76ers workout Vucevic
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76ers workout Vucevic
In strictly basketball news, the 76ers hosted a set of pre-draft workouts today at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Today’s workouts were the team’s third and fourth of the pre-draft session. The Sixers hold the No. 16 and No. 50 picks in the 2011 NBA Draft, scheduled for June 23.
Here were the groups present during today’s workouts:
Working out from 10-11:15 a.m. were the following players:
1. Keith Benson (Oakland): 6-foot-11 center. Averaged 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds a game last season for Oakland.
2. Justin Harper (Richmond): 6-foot-10 forward. Averaged 17.9 points and 6.9 rebounds a game last season.
3. Nikola Vucevic (USC): listed as a 6-foot-10 forward. Averaged 17.1 points and 10.3 rebounds a game last season for USC.
4. Jordan Williams (Maryland): 6-foot-10 forward. Early entry candidate after two seasons at Maryland. Last season averaged 16.9 point and 11.8 rebounds a game.
Working out immediately after were the following players:
1. Jordan Hamilton (Texas): 6-foot-7 guard/forward. Early entry candidate after sophomore season. Averaged 18.6 points and 7.7 rebounds during his sophomore season at Texas.
2. Scotty Hopson (Tennessee): 6-foot-7 guard. Played three seasons for the Vols, averaged 17.0 points and 3.3 rebounds last season.
3. Malcolm Lee (UCLA): 6-5 guard. Left UCLA after his junior season, during which he averaged 13.1 points and 3.1 rebounds a game.
4. Josh Selby (Kansas): 6-2 guard from Baltimore. Left Kansas after his freshman season. Averaged 7.9 points and 2.2 assists during that freshman season.
5. Chris Singleton (Florida State): 6-8 forward, played three seasons for the Seminoles, averaged 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds during his junior season.
Of the first week of workouts, today’s group of players includes the most promising prospects. It’s not a stretch to say that there’s a distinct possibility the Sixers’ No. 16 pick comes out of one of these two groups. The Sixers are keeping close tabs on the progress and evaluation of Vucevic, who could be the promising big man they’re hoping to nab on June 23.
We caught up with Vucevic after today’s workout, which was his second time meeting with the Sixers (he also sat down with them at the NBA combine in Chicago).
“They say they need size and presence inside,” Vucevic said. “They say they have interest in me so I was just coming here and trying to show what I can do and help this team. We had a good meeting, twice. So it’s been good.”
We’re staying on the possibility of a Monta Ellis/Andre Iguodala trade, as well as yesterday’s huge news about Comcast-Spectacor being in advanced discussions to sell the team. If you want to follow quick-hit news on Twitter, you can do that here: Deep Sixer.
More as it happens.
--Kate
Each week, Kate will check in from the road and answer fan questions about the Sixers. Click here to ask Kate a question or e-mail her at kfagan@phillynews.com.
Comments (26)
These lists are not predictions of the draft order they are rankings based on ability. Also you might want to subtract an inch of height from each player. Here's NBADraft.net's top 20, once again very few centers. Anyone not on these lists will be major projects
1. Derrick Williams 6-8 248 SF/PF
2. Kyrie Irving 6-3 191 PG
3. Enes Kanter 6-11 259 PF/C
4. Brandon Knight 6-3 177 PG/SG
5. Alec Burks 6-6 193 PG/SG
6. Donatas Motiejunas 7-0 224 PF
7. Kawhi Leonard 6-7 227 SF
8. Kemba Walker 6-1 184 PG
9. Jimmer Fredette 6-2 196 PG
10. Jan Vesely 6-11 230 SF/PF
11. Jonas Valanciunas 6-11 240 C
12. Marcus Morris 6-8 230 SF/PF
13. Markieff Morris 6-9 241 PF
14. Tristan Thompson 6-9 227 PF
15. Tobias Harris 6-8 223 SF/PF
16. Tyler Honeycutt 6-8 187 SG/SF
17. Chris Singleton 6-9 230 SF/PF
18. Klay Thompson 6-7 206 SG
19. Jordan Hamilton 6-8 228 SG/SF
20. Davis Bertans 6-10 211 SF
— mtairy1- The Iggy-Ellis Trade: 1)Ellis, 24.1 ppg and true starting two guard. No more wondering if Iggy is a 2 or a 3. You would have a clear starting point guard, shooting guard, small forward and power forward. No more trying to figure out what Iggy is. 2)You now have somebody who you may want with the ball in a clutch situation. Did Iggy really give you that? 3) Evan Turner will now get more minutes and we can finally find out if he was worthy of the #2 pick. 4) Iggy doesn't want to be here. As far as the draft goes, does anyone know with any certainty what is going to happen with the 16th pick in the draft. The 76ers need to draft big and hope for the best. I hope the pick is Jordan Williams from Maryland. 6'10", 16.9 ppg, 11.8 rebounds a game against ACC competition. The others mentioned in the article are from low or mid level Div 1 NCAA conferences and who knows what their numbers mean.— syddan26
- To those who are saying the Sixers need to draft a center at 16, in a perfect world that's what they'd do. Thorn, Stefanski & Collins are smart enuff to see that center is their weak spot. Unfortunately there aren't any sure things available. Here is DraftExpress' ranking of the top 20 players. Please note the lack of centers...
