Sixers: Grades for all 3 picks in 2021 NBA Draft

Sixers draft grades 2021 — Filip Petrusev, 50th pick

The absolute ideal second-round outcome would have been packaging the 50th and 53rd picks to move up and select Sharife Cooper, my 13th-ranked prospect, with the 48th pick. It’s absurd that Cooper dropped so far, and fit be damned, he would have made a great choice 20 picks sooner, not to mention in the back quarter of the draft. If not for Springer’s superior fit, Cooper was arguably the best prospect available at 28.

Alas, there’s no guarantee Atlanta would have been willing to move down, and Trae Young has a shiny new backup to flaunt in the faces of 29 very dumb front offices. In the end, it was Filip Petrusev who Philadelphia selected at 50, a Serbian 7-footer who spent last year in the Adriatic League after two seasons at Gonzaga.

Petrusev made the most of his move overseas, winning league MVP and making 41.9 percent of his 3s for KK Mega Basket, a perennial NBA talent pipeline. He showed elements of his game that were buried at Gonzaga, and emerged as a legitimate floor-spacing center.

There are valid questions about Petrusev’s ability to defend in the NBA, as he lacks lateral quickness and can get overpowered inside due to a thin frame. Even so, the Sixers have ached for a stretch five ever since Ben Simmons joined the team. Too little, too late perhaps, but the benefits of a 3-point shooting big never go out of style.

Petrusev is expected to spend at least next season continuing his development overseas. Given the roster crunch and the importance of saturating next year’s team with vets, it’s nice to get a worthwhile project who doesn’t take up a roster spot just yet.