The 2018 NBA Draft was a bit of a disappointment for fans of the Philadelphia 76ers. The team had just come off the first playoff appearance of the Process era and they were hoping to add another contributor to their young core.
The team held the 10th pick in the draft and they selected Villanova product Mikal Bridges who was a local kid and his mother worked for the Sixers. IT was the perfect feel-good story for all of the right reasons. Then, it wasn’t.
Philadelphia ended up sending Bridges to the Phoenix Suns for the 16th pick which turned out to be Zhaire Smith so all of the good feelings went out the window. Since then, Smith has been hit with a ton of adversity such as injuries and a drastic position change from power forward in college to shooting guard in the NBA and it has been tough sledding for him.
In a re-draft done by Bleacher Report, the Sixers keep Bridges this time around:
No, this isn’t about correcting what should have been the best feel-good story of the draft. It’s an acknowledgment that Mikal Bridges’ three-and-D skills were properly valued the first time around.
The 23-year-old may not flash star potential, but he’s solid in most spots. He hiked up all his shooting rates this season (51.6/35.2/84.8), and defensive real plus-minus views him as the 15th-best stopper at his position. He contributes to winning.
Bridges would be a good fit on this current Sixers team who are in obvious need of shooting, but one cannot change the past. Smith still has the potential to be a good player and he had a strong end to the G League season before the rest of it was canceled due to the current coronavirus pandemic the world is dealing with at the moment. [lawrence-related id=31121,31113,31105]