The Philadelphia 76ers have a much bigger focus at the moment: contending for the Larry O’Brien trophy in the 2023-24 season. However, it doesn’t hurt to look ahead to the offseason and see what the Sixers could add to the roster.
Philadelphia will be armed with substantial cap space. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has done a great job of keeping the Sixers in contention right now while setting them up for the offseason as well.
In a mock draft performed by The Athletic, the Sixers use the No. 22 pick to select Devin Carter out of Providence:
Carter is one of the best players in college basketball this season, point blank. The son of former NBA point guard Anthony Carter, Devin was terrific last year at Providence after transferring from South Carolina, but his leap this season has been different. Carter has always been a terrific defensive player, rightfully nominated as a semifinalist for National Defensive Player of the Year. He is aggressive at the point of attack and has elite off-ball defensive instincts. But where the real jump has come is on offense. Long a questionable shooter, Carter has hit 40.5 percent of his nearly seven 3-point attempts per game. Shooting something of a moon ball that arcs high in the air before falling, he’s hitting shots at volume at a level that is hard to ignore on his way to 19.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. The idea here is a 3-and-D guard who can do a little bit more than that.
On the season, Carter is averaging 19.2 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting 40.5% from deep on 6.5 attempts per game. He has the potential to be a very reliable 3-and-D player, and the Sixers would benefit greatly from having a young player like him on the roster.
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