12th pick
Originally, Thaddeus Young was selected with the 12th pick. Young was a combo forward for the Sixers and was a legit sixth man off the bench. During his Sixers tenure, he averaged 13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals, while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor. He was eventually traded during the earlier stages of “The Process” back in 2014 and is currently on the Chicago Bulls.
“…Gasol would have easily…given the Sixers a legit player to build around in the post-Iverson era.”
Sadly, as solid as Young was for the Sixers, in this re-draft, Philly has to take Marc Gasol with the 12th pick. Gasol was originally picked with the 48th pick, via the Los Angeles Lakers but his pick was included in the trade that sent his brother Paul Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Lakers.
Gasol went on being one of the best second round picks in NBA history. Outside of Kevin Durant and maybe Al Horford, Gasol is easily one of the best players in this draft. For his career, Gasol’s averaged 14.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.4 blocks, while making 48.2 percent his field goals and 35.6 percent of his 3-pointers.
He’s made three All-Star games, two All-NBA teams, All-Rookie team, an All-Defensive team, won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptures last season, and has a Defensive Player of the Year award. He’s still currently on the Raptors.
The Sixers only had Samuel Dalembert as a veteran center on the roster entering that draft so Gasol would have easily overtaken the big man in time and given the Sixers a legit player to build around in the post-Iverson era.