The Philadelphia 76ers have have four second-round picks this year, which shooters could they target in next week’s draft?
Shooters, shooters, and more shooters.
That’s what every team in the NBA is looking to add this offseason — well, except maybe the Houston Rockets, which shot the most 3-pointers per game by far last season.
The Philadelphia 76ers will definitely be adding shooting at some point this offseason. Aside from Dario Saric and Robert Covington, the team doesn’t have any rotation players returning that shot over 35 percent from three-point range this past season, as J.J. Redick, Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova are all free agents.
The team also knows that it needs to surround its two stars — Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid — with reliable shooters on the perimeter.
This will lead to the Sixers likely adding two or more shooters this offseason.
As I mentioned earlier, the team has four second round picks (Nos. 37, 38, 56, and 60 overall) at its disposal. There are several different ways the team can attack each pick, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone if the team takes a chance on a shooter or two that could potentially earn a spot coming off the bench next season.
Let’s take a look at four possible players the Sixers could target next Thursday.
Grayson Allen, Duke
There’s been talk of Grayson Allen potentially sneaking his way into the first round after he reportedly impressed some members of the Celtics front office during his workout with the team earlier this week.
While he certainly could come off the board to the Celtics at No. 27 overall, several mock draft projections have him being selected anywhere from No. 25-40 overall.
The main reason teams like Allen is because of his shooting ability. He showed many times throughout his Duke career that he has NBA range and that he can still get his shot off even when surrounded by defenders.
Allen was a great shooter coming off ball screens on the wing and in the corner, something the Sixers ran a lot for both Redick and Belinelli this season.
Even though he was on a team with two top-10 selections in Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter Jr., Allen was still able to average over 15 points per game and shot 37 percent from downtown in his senior season.
If he ends up falling into the second round, he will certainly be in play for the Sixers with either one of their back-to-back picks early in the round.
Next, we’ll take a look at one of Allen’s teammates at Duke.
Gary Trent Jr., Duke
Speaking of Duke players that can really shoot the ball, meet Gary Trent Jr.
He jump off the page with his athleticism, but the Duke freshman has a sweet shooting stroke and was a big contributor for Mike Krzyzewski’s team last season.
While he was probably the least talked about player in Coach K’s starting five (all of which will likely get drafted), Trent Jr. still averaged over 14 points a game and shot 40 percent from beyond the arc on over 240 attempts in his lone season in Durham.
The reason he will be a second round pick is because of his lack of his explosiveness and his subpar defense. His defensive abilities will ultimately decide if he will be able to play in the NBA for an extensive period because he’s already shown how good of a shooter he is.
Trent Jr. will certainly be in play for the Sixers with either of their first two second round selections and he could potentially slip to the end of the draft where the Sixers could take a chance and hope he becomes serviceable enough on defense to earn a bench role.
Next, we’ll take a look at a player who helped end both Allen and Trent Jr.’s seasons at Duke.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Kansas
The man nicknamed “Svi” in Lawrence, Kansas consistently improved over his four years under Bill Self and it culminated with him being a key player on this year’s team that made it all the way to the Final Four before falling to the eventual National Champion, Villanova.
The Ukrainian is known for his quick, smooth shot that resulted in him shooting just under 45 percent on over 250 three-point attempts this season.
Mykhailiuk averaged a career high 35 minutes per game and became more than just the sharpshooter he was known as in his first three season. He played a lot of minutes at the four, consistently having to guard bigger players and he managed to hold his own.
He’s got good size at 6-foot-8 and will be able to get his shot off easily against opposing wings thanks to his rapid release.
Most draft experts have Mykaihliuk be selected in the last five picks of the draft, if they have him being picked at all. With the Sixers having picks at 56 and 60, there’s no reason the team shouldn’t give Mykaihliuk a chance to show what he can do at summer league and prove that he is capable of being an NBA player.
Finally, we’ll take a look at another guard who played in the state of Kansas.
Landry Shamet, Wichita State
Although it ended with a first-round upset at the hands of Marshall in the NCAA Tournament, Landry Shamet led Wichita State to a pretty successful season with a roster that didn’t have a lot of talent.
Now, Shamet is headed to the NBA after his second college season and he’s going to get drafted because of his shooting alone.
Shamet shot over 44 percent from three-point range last season and averaged right around 15 points per game for the Shockers.
He’s not a great lead ball guard, even though he was asked to create a lot of his team’s offense last season, and is better suited to play alongside another offensive initiator. He’s just over 6-foot-5, which will allow him to play as a two guard and shoot more off the catch than off the dribble, where he lacks the quickness to get space against NBA guards.
Next: 5 players Sixers should consider trading up for
Shamet is another player that could go anywhere from the back end of the first round to the middle of the second round. He could fit well alongside T.J. McConnell off the bench if he proves himself during summer league.