Because there really isn't much to talk about, I'm deciding to start a draft thread, so hopefully we can get some activity back in this forum. In this draft, we will have 3 first round picks. 2 of the first round picks were aquired in the Allen Iverson trade, the 2 picks once belonged to the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks. We do of course, still own our first round pick this season, which is lottery protected. We will have a 100% chance of retaining our pick this year, because this team is in no state of making a playoff run. With that being said, let's hope that the ping pong balls bounce our way, and we will be able to get the number 1 overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft. Below are some of the players I think we should be looking at with our top pick (all information aquired at NBADraft.net): <div align="center">Greg Oden Birthday:1/22/1988 NBA Postion:Center Class:Freshman Ht:7-0 Wt:255 College Team:Ohio State Hometown:Indianapolis, IN High School:Lawrence North College Statistics NBA Comparison: David Robinson Strenths: Incredibly fluid athlete for a 7 footer... Tremendous speed in the open court ... A center with his agility and talent comes along roughly every 8-10 years ... Extremely quick and explosive ... Enormous potential ... His game has improved significantly from his sophomore to junior seasons ... Starting to understand how to use his body and how dominant he can be ... Big defensive presence, and a terrific shot blocker with great length, timing and instincts ... Excellent rebounder ... Soft touch around the basket ... Has developed a decent turnaround hook with his right hand ... Very good passer with nice court vision (averaged 3.7 assists per game as a junior) ... Quality kid with a great attitude ... Very coachable, listens and wants to improve ... Team player with a winners mentality ... Improving on a daily basis ... Decent free throw shooter at 64% but needs to and should improve upon it (improved considerably from 51% as a sophomore) ... Weaknesses: Soft spoken. Very humble personality, which is a positive and a negative in that some would like to see him develop more of a swagger of confidence, but Duncan and Robinson were/are both silent (humble) assassins ... Needs to add more nastiness on the floor to dominate ... Still raw in terms of post moves, they are developing, but still have a ways to go ... He is so dominant on the high school level he hasn't needed to develop any range or post skills ... Doesn't have the ability to create offense for himself as he can overwhelm anyone he faces with his size and athleticism ... Still scores mostly on ally oops and put backs ... Has nice touch, but needs to develop a consistent mid range shot (ala Robinson) ... Strength wont be an issue for him ultimately, but right now he needs to add muscle to his upper body and legs ... Almost too unselfish ... Outlook: The top candidate for the number 1 pick in the 2007 draft, one year removed from high school ... A year of college should give him a great stepping stone for the NBA. Kevin Durant Birthday:9/30/1988 NBA Postion:Small Forward Class:Freshman Ht:6-10 Wt:220 College Team:Texas Hometown:Suitland, MD High School:Montrose Chrstian College Statistics NBA Comparison: Tracy McGrady Strengths: His upside is out of this world ... This kid is not even begining to scratch the surface of his potential ... Looking at him you see his frame is going to fill out in 3-4 years ... Very fluid athlete with explosiveness ... He plays hard and is still learning the game ... Provided he works hard, Durant is going to be a special player in the league who will be able to do many different things on the court ... Not aggressive enough to be like KG, but skilled enough down the road to contribute like a AK47 or a Grant Hill... Developing inside outside game ... Can shoot the 3 and flush in transition ... It is scary to think of what he could be like if he puts on 15 lbs of muscle and developed a handle, a 2010 version of KG! Weaknesses: His (lack of) stength is his major weakness, and he really needs to put on weight or he wont be able to do much in the NBA except shoot deep 3s or score in transition like Darius Miles of 4 years ago ... Needs to become more aggresive, develop more nastiness ... Still developing a game off the dribble ... Defensively he needs to move his feet better and keep his hands active on the ball ... Oak Hill is giving him the work ethic he will need in the long run</div> _________________________________________________________________ Those are the two top leading college prospects. We can't really go wrong with either of them, so even if we do land the 2nd overall pick, it won't be a huge loss. I know Blur pointed this out before, but I think that Kevin Durant would be the better pick for our team at this point of time. Durant and Oden are both reletively the same age (both freshman), but Durant has been pretty much dominating the college game, while Oden has been struggling. I know most of Oden's problems are because of the hand injury he sustained, but either way, it would be safer for us to pick the "known entity" instead of picking the "unknown entity." Both are probably going to be great players in the future, but as of now, my shoulders are leaning more towards Durant. I personally feel that from the two mentioned above, Oden has the bigger chance of being the "bust." Mainly because of all the hype labeled apon him, and the pressure for him to perform at top level right off the bat. Other players to look at if we don't land the top 2 picks of the draft are Joakim Noah and Brandan Wright. We also have 2 more first round picks which will most likely be in the mid-first round range
I'll update this thread with my own write-up now that I actually have time to work on it(I get off at 3pm tomorrow)
<div class="quote_poster">Blur Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Knowing how lucky the 76ers are, both Durant and Oden will stay in college.</div> And in a little bit of my luck, and it's almost a done deal that they will.
