Last season, as much of a disaster as it was for the Philadelphia 76ers, has brought forth some light at the end of a very dreary tunnel. The third pick in this upcoming draft and the chance to bring in a player that could make an immediate difference for the team.
Philadelphia has an opportunity to improve the team with a high-end selection in this draft and, by making the right deal, further secure its future.
Since the 2022-23 season, the Sixers have progressively gotten worse as a three-point shooting team, going from the fifth best to the 16th to the 27th. What changed? James Harden stopped running the offense.
When Harden was the team’s point guard, Tyrese Maxey, who was just starting to come into his own, was free to roam and annihilate people from deep. Maxey shot 43.4% on his three-point attempts that season, good enough for fifth in the league.
Since Harden has left, the team has fallen away, trying to utilize Maxey as the primary ball handler and, when healthy, running the offense through Joel Embiid. In order to get Maxey and, to a slightly lesser extent, Jared McCain, on track for the over 40% club that we know they’re capable of, the Sixers need a good point guard who can be trusted with the ball and make passes when they get open.
While there is value in the third pick with players like Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, and Tre Johnson, the Sixers could also find value in trading the pick working their way down to somewhere between the No. 8 and No. 11 pick in the draft. This would allow them to pick up some future picks while still drafting a difference-maker.
A deal with the Nets wouldn’t be out of the question, as they have the No. 8 pick along with four later, first-round picks. Swapping No. 3 and 35 for something like No. 8, 19, and 27 would allow the Nets to move up for a player like Ace Bailey, who has made it clear that he’d love to play for Brooklyn. It would also get the Sixers two more picks in the first round.
Select Egor Demin
Between Maxey, McCain and the hopeful re-signing of Quentin Grimes, the Sixers have three guards who can shoot well from distance and are capable of playing on-ball, but are much better suited off the ball. In comes Demin, who’s clearly not a great or even pretty good shooter as he shot just 27% on his three-point attempts while at BYU. What Demin brings to the table is ball-handling, passing, and vision. Demin is very good with the ball in his hands, and that’s exactly what the Sixers need.
With his height, vision, and ability, Demin can run the offense like no one else in Philadelphia. Defensively, his size allows him to avoid guarding opposing point guards or shooting guards, and as the NBA goes to a more “positionless” style of play, he’d easily be able to defend wing players who still may not be his size.
Having someone with elite vision and the talent to make the plays he sees would benefit everyone on the team. The smaller guards would be free to create off the ball and get better looks on their three-point shots. While he’s not a “heavy” player, Demin doesn’t get knocked off the ball easily. He uses the ball screen very well and keeps defenders away from him as he maneuvers.
Although he’s not on the level of VJ Edgecombe as an athlete, Demin is athletic enough to defend well, interrupt passing lanes, and move through the paint on drives. He can get out in transition and make the right plays for a team that’s looking to get younger and more athletic.
While most people say that you take the best players available at the Sixers current position in the draft, the goal of the draft is to improve your team. If you have three shorter, very talented guards but no one to get them the ball, correctly, then the goal should be to get someone on the floor who checks multiple boxes.
Height, positional flexibility, very good handles and excellent passing is a combination that the Sixers don’t have and could use a lot more of. Instead of looking for multiple players to fill the roles, find one player, add some more to your draft stock and truly improve the team.
If they were able to make a move with the Nets, who do love Bailey, then the 19th pick or even one of their later first-round picks would allow the team to make a move for players like Danny Wolf or Adou Thiero. Philadelphia would improve its overall quality and move towards success with or without Joel Embiid on the floor. With less than 24 hours until draft night, we’ll have to wait and see.
