2. Drafting Jahlil Okafor
This may have been the strangest decision of The Process era in Philadelphia. The Sixers took Nerlens Noel with the sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft. Joel Embiid surprisingly fell to them with the third selection in 2014 because of an injury. They had two young big men to develop, but Philly tripled down with a third center.
Okafor was a dominant college big man. He helped Duke win an NCAA championship and was a consensus All-American. Okafor struggled to protect the rim and did not space the floor. He was a scorer and rebounder, but the 76ers just did not have the playing time for all three big men.
Okafor’s best year was his rookie season. Embiid missed a second straight year as Okafor averaged 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks. He played more than 16 minutes per game just once after that season.
Sixers should have selected Devin Booker
Philadelphia needed to go in another direction, and a four-time All-Star guard was sitting on the board. Booker quickly became a star and could have formed a dominant duo with Embiid.
Imagine those two getting buckets and playing off each other in Philly. It could have helped them quickly get out of the lottery. The success of The Process certainly reaches another level if they take Booker over Okafor.