Sixers drafted a "poor man's Elton Brand"

Just thought I would pass this along. According to Chad Ford of ESPN, Marreese Speights, who the Sixers drafted with the 16th pick in the draft, is going to be a great fit for the Sixers:

I like this pick for Philly. Speights has a lot of talent and he fits a need for Philly. He's an excellent offensive player who can score in the post and facing the basket, and he can rebound. He is kind of a poor man's Elton Brand.

Thought this was interesting considering all of the talk we have been hearing about Elton Brand possibly coming to Philly as a free agent. Who better to teach Speights than the guy he plays most like? Good pick by the Sixers either way, Speights should develop into the inside presence they lack on the offensive end.

Sixers select Marreese Speights of Florida

There have been very few surprises so far with the NBA Draft, with most players being selected about where everyone thought they would be taken. Of course, there were the two big trades of the day, with Jermaine O'Neal going to Toronto and Richard Jefferson going to Milwaukee, but other than that everything has gone according to plan.

The Sixers also stuck to the script, drafting a big man with the 16th pick of the first round, Marreese Speights from Florida. Several Mock Drafts had been predicting the Sixers would take the 6-10 forward since about May, so there's no surprise here. ESPN's Jay Bilas thought that Speights was the 15th best player in the draft, so the Sixers got pretty much the exact value with their pick. Speights has tremendous athleticism and appears to be NBA ready, although he probably won't make much of an impact next year.

Here is Speight's profile from NBA.com and his profile from RealGM.com.

Barring an unlikely trade, the Sixers are likely done for the day. Now all we can do is wait to see what they do in free agency to further improve their front court.

NBA Mock Draft Round-up: Who will the Sixers draft?

Thursday's NBA Draft is an important first opportunity for Ed Stefanski to make his mark on the Sixers this offseason. It is clear that the team needs help inside and they will look to get a big man with their only pick in the draft, the 16th overall selection. Stefanski has made it well known that he won't be trading up or down, he will simply take the best available big man with the pick. Here is a roundup of some various mock drafts from around the internet to get a good idea of who the Sixers might select:

*Chad Ford, ESPN.com:
Anthony Randolph, PF, LSU
Their take: He hasn't been great in workouts, needs to add a lot of strength and appears to be a few years away from making an impact. But he has length, athleticism and tremendous upside, and the Sixers, a team on the rise, can afford to wait.

*Ian Thomson, SI.com:
DeAndre Jordan, C, Texas A & M
Their take: When in doubt, go big. Jordan has lots of upside, though he played limited minutes in his one college season.

*HoopsHype.com:
DeAndre Jordan, C, Texas A & M
Their take: 7-footer with a great frame, incredible wingspan, and unbelievable athleticism. Has great hands and finishes well around the basket. A very good rebounder with the potential to develop into an excellent defender down the road. An extremely raw player who is 2-3 years away from contributing at a high level in the NBA. Lacks a great deal of strength and polish on both ends of the floor. Not very productive at the collegiate level. Shies away from contact, shows poor awareness, and is not always as active as you might hope. A high-risk, high-reward player who has too much upside not to be drafted early.

*Sam Smith, SportingNews.com:
DeAndre Jordan, C, Texas A & M
Their take: Some believe they'll take the best big left. That's likely Jordan, projected as a sure top 10 pick a few months back. Pro scouts have questioned his maturity, and J.J. Hickson and Marreese Speights also have been mentioned.

*Draft Express:
DeAndre Jordan, C, Texas A & M

*Ray Glier, NBCSports.com:
Marreese Speights, PF, Florida
Their take: In one clip you can watch him drain a 3-pointer. In another clip he is in the lane snatching a pass and finishing with a dunk. Batum gets up and down the floor and plays loose and plays with the ball. He looks a little thin, but the game has a place for tall wings, especially ones like this moving toward a peak.

*Jeff Goodman, FoxSports.com:
Marreese Speights, PF, Florida
Their take: He doesn't have the greatest work ethic or IQ for the game, but Speights has been blessed with a terrific body, great hands and the ability to score in the post. That's exactly what the 76ers need — a low-post scorer.

*CollegeHoops.net:
Marreese Speights, PF, Florida

*RealGM.com:
Darrell Arthur, PF, Kansas
Their take: Like Julian Wright last year, another KU player is being unfairly undervalued. Arthur is a rebounding power forward who should develop a nice game from 15 feet in. He has a remarkable court awareness as he is almost always in an ideal position on both ends of the floor. He posts with purpose; constantly trying to seal his man and can finish well with either hand. Arthur is also a good passer out of the post and pretty much anywhere else on the floor. His ball-handling does need a great deal of more work.

My thoughts: From all of this speculation, it's pretty clear the Sixers will take a big man. The only thing we know at this point is that whoever the Sixers take, they won't have a huge impact right away. None of the players projected to them with the 16th overall pick will be starters or can be expected to do much in their rookie seasons. That means that Stefanski will also have to go out and get a big man through a trade or free agency if he wants the Sixers to be better next season. Elton Brand, anyone?

Sixers Reach New Low

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for the Philadelphia 76ers, they go and lose to the lowly New York Knicks, 89-81. This season had some promise a few weeks ago when the Sixers were actually hovering around .500, but now they clearly are going to be in the battle for the worst team in the league, as they have lost 11 of their last 13. Reasons for the slide are many, but I will name a few here:

*No Talent. This is the obvious one. Just ask yourself, besides the Andre's, how many of these guys could be starters on any Western Conference team? Even Andre Miller would be a sixth man at best on most of the playoff teams in the West.

*Reggie Evans. Seriously, I know the guy can rebound, but he has to be amongst the worst starters on any team in the league. He played 31 minutes tonight and scored 2 points. For a big-time rebounder, shouldn't he be getting more easy put-backs? And to think, the Sixers traded two players to get him.

*No 3-point shooters. Since the trade of Kyle Korver, the best 3-point shooter on the team has been Andre Iguodala. If you have ever watched AI2 try to shoot from the outside, you know that's a bad thing. I will still support the Sixers decision to trade Korver to free up money in the offseason, but the team has a real hole here. They are going to have to use that extra money on another shooter.

*Bad Drafting. When was the last time these guys got a real steal in the draft? Iguodala was a great selection, but other than that, the Sixers have made few if any impact picks in the first rounds of drafts. Rodney Carney was acquired in a trade at the 2006 draft, and he has been pretty lousy. Louis Williams and Thaddeus Young look like decent selections, but in the last few years that have not hit a home run with any selection.

I will leave it at that. There are dozens of other reasons, like their inability to rebound, bad trades and contracts by Billy King and mediocre coaching. All we have to look forward to now is the 2008 draft, where the Sixers are sure to have a high pick. Go here for a list of the top ten prospects in the upcoming draft. I think Roy Hibbert could be a great building block for this team if they end up with a pick around 6-8. Let's Hope Ed Stefanski makes the right selection.