30th pick
Considering that Petteri Koponen who was selected with the 30th pick never played for the Philadelphia 76ers or in the NBA, it’s safe to say, they could have selected a better player. In actuality, the Sixers traded Koponen’s rights to the Portland Trail Blazers for Derrick Byars and cash. Byars was the 42th pick and never played for the Sixers and only played one season for the San Antonio Spurs in the 2011-12 season.
That’s a lot to take in, but to keep it simple, the 76ers should have drafted power forward Carl Landry with the last pick of the first round. Yes, the same Landry that received MVP cheers when he was on “The Process” Sixers.
After being selected with the 31st pick, Landry went on to play for nine seasons on seven teams. The power forward last NBA season was with Philly but he should have also begun his career with the Sixers. For his career, he averaged 10.8 points and 4.9 rebounds, while shooting 53.5 percent from the floor. In 2009-10 he had his best season scoring when he averaged 16.8 points.
Two other players the Sixers could have drafted at the 30th spot were Glen Davis and Josh McRoberts. Both power forwards where serviceable during their career, but neither never reached the peak that Landry did, although Davis was close.