NBA Draft Questions with Sixers Legion’s Trevor Gaffney
Written by Garrett Catalana – @GarrettCatalana
I’m not exactly locked into the college game and I would honestly say I watched about four or five games all season, so ranking NBA draft prospects definitely isn’t my strong-suit. So to help me better understand this draft class and how that relates to the Sixers, I sought the opinion of my good friend and creator/operator of Sixers Legion (@SixersLegion) Trevor Gaffney. I broke down our conversation down into five questions:
1) Originally reported by Chris Haynes of cleveland.com and confirmed by Sixers beat writer Keith Pompey and ESPN, the Sixers have informed Ben Simmons that they will select him with the first pick of the draft on Thursday. Do you think Simmons is the right pick between him and Brandon Ingram?
” Since the end of the college basketball season, I have been convinced Ben Simmons is the right pick. Being 6’10 with the ability to bring the ball up the floor and see passing lanes before they develop is a rare skill in today’s NBA, and a highly coveted one. The benefit of having a forward you can give the ball and have create for your team is vital to some of the best teams in the NBA’s success as we just saw with in the NBA Finals with LeBron James and Draymond Green. Where Simmons really flourishes is in transition where he can put his size, speed, ball handling, vision, and ability to get to the rim all on display. 26% of Simmons offense in college was in transition at a rate of 1.13 PPP (points per possession), along with 32% of his assist totals.
Brandon Ingram on the other hand has length, shooting, and a supposed “mentality” advantage on Simmons, but I do not believe he has the same ceiling. While Ingram draws many Kevin Durant comparisons, Durant has an ability to get the first step on a defender with his quickness that Ingram lacks. A slow first step, and a wiry frame prevent Brandon Ingram from getting to the rim which forces a lot of contested off-the- dribble pull-up jumpers that we saw go in for him during the college season. The difference is that the NBA has bigger, faster, stronger, and longer defenders that won’t give up that shot as easily. This is what I think will differentiate Brandon Ingram from ever being Kevin Durant, but rather would be and more comparable to a better Trevor Ariza over the long-run. So I’m saying Simmons.”
2) With multiple reports indicating that the Sixers would like to jump back up into the top eight of the draft, as well as GM Bryan Colangelo discussing it at Tuesday’s workouts, who would be the Sixers ideal target to match with Ben Simmons, if indeed he is the pick?
“Outside the top two (Simmons & Ingram), I have six prospects that could go anywhere picks 3 to 8. In no particular order those prospects are:
Buddy Hield
Jamal Murray
Marquese Chriss
Kris Dunn
Jaylen Brown
Dragan Bender
Immediately you can eliminate Chriss and Bender, even though I believe Bender is the best of the second tier prospects and would fit very nicely, but Colangelo would never take another big man when there are such massive holes and more pressing needs at other vital positions. Chriss is a combination of our current big men: a freak athlete who has nice touch on his jumper but would not mesh well with this frontcourt. Next would be Kris Dunn, a 6’4 athletic 2-way point guard out of Providence that the Sixers reportedly “absolutely love” (per @JonRothstein). This would make sense to me if Brandon Ingram was the first pick, but the fit isn’t the greatest with Simmons. While I do believe Kris Dunn is very good and if in the right situation he could flourish as a two-way star, he and Simmons both need to be the ball dominant player to best exemplify their skill set. Dunn’s jump shot is also questionable on a good day, which could be problematic because one of Simmons extraordinary talents is his ability to drive the lane, draw the defense, and kick out to the open shooter. You need to surround him with guys who can knock down those shots. The shooting concerns I have with Kris Dunn are an even greater concern for Jaylen Brown. He’s a 6’7 SG/SF out of Cal who will no doubt get after it on the defensive end, but struggled shooting in his one year of college shooting 42% on the year. His final 5 college games were very concerning to me though:
Cal vs. Hawaii: 17% FG
Cal vs. Utah: 18% FG
Cal vs. Oregon State: 17% FG
Cal vs. Arizona State: 30% FG
Cal vs. Arizona 22% FG
I love Jaylen Brown’s mentality and having watched a decent amount of Cal basketball last year, he had all the tangibles to be great, but the ball just wasn’t going down some (a lot of) nights. I do believe he will become a solid NBA player, but he’s just not a good fit with the woefully shooting Sixers.
