Philadelphia 76ers: Derrick White’s Rising Stock Catches 76ers Attention

The Philadelphia 76ers announced a draft workout for Monday. Six prospects were invited, but the most promising player of this group is Derrick White.

Derrick White Rising up Draft Boards

The Sixer Sense previously visited Derrick White a month ago prior to the combine in this write up. Not long before that article, DraftExpress mocked Derrick White at fifty on April 29th. Then he jumped to thirty-nine on May 4th. Now, White moved up to thirty-three as of June 3rd. So in that short span of time, Derrick White went from a potential value pick in the mid to late second round to a borderline first round pick. This discussion will take a look at why White has risen up draft boards.

For the Philadelphia 76ers to snag White, they may need to package 2nd round picks to move up. I also examine if would it be worth it for Philly to do this. As I bonus, I provide a trade partner who they could bargain with to get the former Colorado Buffalo.

PAC-12 Highlights

Here is a highlight reel from Derrick White’s PAC-12 Season.

NBA Combine Standout

I was able to watch replays of the combine five-on-five scrimmages on ESPN3. On the first day, White definitely stood out. He mostly played off the ball and scored 16 points on 6-12 shooting in the May 11th scrimmage. White made some impressive plays including a thundering put back dunk. Besides the scoring, he made the right plays and passes more often than not. Additionally, watching him run off ball, White did a good job of creating space instead of negating it. Some players at this stage do not run to the right places on the floor to help stretch out a defense.

For anyone attempting to pick up on this while watching the film, I recommend just watching focusing on that particular play instead of who is on the ball. My favorite SIxers player to observe like this last year was Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. He quickly got down the floor and got to the corner three spot or flashed through the lane to try to shake his defender if T.J. McConnell had the ball at the top of the key. White is a fifth year senior, I would look for him to pick up on Brett Brown’s movement driven offensive sets quickly if the 76ers were to select White.

Drawing High Praise

The Friday, June 12th feed for the scrimmage provided a recap of Derrick White’s exploits in the June 11th broadcast. The ESPN crew of Tom Penn, Jay Williams, Jeff Goodman and Rece Davis added the commentary. For what its worth, Penn and Williams had only positive observations. They mentioned that they did “like the combination of skill and ability to make shots” from White. Further, Penn had this to say, “lots of nervous basketball yesterday […] White did not force the action. He let the game come to him.” They believed that “he looks like an NBA 2-guard, an NBA Wing Player”.

I would personally keep White as a point guard to start out his career or at least as a secondary ball handler next to Ben Simmons or Dario Saric until White shows he can handle bigger two guards on defense even though as Jay Williams observed White was top 10 in Pac-12 in blocks from the guard spot.

Clearly this is a small sample size, and any observations made from these two days of semi-organized basketball must be taken less seriously than the overall body of work from the college or international career. But to draw this type of praise from the ESPN guys means that NBA GMs would certainly pick up on White’s performance.

Further, one of White’s concerns coming in is that he played a majority of his college career at University of Colorado – Colorado Springs (UCCS). Many talent evaluators may be trying to decide if White’s game can translate to the next level eventually. He definitely passed the eye test at the combine to back up the stellar season he had at CU this past year. What NBA GMs will decide to do with all of these data points on Derrick White will be an interesting development.

Other Notable Combine Notes from NBA Stats:

Impressive combination of speed and agility
- 2nd in three-quarter court sprint
- 7th in Shuttle run – 2.92 seconds
- 9th in Lane agility time
- Respectable Max Vert – 36.5 better than Justin Jackson (UNC) and Josh Hart
- Measured good size, and length for a point guard with low percentage of body fat
  - 6 foot 4 inch height
  - 8 foot 5.5 inch standing reach
  - 6 foot 7.5 inch wingspan
  - 6.20 percent Body Fat
  If you add all of these components up from the body of work at Colorado, the 5-on-5 scrimmage performance and the measurables, then you have enough reasons to push White up the draft board.
  To Trade Up or Not to Trade Up
  Throughout all of the data points I have observed from Derrick White, I think he would be a more than reasonable choice at 36 or 39 for the Sixers. However, as previously noted, White may be gone by the 76ers pick in round two.
  One outlet for the 76ers to obtain a late first round pick, if they don’t feel like White falls to 36, could come from the Pacific Northwest. Portland has three first round picks. They have been unsurprisingly rumored, as per Sporting News, to be willing to attach a first round pick to go with one of their onerous signings from last year’s offseason in a trade. I think a reasonable trade for the Sixers is there for the taking. I would do a deal for any bad contract — especially Moe Harkless but especially not Evan Turner — and pick 26 for second round picks or a second round pick and Jahlil Okafor.
  Related Story: Late First Round 76ers Trades
  As far as fit on the team, White could fit right in the point guard/shooting guard rotation the Sixers already have. This especially true if his defensive development proves he can stay afloat on defense against two guards. It is a good sign, in my opinion, that the front office has decided to take a longer look at the former Colorado Buffalo. I encourage everyone to follow the Sixers Monday workout to get a glimpse of Derrick White.