In this series we'll ask questions about the Sixers to our resident basketball analysts and see what they have to say.
Running the Give and Go this week are CSNPhilly.com columnist John Gonzalez and CSNPhilly.com producer/reporter John Finger.
What should the Sixers do if they get the No. 1 overall pick (draft best player available, draft for need or trade the pick)?
Gonzalez
This was recently a topic of conversation at the NBA combine. There are some people who don’t want the Sixers to get the first or second pick because they’d prefer Sam Hinkie to take a backcourt or wing player. I’m in the camp of taking the best available player. The Sixers are a long way from being contenders or being a team that can simply address positional need. If they land the first pick and they have Karl-Anthony Towns at the top of their board (as I do), they should take him regardless of position. Even with Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Hypothetical Frontcourt Player C, there are still 96 minutes per game to chop up between power forward and center. You could toss each of them around 30 minutes per game (see the Chicago Bulls for an example of how that would work) and be just fine.
Finger
The conventional wisdom is to take the best player available, but the conventional wisdom doesn't really apply to what Sam Hinkie is trying to do.
The Sixers really need a point guard. It's undoubtedly the biggest need after Hinkie drafted Michael Carter-Williams with a lottery pick, saw him win Rookie of the Year and then traded him for another lottery pick.
With Carter-Williams gone the Sixers turned to Isaiah Canaan, JaKarr Sampson and Ish Smith to run the point. They are all nice, hardworking players, but not quite the answer in a point-guard dominated league.
NBA
Still, it would be tough to pass on Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor with one of the top two picks. Not to mention, it would be a blast to see one of those players fit into the frontcourt with Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid. Who (hypothetically) gets into the paint against those guys?
Or, who passes the ball to one of those guys? Who guards the perimeter when the opposition loads the lineup with guards and shooters to offset the paint presence?
So what do they do if they get the No. 1 overall pick? Trade down. Get those assets and make the smart, conventional pick in D'Angelo Russell from Ohio State or Justise Winslow from Duke. Let Brett Brown mold one of them into a point guard the way he worked with Tony Parker in San Antonio. It really is the proverbial no-brainer.
But c'mon, when is the smart and safe pick ever fun? Live a little. Get those assets.