After a lot of trade chatter, the Sixers ended up keeping the 28th pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, selecting Tennessee freshman Jaden Springer. Then, armed with the 50th and 53rd overall picks, two centers — former Gonzaga star Filip Petrusev and Western Kentucky standout Charles Bassey — were added to the mix.
This was, by most estimations, a successful night for the Sixers, who reinforced the backcourt and invested in potential answers to the age-old question of “can Philadelphia put a half-decent backup behind Joel Embiid?”
Now, it is time to put on my professor’s hat and grade the Sixers’ performance. Did Daryl Morey pass or fail the offseason’s biggest test?
Sixers draft grades 2021 — Jaden Springer, 28th pick
The Sixers committed blatant highway robbery for the second NBA Draft in a row. Last season, it was Tyrese Maxey, who had no business being available with the 21st pick. This season, it’s Jaden Springer… who had no business being available with the 28th pick.
At 18 years old, Springer is already an established college contributor with NBA-ready skill and I.Q. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, and he could earn minutes on his defensive merits alone. Springer’s 3-point shot is the big concern — he will need to improve his catch-and-shoot volume — but the upside as a secondary playmaker and ball-mover is hard to ignore.
Springer plays the game with a rare poise for his age. He was the No. 15 prospect on my big board, and should have earned looks as high as the lottery. The Spurs, who reached on Joshua Primo at 12, would have been much better off taking Springer. Alas, he inexplicably fell to Philly at 28.
Philadelphia can only fit so many young players on the roster, much less in the rotation. Maxey earned his stripes last season, and Doc Rivers is traditionally wary of playing rookies. There is a good chance Springer does not crack the regular 10-man group in 2021, but at 18 years old, his immediate skill set and potential for improvement are hard to knock.
This was the best possible outcome under the circumstances. Daryl Morey should get keys to the city at this rate. He needs only to deliver a championship roster around Joel Embiid. The draft only matters so much when you’re trying so hard to win, but it can make a big difference if you add productive, cost-controlled contributors every year. Springer is a real player.
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.
Sixers draft grades 2021 — Charles Bassey, 53rd pick
Charles Bassey was once considered a potential No. 1 pick. He earned five stars coming out of high school and made the somewhat unconventional decision to play at Western Kentucky, where he would end up spending three years of his life. Bassey never delivered on the top-5 hype, but he remains an intriguing prospect with real NBA equity.
Against the lowly competition of Conference USA, Bassey turned in one of the most physically dominant seasons in college basketball. As a junior, the 20-year-old ran roughshod over lower-level bigs, averaging 17.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game. That is rare production, combined with rare pedigree, available in the 50s.
The downside, of course, is that Bassey has a long way to go before contributing in the NBA. He’s a great finisher and shot-blocker, but he cannot defend in space and lacks discipline on both sides of the ball. He will pick up fouls and commit turnovers at a high clip — habits the Sixers must curb if Bassey is to ever serve as Joel Embiid’s backup.
In the end, Bassey’s sheer physical mass — 6-foot-11, 230 pounds, 7-foot-3 wingspan — combined with his hustle, makes him a worthwhile pick late in the second round. He plays a much different style than Petrusev, and gives the Sixers a chance to evaluate different potential solutions behind Embiid. Smart move, in my book.
Sixers draft grades 2021 — Aaron Henry, undrafted/two-way contract
On first glance, this (non)pick probably deserves a solid A. To sign my 49th-ranked prospect in undrafted free agency is a solid achievement, and there’s no doubt Aaron Henry can make it in the NBA. In fact, he’s probably a more interesting prospect than Charles Bassey, who could conceivably join him on a two-way contract.
That said, Henry is almost exclusively a defender at this point, with a sturdy 6-foot-5 frame and great tools on that end of the floor. He can smother ball-handlers at the point of attack, and he’s a tremendously aware off-ball defender, too. Henry can carve out a future on defense, and defense alone.
Offensively, however, Henry leaves a lot to be desired. He’s a sub-30 percent shooter from deep, and his flashes of mid-range competency are cobbled together with poor decision-making and robotic shot mechanics. Henry took on a playmaking role at Michigan State, and he’s a generally capable ball-handler, but his ambitions as a scorer have never quite leveled with his actual capacity for scoring.
It would have been nice for the Sixers to get a more surefire spacer in the draft. Springer was the absolute right pick, and he should become a good shooter in time. That said, he’s not yet a proven spacer, and while Bassey and Henry have their merits, Philadelphia would be wise to invest in a young guard or wing who can shoot.
There is still plenty of time left to sign other undrafted free agents, or simply seek out shooters in free agency/via the trade market, which is likely Daryl Morey’s plan. Again, given the Sixers’ competitive aspirations, there is no hurry to get young talent on the floor. Henry has time to build on his strengths, and will spend most of his rookie season in the G-League.