The 2022 NBA draft is set for June 23 at the Barclays Center and the Philadelphia 76ers will hold the No. 23 pick in the draft after the Brooklyn Nets decided to defer the pick they acquired in the James Harden deal to 2023.
The Sixers could, of course, trade that pick in a deal that could maybe get Tobias Harris off the books before free agency begins at the end of June, but at the moment, they hold that pick and now it’s time to look at some mock draft options.
Philadelphia could use a guy who can knock down an open triple while also being an all-around player in terms of defending and attacking the glass. Somebody like LSU’s Tari Eason is somebody who makes a lot of sense at No. 23.
In a mock draft performed by Sports Illustrated, they have the Sixers selecting Eason with their pick:
The Nets chose to defer their rights to this pick and send it to the 76ers, instead obtaining Philadelphia’s unprotected first-rounder in 2023, which immediately becomes a pretty interesting trade chip for Brooklyn. Considering Daryl Morey’s historical distaste for using draft picks, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Philly try and flip this one. That said, Eason would be a pretty interesting option here, considering his analytics-friendly production and his potential fit as a big, rangy defender. Eason is a bit of a work in progress despite already being 21, and he’s an acquired taste amongst teams, but this could be a sensible landing spot. Eason’s basketball IQ is a bit suspect, and he’s foul-prone and an average shooter, but if he can iron those things out he should be able to help a team.
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Eason shot 35.9% from deep on 2.4 attempts as a sophomore at LSU while averaging 16.9 points and 6.6 rebounds. Standing at 6-foot-8, Eason does tick off a lot of boxes for the Sixers and that is something that Morey and the rest of the front office will have to look into as they all move forward with building this team.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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