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There are exactly 10 days between now and the 2014 NBA Draft, and in the Association's version of the silly season, we're starting to get a bit more clarity at the top of many draft boards. Just remember: It's always fun to mock the mock drafts... unless they agree with the way you'd like events to play out, at which point they should be accepted as gospel.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com goes with the No. 1 player on our Liberty Ballers Community Big Board, 19-year-old Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins (Insider only):
This is a dream scenario for the 76ers. They would take Wiggins at No. 1 if they could, and having him fall to No. 3 would be a godsend. The Sixers actually have engaged the Cavs about moving to No. 1. They aren't willing to give up both the Nos. 3 and 10 picks. But a combination of No. 3 and Thaddeus Young is a possibility.
Steve Alexander of Rotoword thinks that Duke's Jabari Parker will put on a Sixers' hat come June 26:
Parker's name isn't being thrown around much in the race for No. 1 or 2, so No. 3 for the Sixers looks like the right place, unless Embiid's back raises too many red flags for the Cavs or Bucks. He's NBA ready and should start scoring right away, and could even start, as Hollis Thompson shouldn't prove to be much of a road block.
Sean Kane over at CSNPhilly agrees that the Sixers will go with Parker at No. 3:
Nabbing Parker with the third pick would represent tremendous value for the Sixers... His defensive instincts were below average during his one collegiate season, but Parker's offensive game is too good to pass up.
A quick check of his wallet shows that NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper is a card-carrying member of #TeamWiggins:
The son of former Bulls, Rockets and 76ers guard Mitchell Wiggins improved in the second half before exiting the tournament with the much-publicized 1-for-6 shooting against Stanford. Teams still see great upside, with the stunning athleticism as a starting point, while acknowledging Wiggins is partly a victim to massive preseason hype. There are also concerns about not playing hard all the time.
Meanwhile, back at the CBS Sports ranch, both Gary Parrish and Zach Harper think Parker is the play at No. 3, while Matt Moore is of the belief that Wiggins is the guy. It should be noted that Moore references Milwaukee Bucks' forward John Henson when running down the Sixers' potential lineup, so maybe he knows something that we don't:
Wiggins is their obvious choice and he very well could be here at this spot. With MCW, Nerlens Noel, John Henson and Wiggins, they will have all of the length in all of the world.
The most recent edition of the Draft Express mock draft has Wiggins coming to the 76ers (their previous version had Joel Embiid as the pick at 3), which agrees with the projection from Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Opinions are all over the board for the No. 10 pick: Alexander (Rotoworld), Kane (CSN Philly) and Howard-Cooper (NBA.com) all expect the Sixers to tab Michigan's Nik Stauskas, Spears (Yahoo! Sports) goes with Dario Saric, the CBS crew is split between Gary Harris (Parrish, Moore) and James Young (Harper), and the Draft Express mock projects that Sam Hinkie and Co. will land Arizona's Aaron Gordon in the back half of the lottery.
Thankfully, blessedly, mercifully... we'll be able to retire all of this speculation less than two weeks from now. In the words of the immortal Bart Scott: "Can't wait."