What about if philly gets below the top 2 picks. Who should they take then? im thinking brandon wright, joakim noah, or tyler handsbrough.
<div class="quote_poster">Answer_AI03 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">What about if philly gets below the top 2 picks. Who should they take then? im thinking brandon wright, joakim noah, or tyler handsbrough.</div> Brandon Wright maybe, maybe Joakim Noah, but no way we pick Tyler Handsbrough
Who do you guys think we should pick with our other 2 first round picks? 1 is from Denver and 1 is from Dallas
We should make a run at Acie Law with the Denver pick and Jermareo Davidson with the Dallas pick. Mustafa Shakur is an option with our 2nd rounder.
I'm a pretty big fan of Brandon Wright for the Sixers, for a number of different reasons. First off, he's solitified himself as a true number 4. Durant, on the other hand, will probably have his natural position in the NBA as a small forward. I love Wright's athletism, size, and potential. As it stands now, here's what I like: 3. Brandon Wright, PF, UNC 18-20. Ron Steele, PG, Alabama 28-30. Nick Fazekas, PF-C, Nevada That would be my ideal draft if we don't land the #1 or #2 pick.
I'm going to stop worrying about the draft, and how bad we have to do to get a top 2 pick until the top 2 declares what their intentions for 07 exactly are. Peace Official 76ers Draft Thread.
<div class="quote_poster">A.F. Venom Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I'm going to stop worrying about the draft, and how bad we have to do to get a top 2 pick until the top 2 declares what their intentions for 07 exactly are. Peace Official 76ers Draft Thread.</div> Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Brandon Wright, Al Hortford, Julian Wright, Thad Young, and Joakim Noah are all arguably worthy of the number one or two spot...at least half of them are bound to declare.
<div class="quote_poster">Brian Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Smitty when are we going to see your draft write up that you said you would do 3 times already?</div> I'll get to it soon bro. It's just that I'm working now so it got postponed. <div class="quote_poster">C.K. Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I'm a pretty big fan of Brandon Wright for the Sixers, for a number of different reasons. First off, he's solitified himself as a true number 4. Durant, on the other hand, will probably have his natural position in the NBA as a small forward. I love Wright's athletism, size, and potential. As it stands now, here's what I like: 3. Brandon Wright, PF, UNC 18-20. Ron Steele, PG, Alabama 28-30. Nick Fazekas, PF-C, Nevada That would be my ideal draft if we don't land the #1 or #2 pick.</div> That'd be pretty damn successful draft if it played out that way. Don't sleep on Brandan Wright fellas.
Man, when I read about Greg Oden. It seems like he's perfect. If this story is really true about him, he could be the player of a decade. Body like a D12, shooting and movement of Yao ? Kevin Durant seems interesting. But I have a question, do you think that Durant can be better than Wade, Melo or James ? Or Oden ?
<div class="quote_poster">Smitty Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">That'd be pretty damn successful draft if it played out that way. Don't sleep on Brandan Wright fellas.</div> Fazekas in the late-first is a huge reach with the way that he's playing lately, but HEY for our entertainment he'll slip
<div class="quote_poster">Smitty Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I'll get to it soon bro. It's just that I'm working now so it got postponed.</div> Yeah, no prob. I just can't wait to hear the great Smitty's analysis on the draft What do you guys think of Yi Jianlian? Should we take him with one of our later first round picks?
<div class="quote_poster">Flow Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> But I have a question, do you think that Durant can be better than Wade, Melo or James ? Or Oden ?</div> You can't compare him to Wade or Oden, the positions are just too different. I think he can surpass Melo because he is more multi-dimensional, at least in college. We won't know if it will translate to the NBA, but he appears to be a very good rebounder at the 3 and doesn't seem to look for his own shot as much as Melo. Best case scenario, I think he can be like Lebron. I'm not sure about the AK47 comparison because he hasn't shown me that level of D and I believe he is better offensively but I do like the comparison to Grant Hill, maybe without quite as many assists. The seem to have similar skill sets and a similar demeanor on the court.
Greg Oden and Kevin Durant both have the potential to be franchise players. That's all I need to know
Great. According to ESPN, Kevin Durant's father says he's thinking about staying for another year. Damn
<div class="quote_poster">Brian Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Great. According to ESPN, Kevin Durant's father says he's thinking about staying for another year. Damn</div> Well: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"There's a chance he would come back to Texas next year," Durant's father, Wayne Pratt, told the Dallas Morning News. "Kevin is so young. There's not a rush for him to go to the NBA. Right now, we're not even talking about that. We're talking about winning the Big 12, and Kevin continuing to progress academically."</div> Take it for what it's worth, I still think he will enter.
