Philadelphia 76ers: How many 2020 draft picks should they keep?
The Philadelphia 76ers are projected to have five picks in this upcoming draft, but how many do they actually use this year?
The coronavirus outbreak has made what happens to the NBA season still up in the air. However, if the regular-season standings stay as they are, the Philadelphia 76ers will have five picks in the 2020 NBA draft. That’s way too many for a team contending for a title, so the question becomes, how many of them should they end up using?
Based on Tankaton projections, the Sixers will have the 22nd pick, 34th pick, 36th, 49th pick, and 59th pick. If 76ers general manager Elton Brand holds to the strategy that he had in the last draft where he also had five picks entering the draft, then Philly would only come away with two picks this year. Working under that parameter, there’s a way for Brand to convert five picks into two.
Starting with the 22nd pick, I’ve made the argument that the 76ers should use it to take a point guard. That’s probably the best choice if they keep the pick, however, that pick is the most valuable trade piece that the Sixers have in this draft. If Philly decides to move Al Horford, then Brand would have attach that pick to Horford’s bad contract to get some value in return.
Working under the pretext that the 22nd pick is included in a potential Horford trade, then the Sixers won’t have a first round pick. Unless they package the 34th and 36th picks to trade back into the first round. Below is one trade that they could pull off.
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The New York Knicks 27th pick, via the Los Angeles Clippers. They already a high lottery pick, early on in the draft and are in a full rebuild. Why not flip a low first round pick into two high second round picks where quality players are still available. They would get back their own pick (the 36th pick) plus one other and the 76ers still get a first round talent on top of it.
Philly could easily flip the 49th pick for a future second round pick. It wouldn’t be the first time the Sixers have done that and they could get a solid future second rounder from a desperate enough team.
The Sixers have had success for the two drafts with Shake Milton and Marial Shayok, so why not continue trying to find talent late in the second round with the 59th pick. They could sign that player they select with that pick to a two-way contract and see if they are another undiscovered gem.
Next. 3 players who may not return next season. dark
This is just one way the Philadelphia 76ers could condense their draft assets in the upcoming draft. Whether it’s this way or another, one thing is clear, the Sixers can’t use all five picks in this upcoming draft.
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