While there is obvious excitement of the league returning after the Board of Governors voted on and approved of the return to play plan on Thursday, there are some draft concerns for the Philadelphia 76ers.
At the moment, they own a first-round draft pick due to the surprising success of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The pick owed to the Sixers is top 20 protected and right now, the pick would land at 22 which then conveys to Philadelphia.
At the moment, Philadelphia is at 20 in the draft–that pick conveys to the Brooklyn Nets in another trade–and they are just 1.5 games ahead of Oklahoma City for that spot. If the Thunder lose too many games in the final eight games that each of the 22 teams headed to Orlando will play, then they could earn their pick back due to the protections.
According to Moke Hamilton over at Thunder Wire, this is the final schedule for Oklahoma City:
As it relates specifically to the Thunder, that means that its eight opponents, in order, will be:
- Utah Jazz
- Washington Wizards
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Denver Nuggets
- Miami Heat
- Denver Nuggets
- Phoenix Suns
- Los Angeles Clippers
Philadelphia fans should be rooting for Oklahoma City to win as many games as they can in order to keep their pick and keep things moving in a positive direction for them in terms of the draft. That first-round pick could prove as a very valuable piece for the team in the future whether it be a player who can help right away or it can be a trade piece. [lawrence-related id=32607,32598,32585]