The Philadelphia 76ers own the 28th and 50th picks in the 2021 NBA Draft. While the odds of getting the next All-Star are slim, it’s still possible for the Sixers to grab an immediate contributor — especially in the first round. This is a relatively deep class, with plenty of talent at positions of need.
Most mock drafts have the Sixers selecting another point guard. With Ben Simmons’ future in doubt, and the lack of playmaking juice still a problem in the second (and even first) unit, it’s not an illogical projection. Even so, there are other paths Philadelphia can follow, and players Daryl Morey can aim to replace in one way or another.
Here are three rotation pieces Philadelphia can hope to replace via the NBA Draft.
3 players the Sixers can replace in 2021 NBA Draft: Mike Scott
But, Mike Scott wasn’t a rotation piece! If only that were true. Last season, Scott appeared in a healthy 51 games for Philadelphia, in which he averaged 16.7 minutes a night. He was a veteran Doc Rivers trusted, almost always to a fault.
Production was hard to come by for Scott, who hit a mediocre 34.2 percent of his 3s and never did much else. He struggled on defense, where his trademark toughness fell flat, and he was too limited offensively to contribute when his shots weren’t falling.
That said, the idea of Scott — a physical 6-foot-8 forward who takes a bunch of 3s — is easy to fall in love with, and that kind of player would benefit the Sixers if actualized. Perhaps in the NBA Draft, where names like Trey Murphy, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and JT Thor enter the conversation at 28.
3 players the Sixers can replace in 2021 NBA Draft: Furkan Korkmaz
I’m not sure anyone has a firm grasp on Furkan Korkmaz‘s market in free agency. He could get paid a decent sum, or he could be back in Philly on the veteran’s minimum, and neither outcome would shock me. Given his youth and shooting stroke, however, my gut expects him to chase a bigger contract to greener pastures. The Sixers should probably allocate the mid-level exception elsewhere, and there’s no cap space to re-sign the 23-year-old.
Korkmaz did, however, show improvement last season, shooting 37.5 percent on a heathy dose of 3s while improving his ability to attack closeouts. He also grew as a defender. Not quite to the point of being a good defender, but a good enough defender to survive in the postseason.
In fact, it was Korkmaz who often drew the start in place of injured Sixers, most notably in the second round once Danny Green went down. He was a big part of Doc Rivers’ reserves, and is certainly a player the Sixers will actively need to replace should he leave.
While it’s reasonable to point to Isaiah Joe as the heir apparent to Korkmaz’s volume-shooting crown, it may behoove the Sixers to seek another option. Joe is still skinny and largely unproven. Another rookie is no guarantee to be better, but it’s nice to have options.
Plenty of high-level shooters are projected to be available in range of the 28th pick. Guards like Quentin Grimes, Nah’Shon Hyland, and Chris Duarte can all fill it up. If the Sixers would prefer a more traditional wing set-up, than the aforementioned Trey Murphy makes sense, or an underrated sharpshooter like Joe Wieskamp.
3 players the Sixers can replace in 2021 NBA Draft: Dwight Howard
The Sixers could use a good backup center, and to be entirely frank, Dwight Howard is not a good backup center. He is passable in the regular season, and his sheer dominance on the glass buys him some leeway, but he was unplayable in the postseason, and Doc Rivers’ insistence on playing him was a detriment.
It would be totally fine to re-sign Howard as a situational third-string center who can provide some fouls and toughness, but I do not trust Doc Rivers to deploy Howard situationally. It may be better to let him walk, and to seek out new options entirely. Perhaps, you guessed it, in the NBA Draft.
While it would probably be better to target a wing or guard with the 28th pick, there are big men worth considering. North Carolina’s Day’Ron Sharpe has all the hallmarks of an effective backup center, and is commonly mocked in the late first round.
That said, a lot of center talent outside the lottery tends to fall in the second round conversation. Charles Bassey of Western Kentucky, for example, is a former five-star recruit who could feasibly fall to 50. Other names to watch are Filip Petrusev, Luka Garza, Jericho Sims, and Neemias Queta.