The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers: Way too early predictions for the 2020-21 season

By James Kattato

Josh Richardson, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Al Horford | Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Josh Richardson, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Al Horford | Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Philly gets some of Miami’s luck

Off the bat, you could argue that the 76ers have had just as good, if not better luck in the NBA Draft than the Miami Heat, but in terms of instant impact, it’s not even comparable. Once they finally played, Embiid and Simmons proved their worth immediately, but it took them time to get to that point. Simmons missed his first season while Embiid missed his first two.

What Philadelphia needs are young guys to come in through the draft, and immediately fill a hole that they’ve been missing like Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and Kendrick Nunn did this year for the Heat.

Insert Josh Green from Arizona and Elijah Hughes from Syracuse, and you’ve got two guys that instantly check both those boxes.

Standing tall at 6-foot-6, both Green and Hughes personify the 3-and-D style that doesn’t come in abundance in today’s league. Green was a 36 percent shooter from 3 during his lone season as a Wildcat. He averaged 1.5 steals per game and posted a Defensive Box Plus/Minus of 4.1, one of the highest ratings in the nation for his position. His contributions on the defensive end led to efficient scoring offensively dumping in 12 points per game. Green is a great first-round choice, but Hughes could be considered a steal of the draft later on.

Coming from Syracuse, Hughes turned into the main piece of the puzzle for Jim Boeheim this past season. He averaged 19 points on 34 percent from deep while contributing 26 high-flying blocks on the year. His athleticism, scoring, and durability are all huge as well, as he was one of the minutes leaders throughout the power-five conferences (first in the ACC), as well as the points leader in the ACC. He was a finalist for the Julius Irving award for best small forward in college basketball and was selected to the All-ACC first team.

If I had to pick one, I would personally go with Hughes. He’s played in a historically tougher conference, put up more impressive offensive numbers, and has shown to be able to stay on the court, which is something that Philadelphia needs. The good thing about all of this is that the 76ers may not have to choose between the two. They hold the 21st, 34th, 36th, 49th, and 58th picks in the draft. The chances of them landing one of these versatile players in the late first or early second rounds are very good, and they would help out off the bench immensely.

If they land one or both of these talents in this year’s NBA draft, it wouldn’t surprise me if they made an instant impact, the same that the youngsters over in Miami did this season.