It's that time of the year again, with the draft only 2 days away. Rod Thorn may be saying the Sixers are not likely to move up, but it's time to get excited.
In years past we have had multiple big boards, but this year with the Sixers being in the playoffs and all, it didn't seem right to start heavy draft talk back in March, so we only have one this year.
The overall ranking is from the average of the draft positions from each of our 5 editors. Players who weren't selected in a big board were given an aggregate score of 25 for that editor. Note that this is in relation to how they would be if we were running the Sixers, not our overall evaluation of them as a prospect.
After the big board we have listed out others receiving votes, our second round targets, and some comments from each of the editors. Feel free to give us your ranking in the comments.
| Overall | Player | Dave | Tanner | Michael | Jordan | Derek |
| 1 | Anthony Davis | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Thomas Robinson | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Bradley Beal | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| 4 | Andre Drummond | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| 5 | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | 2 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| 6 | Harrison Barnes | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| 7 | John Henson | 10 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7 |
| 8 | Jeremy Lamb | 12 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 8 |
| 9 | Perry Jones III | 11 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 12 |
| 10 | Dion Waiters | 8 | 9 | 9 | 17 | 9 |
| 11 | Damian Lillard | 7 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 10 |
| 12 | Jared Sullinger | 9 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 11 |
| 13 | Terrence Ross | 13 | 12 | 15 | 10 | 13 |
| 14 | Tyler Zeller | 14 | 11 | 16 | 12 | 14 |
| 15 | Meyers Leonard | 15 | 14 | 12 | 19 | 15 |
| 16 | Quincy Miller | n/a | 15 | 13 | n/a | 19 |
| 17 | Royce White | n/a | n/a | 17 | 13 | 18 |
| 18 | Terrence Jones | 17 | n/a | 18 | n/a | 17 |
| 19 | Arnett Moultrie | 16 | 16 | n/a | n/a | 20 |
| 20 | Austin Rivers | 18 | 17 | n/a | 20 | n/a |
Others receiving Votes
Moe Harkless (19 Dave, 16 Derek), Kyle O'Quinn (15 Jordan), Fab Melo (20 Dave, 20 Tanner), Doron Lamb (16 Jordan), Andrew Nicholson (18 Jordan), Will Barton (19 Michael), Festuz Ezili (19 Tanner), Miles Plumlee (20 Michael).
2nd Round Picks:
Scott Machado (Tanner, Michael, Jordan, Derek)
Darius Johnson-Odom (Jordan, Derek)
Kim English (Tanner)
Will Barton (Michael)
Jae Crowser (Dave)
Comments from each after the jump.
Comments:
Dave:
On Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: I like Gilchrist just a touch more because of his defensive value.
On Drummond: Can't teach height, he has upside, potential, length, long, etc, etc, etc.
On Lillard: obligatory Harold Arceneaux reference
On Sullinger: To me, Sullinger is a no brainer if he's available at #15. I get the injury concerns if you have a top-5 pick. But #15? Come on. Not selecting him there is short-sighted and overly cautious. The value is too great to pass up. Besides, I also have back problems and can recommend a great chiropractor. I get $20 off my next adjustment for a referral, so it's a win win.
On PJ3: Athlete. See #5. Too much upside to pass at #15.
On Ross: Perhaps the most likely selection for the Sixers at #15. I won't be thrilled if we take Ross - he fills a need - but I won't boycott the 2012-2013 season either.
On Austin Rivers: Didn't go to Kentucky.
Tanner:
On Perry Jones: While it seems high based on draft board, upside is something I fall way too in love with.
On Damian Lillard: Feel with Jrue being established as this team's PG, isn't as much of a need as other positions.
Jordan:
I changed 7-20 about 100 times. My top six is pretty much set in stone, but the rest of my rankings can change by the second. All you need to know, is, of the realistic possibilities for the Sixers at 15, my top three are 1) Henson 2) Terrence Ross 3) Perry Jones III
Michael:
The two things that stand out the most are likely Quincy Miller up and Damian Lillard down. Lillard is a product of the Sixers not needing a point guard and me not being extremely high on him anyway. Quincy is a guy I love. He's got a ton of upside (which is paramount, to me) despite his freshman year not being great. Between the coaching, his knee injury that limited his explosiveness, and an abundance of older talent at Baylor, Q didn't perform as well as he would have in different circumstances. I think he's the guy in the 15-25 range that will be a gem.
Other notes: Drummond is up there because of how good he can be. I value that in a big more than either of Beal/MKG's skill sets. Big fan of Perry Jones' upside here and think that despite Henson filling a better need, he's the pick there. Sullinger is still high because I think the bits about his back are getting over blown. Terrence Jones is too redundant with Thad and I don't see him being much more than Julian Wright. Will Barton is my pimped prospect and Miles Plumlee will be a very solid backup big for his career - a fit at 20 for me.
My ideal options for 45 and 54 are Barton and Scott Machado, respectively. Upside for Barton and having an actual backup point guard are good gets in the second round.
Derek:
I bumped Bradley Beal and Andre Drummond ahead of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist not because of their status as a prospect but because of the Sixers need for their skill sets. I think the 3 are roughly equivalent in terms of talent, so I dropped Kidd-Gilchrist a bit. That being said, I could definitely see myself regretting that in 5 years, especially in Drummond's case. I couldn't drop Kidd-Gilchrist any further because I think the pieces he's primarily a bad fit with (Turner and Iguodala) are either possibly on the move (Iguodala) or someone I'm not 100% tied to (Turner).
Of the small guards, I like Waiters the best. He has the potential to be the best defender. Lillard dropped in the group because he has the least ability to defend the 2, but he probably has comparable offensive talent. I'm not an Austin Rivers fan. Streaky shooter who needs to dominate the ball to be even remotely effective, doesn't have much of an in between game and doesn't have the mindset or consistency to defend either position.
Sullinger/Perry Jones just become too talented to put much lower than 11/12, and are worth the risk there. Sullinger won't defend anyone in the pick and roll, but he'll rebound, a pick and pop game that will translate and a post-game that he can use when he has an advantage.
The bottom of the group is extremely fluid. I thought about putting Doron Lamb, Miles Plumlee, Fab Melo and even Bernard James in there. I'd love to package our 2 second rounders and try to move up.
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