Did the Sixers take the mid season #1 and best player 3 years in a row?

[hateraid]

Nerlen Noel, Joel Embiid, and Jalil Okafor all were projected number 1s until draft day stock plummeted. But in hindsight they look like the best picks and steals of the draft.
I get this feeling because of our luck we might draft Ben Simmons.

[FreezingTsmoove]

BS is the real deal. He made LebRon look like a child while standing next to him

[Cocaine80s]

Embiid ruins your entire argument

[midatlantic09]

Sixers may still be able to get Simmons even if they don't get the #1 pick initially. They could possibly trade all 4 first round picks (which will probably be something like 2/3, 8, 17, 23) AND someone like Tony Wroten or Covington in exchange for the #1 pick. Obviously, a lot has to do with who ends up with the #1 pick and whether or not they view the 2016 draft as deep or lousy.

[StephHamann]

Nerlen Noel, Joel Embiid, and Jalil Okafor all were projected number 1s until draft day stock plummeted. But in hindsight they look like the best picks and steals of the draft.
I get this feeling because of our luck we might draft Ben Simmons.

Gobert shits on Noel so hard.

And Embiid is a cripple.

[outbreak]

Wiggins > Embiid
Parker > Embiid
Gordon > Embiid
Smart > Embiid
Payton > Embiid
LaVine > Embiid
Oladipo > Noel
Adams > Noel
Olynck > Noel
Antetokounmpo > Noel
Schroder > Noel
Gobert > Noel

[MP.Trey]

How does Embiid look good in hindsight at all? He has to take his first two years off due to injury..

[midatlantic09]

In all fairness, Noel isn't all that good. He's really just an energy guy, similar to a Tristan Thompson or Kenneth Faried...definitely not a franchise caliber player. Also, Embiid hasn't even played yet so the only truly high level player the Sixers have seemingly drafted is Okafor.

[chips93]

In all fairness, Noel isn't all that good. He's really just an energy guy, similar to a Tristan Thompson or Kenneth Faried...definitely not a franchise caliber player. Also, Embiid hasn't even played yet so the only truly high level player the Sixers have seemingly drafted is Okafor.

i havent watched many of his games (like every non-sixer fan), just highlights, but if you're just an energy guy you dont get top 10 in steals and blocks as a rookie.

hes far bigger and longer than tristan or farried

he could be DPOY some day



one of okafor or noel really needs to learn to shoot. The spacing with those two would be horrible. jahlil's passing could open up the space a bit though.

[Uncle Drew]

Sim Bhullar looks better than Embiid at this point.

:kobe:

[midatlantic09]

i havent watched many of his games (like every non-sixer fan), just highlights, but if you're just an energy guy you dont get top 10 in steals and blocks as a rookie.

hes far bigger and longer than tristan or farried

he could be DPOY some day



one of okafor or noel really needs to learn to shoot. The spacing with those two would be horrible. jahlil's passing could open up the space a bit though.

That still makes you an energy guy. A very good energy guy, but still an energy guy and not someone you build around.

[chips93]

That still makes you an energy guy. A very good energy guy, but still an energy guy and not someone you build around.

a DPOY is far more than just an energy guy

[midatlantic09]

a DPOY is far more than just an energy guy

Sure, but that's still not someone you build around. Tyson Chandler is a very good player and a former DPOY award winner, but he's not the kind of guy you build around and hold him out as your franchise player. Noel is similar in that regard.

[chips93]

Sure, but that's still not someone you build around. Tyson Chandler is a very good player and a former DPOY award winner, but he's not the kind of guy you build around and hold him out as your franchise player. Noel is similar in that regard.

yeah thats fair.

hes not gonna be the best player on a great team

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

How can those 3 look like the best picks in hindsight??? 2 haven't even played in an NBA game yet :oldlol:

I will say, though, it won't surprise me that if in 5 years, those 3 are All-Star level players.

[SwishSquared]

Noel's got an argument for being the best defensive rookie since the merger. He has real trade value- advanced stats showed he was elite insome defensive categories across the league. He got a DPOY vote from a non-Philly writer, w/e that's worth. Right now, Gobert is definitely better than him and Giannis & 'Dipo have arguments over him. Noel's first real year is better than Gobert's rookie year, but I doubt he'll be better long-term. I see Dipo having less impact than NN on a winning team, but feel Giannis could be a better player overall, depending on how they expand their games.

In a vacuum, Embiid was the best high risk/high reward guy left on the board. The argument is they wasted a pick if he never plays and that they missed out on a productive young guy (who may reach star-level, who knows). Several teams tried to trade up for him, so obviously others wanted to pull the trigger. If he never plays, he's no different, long term, than any other guy who we call a bust.

It's way too early to say they ended up with the best player in each of Hinkie's drafts. Even if we evaluate now, it's not true, given Embiid's current health concerns and Gobert being the clear best player from 2013 imo.

I don't think we can say they did the wrong thing in any draft yet. We can better rate their draft performance after this upcoming year, when I think they'll have 4 first round picks (I believe all 1st rounders will convey).

EDIT: MCW over Giannis/Schroeder/Gobert/etc is a big mistake. They can potentially get over that with the future LAL pick, we'll see how it pans out. I still liked trading MCW, especially for that pick.

[Milbuck]

I would take Giannis and Gobert without hesitation over Noel in a re-draft.

[Braincells]

Can Jabeel shed that Al Jefferson label and make an impact on defense? Then I will say the 76ers won the draft.