothing is certain in life except for death and taxes, and sometimes even death isn’t a sure thing. So when the Philadelphia 76ers eye up the 2017 NBA Draft Board, they cannot be lulled into ANY confidence of what the two teams before them will do. And who are those teams?
Why, the Boston Celtics (courtesy of the Brooklyn Nets) and the Los Angeles Lakers. Both teams have a colorful history with the Philadelphia 76ers. Both teams have strengths on the roster that repel the true strengths of this crop of draft prospects. And both team are selecting before the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2017 NBA Draft.
So anything is possible.
The consensus is that the Boston Celtics will select Washington Huskies point guard extraordinaire Markelle Fultz. Following that, most expect the Los Angeles Lakers to select every unpredictable but extremely proficient UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball second. I truly understand that everyone with a qualified opinion believes that is how this will go down, but…
I won’t believe it until I see it.
Boston Baked Dilemma
Right now, the Boston Celtics have a good team chemistry for competing. They simply need that one main character, that third leg of a triad, to win. In essence, the team needs a center who can both score and defend. Yes, the team signed 30-year old center Al Horford to a lucrative contract until 2020. Yes, he has his moments. But Horford’s best days are in the rear view mirror.
Ideally, I believe that the Boston Celtics would make a surprising step forward if they focused even modest efforts to pry either Jahlil Okafor or Brook Lopez from their respective teams. While Lopez may require the Celtics to return that first round pick to the Brooklyn Nets, Okafor could be had for a substantially discounted value.
Celtics Need To Follow Cavaliers Love Example
The comparisons of what the Celtics get in Markelle Fultz or in Brook Lopez is an apples to watermelons comparison. Fultz is a great POTENTIAL star in the NBA. Brook Lopez is a true NBA star center who would immediately move the needle far to the right for the Celtics.
The Celtics cannot look at the NBA Draft as a “Best Player Available” in their post-season-pursuing moment of history. The Cleveland Cavaliers understood the urgency of the moment, and traded away then first round pick Andrew Wiggins for Kevin Love. Love, although very effective in Minnesota, was still a risk for the Cavaliers.
To win the championship, the Boston Celtics must be willing to project and secure a star veteran now.
Magic Lake
The second variable in this draft is the insertion of former Los Angeles Lakers star point guard, Magic Johnson, as the team President. While he had worked in an advisory capacity prior to his ascension to the throne, the dynamics of the team are still untested and unproven.
In fact, the more apt term to the strategy so far would be nebulous. The team has been touted as taking the high road to a major rebuild. But all bets were off as the Lakers held a fire sale on their productive veteran assets. The Houston Rockets picked up surprisingly available Lou Williams for Corey Brewer and a 2017 first round pick. But, before you applaud too loudly, that pick is the 28th pick in the draft, virtually a really good second round pick.
Drove Tank Into Lake
The tanking was in the effort to preserve the teams first round pick this year. So far, the Lakers have had two consecutive second round picks in D’Angelo Russel and Brandon Ingram. The team has managed the backcourt logjam by shifting players down the chart. Russell, a point guard, shifted to shooting guard. Ingram, a shooting guard, shifted to small forward. Like the Celtics,the Lakers need front court help in the worst way.
But this draft offers no front court help at two. So the team is expected to pick Lonzo Ball.
But Ball adds some more complications too. The Lakers are truly in rebuild mode, but they have veteran Jordan Clarkson locked in for the next three years. Ideally, the team would land a center and in the process deal Timofey Mozgov in the process. Should the Lakers talk to the Brooklyn Nets? Brook Lopez would shine at Magic Lake, and the Nets would love to get a top prospect. Tossing in Mozgov for a price would be okay too, as the Nets have plenty of cap space.
How Do Philadelphia 76ers Respond?
This is not an NBA Draft for the weak-hearted. Until the moment that first selection is made, everything is in play. Literally everything.
Swarm and Sting
Neither the Boston Celtics nor the Los Angeles Lakers move the needle on improving their respective teams immediately in this draft. Unlike the Philadelphia 76ers, they hoarded backcourt talent heading into a backcourt heavy draft class. The 76ers improve the team dramatically with as many as ten players in this draft.
Draft Mobility Key
So the team can try to move up, or consider moving back, and still walk away with a significantly improved roster. But these dynamics are incredibly exciting. Some NBA team may pay the steep price to move into the top two, and have differing opinions of the top players in this class. Concerns over Markelle Fultz’s knees may allow him to slip to the Philadelphia 76ers.
But the forces may also change the dynamics of the Philadelphia 76ers. Too many GMs are in peril in the NBA right now. The blockade of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors will force some good NBA teams into desperate moves to try to knock them off. Other teams will simply blow up their highly paid rosters for a rebuild, in hopes to peak after the Warriors and Cavaliers have run their course.
Draft Position First, Then Rank Available Talent
The Philadelphia 76ers, with the existing roster, are playoff bound, assuming everyone is healthy. But along the way, the team can now boost the roster with significant talent. This is the year to have that third pick. If the script goes according to plan, Fultz and Ball go and then there will be a massive scramble from NBA teams to get that next player.
If rumors are true, some teams rank Josh Jackson as first overall pick, how desperate would those teams be to select him if he falls to three?
You could expect a more frenzied response if either Ball or Fultz land at three.
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Multiple teams have fallen in love w/Josh Jackson. Is perhaps highest upside player in this draft and has a legit shot to go first overall.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) May 19, 2017
Jackson creates a tough debate for the 76ers at three. Fultz is a surefire selection at three. But Lonzo Ball, despite his potential in the NBA, would be the topic of trade discussions if he falls to three. What should team do then?
Prepare To Trade Back
In my mind, trading out of that third pick needs a lottery first this year, plus a second first round pick in a future draft, in order to happen. Ideally, a solid lottery pick this year, in the top ten. That enables the team to remain within the selection radius of a player like Kentucky’s Malik Monk or Florida State’s Jonathon Isaac.
Sir Charles In Charge
If no deal can be made on the spot, the Philadelphia 76ers could opt to select a player deeply coveted by another NBA team, and then get the best deal from that team in the desperation of the moment. That strategy landed Dario Saric and released the teams first round pick owed to the Orlando Magic for point guard Elfrid Payton.
Teams Pay Premiums On Draft Night
Unlike the trade deadline and free agency, the night of the NBA Draft is pressure upon pressure. The Win-Now mentality allowed former 76ers executive Sam Hinkie to feast on desperation throughout the league. His patient “I can wait and live with it” attitude was virtually a panic anti-body that kept him immunized throughout the evenings proceedings. That is the quintessential meaning of “Trust The Process”.
This is more than just a draft laden with talent. It’s the oasis of the NBA. Each team comes to the draft thirsting for new talent. Press to the top, and other teams push you out before you get your fill. Pause, let the mad scramble happen, and then stroll on in and drink to your heart’s content.
Trust The Process Patience
This is the ideal year for the Philadelphia to cling to that unworldly patience one more time. That 2018 NBA Draft is loaded, and I mean, LOADED with talent. That is the draft of Michael Porter Jr., and of overseas superstar Luka Doncic.
Next: The Sixers Should Make an Offer for D’Angelo Russell
The Philadelphia 76ers have to be prepared for virtually anything. Much like 2016, the team must await what falls to them in the 2017 NBA Draft. And much like 2016, the team will be very happy with the results.