1 Kyrie Irving PG 6' 3" 190lbs.
2 Derrick Williams PF 6' 9" 250lbs.
3 Bismack Biyombo PF 6' 9" 240lbs.
4 Jonas Valanciunas C 6' 11" 240lbs.
5 Kemba Walker PG 6' 1" 185lbs.
6 Brandon Knight PG/SG 6' 3" 180lbs.
7 Nikola Mirotic PF 6' 10" 210lbs.
8 Marcus Morris PF 6' 9" 230lbs.
9 Tobias Harris SF/PF 6' 8" 225lbs.
10 Kawhi Leonard SF 6' 7" 225lbs.
11 Jan Vesely SF/PF 6' 11" 240lbs.
12 Enes Kanter C 6' 11" 260lbs.
13 Jordan Hamilton SF 6' 8" 230lbs.
14 Alec Burks SG 6' 6" 195lbs.
15 Chris Singleton SF/PF 6' 9" 230lbs.
16 Donatas Motiejunas PF/C 7' 0" 215lbs.
17 Markieff Morris PF 6' 10" 240lbs.
18 Tristan Thompson PF 6' 9" 230lbs.
19 Kenneth Faried PF 6' 8" 225lbs.
20 Lucas Nogueira C 7' 0" 225lbs.
— mtairy1 - I wouldn't trade Iggy for Ellis... When Iverson was here we were lucky to have great defenders all around him: Snow, Lynch, Hill, Ratliff, and Mutumbo... Holliday is nice on D but who else do you have that is a tough defender if you trade Iggy? I think the real problem is Brand... Solid player but really... in his best year (last year) he gave us about the same as Armon Gilliam (look it up!)... didn't see anyone begging Gilliam to stay.... Really if you trade Iggy it should be for a 1st round pick.. I wouldn't mind drafting Bismack as the defensive power forward for the future and Hamilton as the shooting guard... that's two critical needs! With the 2nd round pick you take the best big scorer available... I think Rick Jackson a good defender and rebounder may go undrafted... sign him as a free agent... he's a Reggie Evan type of dirty work player that we need.— soldierboy
- To make things more crystal clear, let's just examine Ellis vs Iguodala in a 1 on 1 situation. Offensively, Ellis is going to have to work very hard to get anywhere, whereas Iguodala can use the fact that he is much bigger and much stronger than Ellis to have his way anywhere on the court he pleases. If you want to trade Jrue for Monta and make Monta a scoring point guard, I might listen, but as a two guard he is 6'2.5" (no shoes) and has a paltry 8'2" standing reach, so he will have lots of trouble containing his match-up every single night. Defense wins championships :)— incog69
- oops... as I was saying: Those of us who do know basketball realize that there are two ends of the court. If Monta Ellis were a great player, his team would win. He is a great scorer on a bad team. I love watching him play and seeing his highlights, but no thanks- Iguodala is the better player if you want to win basketball games. Jrue, Evan, Andre > Jrue, Monta, Evan.— incog69
- Danny Granger scored like 25 a game two seasons ago- I wouldn't want him either. Those of us who do know basketball understa— incog69
- The people that say no to Eliis for Iguodala dont know basketball. Ellis is a scoring machine who's coming into his prime as a player. He's capable of getting 40 on any night and is one of the most dangerous scorers in the NBA.. He answers the question for the Sixers go to guy late in the 4th quarter of tight games. Turner will be able to replace Iggy at small forward along with Young.. Meeks goes back to 4th guard where he belongs. With scoring down in the NBA, the chance to add a top 6 scorer like Ellis doesn't come along often.. Go make the deal Sixers.. Then get some height in the draft who can rebound and play defense.— bradco
- @76ers in 2076: Hi. I would prefer to see Turner at the SG spot where he has a size advantage. Out of college, his comment on the NBA 3 was basically, "damn, that's a far shot", so I didn't expect him to light it up from deep in his rookie year. He did shoot it better than Ellis' 2nd, 3rd and 4th seasons though, so I think you are grossly off the mark if you think Ellis is a 'shooter'. He's a scorer- an exciting scorer- and a volume shooter who is undersized at the 2. If we play Holiday and Turner together, we have a big, highly skilled, unselfish, capable back court. In two seasons, Jrue and Evan could be all stars.— incog69
