The Philadelphia 76ers have a lot of options to look for in the 2020 NBA Draft. They were able to land a first-round pick due to the success of the Oklahoma City Thunder and with the 21st pick, there are certain characteristics to look at.
For the Sixers, those characteristics are things such as shooting and offensive playmaking to enhance an offense around stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. One guy who fills that role is TCU guard Desmond Bane who finished up his senior season with the Horned Frogs averaging 16.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists while shooting 44.2% from deep.
Those are aspects that the Sixers would have interest in and according to Bane, they have already reached out and they have expressed their interest in him.
“There has been a lot of interest with Philly,” Bane explained Wednesday through a Zoom call. “We feel good about where we’re at with Philly.”
Bane then went on to explain his call with Philadelphia and he mentioned that general manager Elton Brand was not on the call with him. Instead, it was Vice President of scouting Vince Rozman.
“Elton actually wasn’t on the call,” he said. “I think doing most of the talking was a guy named Vince. They feel like shooting is a necessity for them. They need a lot of shooting. Obviously, the attention that Ben Simmons and Embiid demand is huge so guys like me are very valuable who can play off the ball and make shots.”
Two things that stand out with what Bane said. One thing that one has to wonder is why would the general manager not be on the call? In fairness, Rozman does report to Brand when it comes to anything draft related, but it does seem strange that he was not on the call.
Another thing is the shooting aspect. Everybody knows the Sixers were missing JJ Redick in the worst way on offense this season due to the lack of spacing. Josh Richardson is a good player, but he is not the shooter that Redick is at all. It is something that Bane can give to the team as they lost what they needed.
“Have similar success to how JJ Redick did and Landry Shamet did in previous years coming off screens away from the ball,” Bane added. “I feel like I can provide some of those things.”
Guys like Redick and Shamet are good people to try and emulate. Redick has built his reputation as one of the better shooters in NBA history and Shamet is shooting 40.2% from deep so far in the first two seasons of his career. Those two guys were important to Philadelphia’s success in the past and if Bane can produce as they did, he would be a nice pickup for the Sixers if they go that route. [lawrence-related id=38008,38009,38003]