Tag: pick

2024 NBA Draft: In the second round, Sixers select UCLA big man Adem Bona at pick 41 nba,draft,in,the,second,round,sixers,select,ucla,big,man,adem,bona,at,pick,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-draft,76ers-draft-rumors-news

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In the first day two of NBA Draft history Thursday, the Sixers took UCLA big man Adem Bona with the 41st overall pick.

He averaged 12.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game for the Bruins last season. He was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year for the 2023-24 season.

In Bona, the Sixers acquire arguably the best athlete in the draft. He had the highest standing vertical of any player at the NBA Draft Combine. He also has legitimate NBA size at 6-foot-8 (without shoes) and a freakish 7-4 wingspan. He’s a strong rim protector, but also possesses the ability to switch on the perimeter.

Bona is a native of Nigeria, but moved to Turkey at the age of 13 to pursue basketball. He moved to the U.S. to play high school basketball at Prolific Prep in California. He was a five-star recruit and committed to UCLA, where he spent two seasons.

He’s raw, but Bona is one of the most physically gifted players in the draft class. As Daryl Morey has made clear, he’s going to take the best player available, regardless of fit or age.

A side note: this is the pick the Sixers acquired in the deal that sent Jaden Springer to the Boston Celtics at the trade deadline.

On Wednesday night, the Sixers selected Duke’s Jared McCain 16th overall. While there are still plenty of moving parts ahead of the start free agency Sunday, we might have some roster clarity. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey will be here. For now, so are McCain and Bona.

2024 NBA Draft: Will the Sixers make a pick? Check out our full list of prospect profiles nba,draft,will,the,sixers,make,a,pick,check,out,our,full,list,of,prospect,profiles,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-draft,76ers-draft-rumors-news

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The Sixers’ vibes are a little different this season ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft.

At this time last year, we didn’t know what would happen with James Harden. The Sixers also had zero draft picks. Well, Harden is a Clipper (for now) and thanks to the trade that sent The Beard to L.A., the Sixers now have a decent chunk of draft capital.

Going into Wednesday night, the Sixers own a first-round pick (No. 16) and a second-round pick (No. 41). They also have one player on a guaranteed contract (Joel Embiid) and another that is about to receive a max contract (Tyrese Maxey). That means Morey could potentially have 13 roster spots to fill before the start of the 2024-25 season.

But what will the Sixers do? Take a player at 16? Trade back to acquire more future picks and provide more cap flexibility? Trade it in a package for a player? This is likely the type of optionality Morey envisioned when he enacted his cap space plan. Wednesday night’s draft will reveal the first phase of that plan.

Below are all the draft profiles we published at Liberty Ballers over the last month.

Report: Sixers work out former first-round pick Sam Dekker report,sixers,work,out,former,first,round,pick,sam,dekker,liberty,ballers,front-page,76ers-free-agency-rumors-news

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Well, the day after some team won the NBA Finals, there is a bit of Sixers slop … though maybe not the slop fans were hoping for.

The team reportedly worked out 2015 first-round pick Sam Dekker, per John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Dekker starred for a Wisconsin team that lost the 2015 national title game to Jahlil Okafor and Duke. Since being drafted by Daryl Morey — then with the Houston Rockets — Dekker has been unable to find solid footing in the NBA. He’s spent a good chunk of his pro career overseas, playing in Russia, Turkey and most recently in England. He was actually named the British Basketball League’s MVP for the 2022-23 season.

A 6-foot-9 forward, Dekker had NBA stints with the Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards. He also had a cup of coffee in Toronto to start the 2021-22 season. The Raptors’ head coach at the time: Nick Nurse. Nurse also has plenty of experience coaching in the BBL, where Dekker most recently played.

Beyond connections with the current Sixers team, it is an outside-the-box idea to work out a player that showed so much promise but frankly hasn’t been good enough to stick in the league. Dekker, now 30, is athletic, long and skilled, but his shot has been inconsistent as a pro. He hit 35.5% of his threes for the London Lions this season, but didn’t shoot it as well the previous couple years.

For now, this is just a workout, but it’s easy to see why this is an avenue Morey is exploring. While the Sixers could have upwards of $65 million in cap space and multiple draft picks to move, if they’re able to land a big fish — hello, Paul George — Morey will have to get creative to fill out the rest of the roster. Signing someone like Dekker to a minimum contract would certainly be creative. Only time will tell if it’d be effective.