- I thought the point of trading Iggy was to free up minutes for Turner and Thaddeus. Trading for Ellis just continues the logjam. Unless Thorn is trading one of those two guys as well, this doesn't make a lot of sense.— JB1204
Comment removed.- NBADraft.net, and Draftexpress.com is the site most of you guys need to go to so you can understand this draft and the players better because you guys sound like you have got no clue.
First off Monta Ellis is not 5'11 he is 6'3 and has spent the past 4 years guarding 2guards but on the Sixers with Holiday he won't have to do that cuz Holiday has the size to guard 2guards. And Turner because of his knack for rebounding, size, and post up skills is a great fit at small forward who can run point and 2 guard also. This gives the Sixers a very dangerous backcourt one of the most dangerous in the league.
As for the prospects Vucevic will not be availible in the second round. He is the tallest player in the draft measuring in at nearly 7 foot tall and has a mammoth 7'6 wingspan. And he is still only 20 despite being a JR. and won't turn 21 till like November so he has much upside. He's similar to Hawes but is stronger and rebounds and plays defense better. Sounds like an upgrade. I really hope the Sixers trade for a late first rounder because i am huge on Jajuan Johnson and think he is a perfect fit here in Philly. Jeremy Tyler also would be a nice gamble had he went to college he would be a top 3 pick this year.— Byronic19134 - I see you edited your post 76er clever. You saw how idiotic you truly sounded lol.— ryguy55
- 76er you are a true nitwit. You are seriously saying you would rather have JR Smith a career bench warmer with an attitude problem to boot over a top 5 scorer in the league? Stick to something other than basketball because you don't have a clue.— ryguy55
- J.R. Smith vs. Monte Ellis. No contest. Take Ellis. Seriously? Smith? Just look at the numbers and big shots that Ellis takes. Likely won't happen, but he would be a great addition.— 76er
- combo- you've turned into the madness. lou has no business being at the end of the bench one year after he was a candidate for 6th man of the year. and monte isn't 5'11. that's just a gross over exaggeration to make your point. he's listed 6'3 but i'll give you 6'1. and JR Smith doesn't even start for the nuggets but you want to trade iggy for him? only if we get mosgov as well would i even consider touching jr smith. incog- can we admit that turner is a better fit for us at the three than the two? the boy can't shoot. that's why we'd like to trade iggy. that's why they want monte. the boy solidifies the two spot for us, takes pressure off of turner to score while giving him the minutes he needs to develop his game and gives us a go to guy down the stretch. Or we could just keep iggy and watch him throw up bricks from 15 feet with the game on the line over the next two years while he eats at our cap space. i don't know about you but i like plan A!— 76ers in 2076
- Facts b4 ignorance don't begin your thread with "no disrespect" and end the statement by calling me ignorant.. You are showing your ignorance by undervaluing your assets. My post was not about Lou.. The message behind the post was that WE NEED MORE FOR IGUODALA! not a 5'11 guard/ GUNNER! I want j.r. Smith for iguodala NOT Monte Ellis.. So ask yourself fact b4 ignorance this question. Would you rather have Monte ellis or j.r. Smith?? I know the answer. J.r. Smith. And I think the whole city's behind me on that one. At least the majority... INCLUDING YOU!! now...? who's ignorant? lol.— combocancer1975
- I'll be thrilled if the Sixers land Vucecic in some way shape or form. I'm glad to hear that the Sixers have shown enough interest in him to talk to him twice. Benson would be a nice land also, but not at #16. If we get them both, that would give Collins a lot of match-up flexibility since Vuc and Benson are physically very different centers.