That leaves us with Jamal Murray and Buddy Hield, two prolific college scorers mostly known for their shooting. My ideal target would be Murray due to his age and his willingness to show effort on defense. These are the only two tangibles that I can find that really separate the two. I believe both will be able to come into the NBA and help spread the floor, but I give the slight advantage to Murray. Long story short, Murray is the best complimentary piece to Simmons in this draft class.”
3) To go along with the first overall pick, the Sixers also hold the 24th & 26th pick. In your opinion, who are the five prospects for the Sixers in that range?
“There are reports that Colangelo wants to move these picks to move up in the lottery, but assuming that he doesn’t, here are my top five prospects I’d like to see taken at 24 or 26:
DeAndre Bembry 6’6 SG/SF, Saint Joseph’s
Caris LeVert 6’7 SG, Michigan
Timothe Luwawu 6’7 SG/SF Mega Leks
Wade Baldwin IV 6’4 PG/SG, Vanderbilt
Taurean Prince 6’7 SF, Baylor
Luwawu, Prince, and Baldwin would all have to fall from where they’re currently projected but it would be a steal to end up with any of these players. Baldwin is a point guard that would mix well with Simmons, he doesn’t need the ball to be effective and is a strong three-point shooter. He also having a 6’11 wingspan that helps in keeping defenders in front of him on the perimeter. Luwawu and Prince are similar prospects. They’re both 6’7 rangy athletes who can stretch the floor and defend with the best of them. The only difference is Luwawu can become lazy and lose focus and intensity if he is not involved on the offensive end.
LeVert and Bembry are two prospects I expect to be around at 24 and 26. LeVert was a borderline lottery pick last season after coming off a foot injury, but quickly had another season ending leg injury. If LeVert can stay healthy, he is a good shooter with playmaking abilities and a strong handle on the ball. As for Bembry, he is an all-around type player. He is a rangy athlete who is a very good defender and rebounder for his position, while also being a playmaker on the offensive end of the floor. He drives and creates for his teammates while also being able to finish at the rim. His jump shot is far from the strongest in the draft, but has shown progress throughout his time on Hawk Hill as you can attest to.”
[Note: I am a student at SJU]
4) This has been described by many draft experts as a pretty strong international class, even for how weak an overall class it may be. Who are the best three “draft-and-stash” candidates the Sixers could consider at 24 & 26?
“1) Rade Zagorac is similar to Timothe Luwawu (even plays for the same team) but is 6’9 with a strong handle and can shoot over the top of the defense with a beautiful touch. He needs to put a little more weight and further develop his three-point shot before coming over.
2) Georgios Papagiannis is a 7’2 265 lb center who finishes around the rim at a high rate. He Also runs the floor well and is considered a good athlete for his size.
3) Ivica Zubac is a 7’1 260 Cibona big man who specializes in back-to-the-basket play. He’s strong in the P&R and he can beat other big men down the floor. With his size and strength, he can hold his own down on the low block and is an excellent offensive rebounder.”
5) More of a general question here. Who do you believe is the most overrated and most underrated prospect in this class?
“The most overrated prospect in this class is Marquese Chriss. To me, he seems like another freaky athletic big man who will not be able to find his role outside of being just an athlete. He has a jump shot but I don’t believe he’ll be able to hit it consistently outside of 15 feet at any point of his career. He came out of nowhere and rose to the top of draft boards during the time of year where his toughest competition is a chair, so that’s a red flag to me.
My most underrated prospect in this class is Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, point guard out of Indiana. With some bias here, people are talking about Ferrell going undrafted and it just doesn’t make sense. He faced off against Tyler Ulis and blew by him on multiple occasions when they matched up against each other in March. Ferrell looked like the better point guard all-around in that game, and his team came away with the victory. He is a shifty point guard with a quick first step, nasty handles, strong jump shot, and underrated vision. What he lacks in size, he makes up for in heart and effort, having never been a good defender. IU improved overall defensively this year when Ferrell focused in and became a solid defender. He will be a solid backup in the NBA at the least, and I believe some team is going to get a diamond in the rough.”
- Trevor Gaffney (@TrevorGaffney_) is the creator and operator of Sixers Legion (@SixersLegion). Check out his Twitter page and blog for more Sixers and draft coverage.
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