Leonard, center, to workout Tuesday morning
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Leonard, center, to workout Tuesday morning
John Mitchell, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Sixers, who worked out six big men over the weekend, will bring in center prospect Meyers Leonard first thing Tuesday morning.
The NBA draft is this Thursday.
An honorable mention All-Big Ten pick as a sophomore this past season at Illinois, the 7-1 Leonard led the Big Ten in blocks with 1.9 per game. He also averaged 13.6 points while shooting better than 58 percent from the floor. He was third in the conference in rebounding (8.2).
A bit of a mechanical player, Leonard, listed at 245 pounds with a body fat percentage less than six percent, has been steadily moving up draft boards since the Chicago predraft camp earlier this month.
Seen as a mid-to-late first round pick after he declared for the draft, there has been some talk lately that Leonard may even move up into the lottery, which would put him out of reach for theSixers, who have the 15th pick in the first round, unless they were to trade up.
However, there is also the possibility that he may be available when the Sixers make their selection at 15.
Spencer Hawes, the team’s starting center for the last two seasons, is an unrestricted free agent. Last season’s first- round pick, center Nik Vucevic, played well during the regular season. However, he only appeared in one game, for three minutes, during the postseason. A seven-footer, Vucevic is just 21.
Thanks John but I already reported it. LOL— mtairy1- How can they not look at a 2 guard at 15?? Rivers, Lamb, Waiters, and Ross are all going to be in that 8-15 range. Trading Iguodala and drafting a 2, is the only way to move forward with this team. Of course Collins will never allow Princess Iguodala to be traded.— FABER
- Didn't realize you still had a pulse John. Don't worry. Seems like the posters have it covered for you anyways. how much are they paying you for this great insight? Maybe the people in the front office who you tweeted "usually talk all the time are not making themselves available" simply don't see the point as you clearly are too busy to report what they're saying anyways.— 76ers in 2076
- They looked at Ross pretty early. They must be considering him if he's there at 15. (They'd take Leonard there, but no way he doesn't go lottery.)— rzzzzz
- Funny how people attack the reporter who broke all the Lou Williams stuff but want to take credit for writing up a press release that requires no work whatsoever.— Rawkus
- Mtairy1. Where can we read your re-written press releases?— Rawkus
- Is Leonard projected to be any better than Hawes? Wew gotta get someone who is tough...was looking at the size of Noah and Gibson on and Faried and all are around 230 pounds, which isn't huge, yet they have the motor and toughness to push people around and get rebounds. That's who need, whether it be with a pick or a FA/trade. I just don't see that guy available to us at 15...thats why I hope Ross falls to us cause he can fill the 2 we desperately need and then we can hope to use Iggy or Brand to get that PF.— terpaholic
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.
