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With the NBA draft now less than a week away, it is time for everybody to come up with their final preparations for the day. The Philadelphia 76ers have five picks in this draft including one in the first round so they have a lot of work to do to be ready.
The team’s needs are pretty obvious. They need a guy who can stretch the floor, but they also need somebody who is going to come in, play hard, and fit the roster next to Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
One option that fits pretty well is Maryland’s Jalen Smith. Standing at 6-foot-10, Smith is a bounce athlete who averaged 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks as a sophomore for the Terrapins. He can also stretch out and shoot it from deep as he shot 36.8% in the 2019-20 season.
With the Sixers picking at 21, they could go with Smith and have him fill a stretch big man option at power forward. He can also learn a lot from Embiid as he did with former teammate Bruno Fernando during his time in college.
“I talked to them earlier when the draft process first started,” said Smith on Thursday via a Zoom call. “I feel that I’ll be able to complement them well and learning from another big. Like at Maryland, I was able to learn from Bruno a lot. Just being able to be behind a physical big and watch him play will be helpful.”
Jalen Smith said he talked to the Sixers early in the draft process and he feels like he can fit well next to Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid #Sixers
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) November 12, 2020
The Sixers are going to be an unpredictable team heading into this draft process as they get set to decide how they want to improve the team moving forward. New president Daryl Morey is an unpredictable person so there is a high chance that Philadelphia might move the 21st pick for a player who can win right now. [lawrence-related id=39048,39044,39028]