Regarding Monta Ellis, I do not for the life of me understand how one season after taking a shooting guard with the number two overall pick and pairing him with a young point guard that the whole league is raving about, the Sixers are suddenly in need of a guard. I thought the Sixers were so loaded on the perimeter that some were arguing to take a big in the draft last season. The Sixers have plenty of scoring in the back court, and the beauty of their offense is that the team has a balanced attack.
Regarding Iguodala, he is not by any stretch a ball hog, so I do not think there is any rational basis for saying that he is holding back the development of the younger players. If Turner is to get more minutes it will be because he beats out Meeks and Williams for them (if he can't then we can label him as a disappointment).— incog69 - I like faried... BUT! I REALLY like Tyler and donnatas. And nikola and benson. Thompson looks 6'8ish. I would enter the draft thinking the future. We are ahead of the curve with brands replacement in sp8ts. I'm thinking FULL LENGTH BAREFOOT BIG! With pg skills at 16.. Draft Tyler or donnatas.. I am very happy at 16. And benson or vucevic at 50... Iguodala for j.r. Smith.
Jrue Meeks Thad brand Tyler
Turner j.r. Smith brackins sp8ts (vucevic or benson)
Lou and nocioni at the end of the bench ready to be packaged and shipped later. That leaves the mle. and hawes 4.25 cap # lol. Sounds like an easy process to me? The bigs are in 16 & 50. The scorer ALSO BIG! j.r. Smith!!!! 6'6..! Not 5'11 monte ellis.. HAVE NOT USED THE MLE if there's still one available and hawes 4.25... Stop the madness.— combocancer1975 - No disrespect Combo but your analysis as well as your past analysis is idiotic and well...just stupid. I'll make it plain for you. Lou vs. Monta = Iggy vs. LeBron. Very similar players, similar skillset and style of player. But one is just plain better than the other and bigger than the other. Lou 6'0, Monta 6'3. Lou 15ppg, Monta 24.1ppg. Iggy 6'6, Bron 6'9. Iggy 15ppg 6rbs, 5 asts. Bron 25ppg, 8rbs, 7asts. Monta is just beter than Lou. Monta makes 2.5mill less than Iggy, and is 1 1/2 years younger than Iggy. We save money and get younger. We trade Lou for another piece, possibly a young BIG. Move Meeks to the bench where he belongs to replace Lou. Start Evan or Thad at 3. Monta is a closer. Did you see Sixers vs GS at the WFC last season. If you're a real Sixers fan, please know the facts before typing nonsense...and bsmart, Justin Holiday sucks. If you want real info on prospects please check out draftexpress.com. Its the best hoops site out there!! And please stop being ignorant!!— Facts before ignorance
- combocancer1975 Lou can't give you 25 points per game Ellis can
maybe give you a couple of 40 point games who was the last Sixer
to do that? Probably Iverson— douglasrdd - Where's Jrue Holiday's brother Justin?? Can't ignore the bloodlines!!— bsmart
- No to Monte Ellis.!! NO! WE HAVE LOU!!!!! COME ON MAN!!! STOP IT!!— combocancer1975
- Combo Lou, really? If Lou and Ellis were the same Lou would be averaging 24 ppg and 2.5 steals per, 3rd in the NBA this past season. I'm a big Lou fan but the two are similar in size that's it not game. Iggy is done, no more to see here. — phillyinNJ
Thank Goodness Ed Snider is abdicating his second Rate Management of the Sixers a disgrace to Philly— Kevinmac- Ok, now this is more like it. That last group was made up of dudes trying out for the summer league team. Not sure why there would be interest in Selby and Lee if Ellis ends up here. Benson, Harper, Vucevic & Williams would not be immediate help but could develop into NBA players.— mtairy1
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John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
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