Draft Preview: Possibilities for the Sixers in the second round

By Jack Fritz, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Sixers are slated to have four second round picks in tonight's NBA Draft.

However, it is highly unlikely that they use all of these picks on players that they are expecting to be on the roster next season. There's also rumors that the team is trying to package a couple of their second round picks to move up into the latter part of the first round.

Point is, they likely won't be making all those picks in the second round but who cares, let's breakdown the best options for the Sixers in tonight's draft.

The Best "Next Draymond Green" Potential

Everyone and their mother is trying to find the next Draymond Green in the second round. Of course, Green's don't just grow on trees and he was more of a second round anomaly rather than a common occurrence, but with a league going small there are some intriguing names that could fill a similar role on the future Sixers.

  • Jordan Bell – Full disclosure, I love Jordan Bell. Many of you became familiar with him during the NCAA Tournament when he posted an eight block performance against the Kansas Jayhawks. Bell is one of the best defensive players in this draft, winning PAC-12 defensive player of the year coming off the bench. He has the ability to protect the rim and switch onto two guards and centers. He's going to be a small-ball five and energy big at his peak, but you need that on a championship caliber team and Bell is a player every championship team needs. Why is that? Well he's competitive as all hell and plays with a tenacity, much like Green, that elevates his teammates. Where he differentiates from Green is on the offensive side of the ball. Bell will never be the offensive player that Green is but he's shown some creative vision and ultimately, he'll have a low usage rate. I think the Sixers might be trying to trade up for him at this point, his stock has gone up.

  •  Cameron Oliver – Oliver has a better offensive game than Bell but doesn't bring the defensive upside of a guy like Bell. Still he's a powerful 6'8 with good rim running ability and a solid three point stroke. He's also shown the ability to defend the rim and switch when committed. I would think Brown could get him consistently committed on the defensive side of the ball. My one problem with Oliver is that he can be a bit of a chucker and doesn't have great court vision, but it's the second round and he looks like an NBA player so go right ahead Sixers.


 

Three and D guard options:

The Sixers have to hit on some cheap three and d, low usage offensive players in this draft to go around Simmons and Fultz. TLC looks like a good option and Robert Covington is obviously the best, but they could use a couple more like…

  • Josh Hart: Oh, good evening all of Philadelphia. Yes, Josh Hart is really good and I personally believe he's a better pro prospect than Buddy Hield. Hart isn't your typical senior that rose up draft boards because he was a man amongst boys. Hart has legit NBA skills and the Sixers would be lucky to have him. Hart makes winning basketball plays, can defend multiple positions, and compete against bigger guards, and finally his shot is pretty clean. I feel as if Hart will mold to whatever you ask him to do and I like that kind of guy. 

  • Sterling Brown: The 6'6" guard from SMU is a really good option for the Sixers. He was in the 91st percentile of catch and shoot three's last season at SMU and overall he hit them at a 44 percent clip. Also with his size he showed good defensive potential and is already used to the three and D mindset, since that's all he was asked to do while being a Mustang.

  • Tyler Dorsey: Dorsey is more on the three end of "three and D" but he has the athletic ability to be a good defender and maybe having a lower usage rate on offensive would help his defensive commitment. He also might just be a good college player that doesn't make it as a pro but the Sixers had him in for a workout and that shot is legit.

  • Frank Jackson: Jackson is pretty intriguing in this draft and he's worth a second round flyer. He was buried last season at Duke by bigger stars: Jayson Tatum, Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen. Even though this was the case he still decided to come out and at 19 and raw he has something. Jackson shot 40 percent from three last season in a low usage role and is comfortable playing off-ball, which fits here. He doesn't have the best size, at only 6'3", but he's strong and powerful and will compete on the defensive side of the ball. His stroke and playing off-ball capabilities are what have me most intrigued by him. His stroke is clean and he can get it off quickly. I'd take a flyer on him if the Sixers keep a late second round pick.

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