Thorn says Sixers won't move from 15th pick
After monitoring the workout of Illinois center Meyers Leonard, president Rod Thorn said the team would not move up from the 15th pick.
Thorn says Sixers won't move from 15th pick
Bob Cooney
Big, strong and athletic. That is what the Sixers have said they are looking for when they make their first pick, No. 15, in Thursday's NBA draft. They had a player in for a workout Tuesday who fits that description in 7-1 center Meyers Leonard, out of Illinois. Leonard may or might not be available when the Sixers pick, and they may or may not want him. It's all still a mystery as to whom they may select and if they'll stick with selecting an inside presence.
"We had a good workout out today. Meyers Leonard is a guy who is in our mix," Sixers GM Rod Thorn said. "He's over seven feet, has a great body, can shoot the ball and is very athletic. So he's definitely a guy who is in our mix."
That mix, Thorn conceded, includes maybe a handful of players that interest the team. And they most likely won't be moving from that 15 spot.
"I don’t see us moving up," said Thorn. "I think we’re content to be about where we are right now. There are some cases that you couldn’t even move up if you wanted to. As of right now I don’t see us moving up. I’d say in a normal draft 15 is probably about the cutoff of players who you think are going to be good players. This year I think it goes a little bit deeper than that. We’ve gone over the stuff ad nauseam with our scouts, with people, with Tony (DiLeo) and Courtney (Witte). I think we’re going to have a choice at 15 of 2 or 3 guys we like.
This draft is loaded with power forwards, whether it's a talented class is yet to be seen.
"Definitely there are more fours and fives who will be NBA players in this draft. Not as many twos as normal and not as many ones. The depth of the draft is in fours and fives. You always hope that whoever you draft can play in your rotation. Sometimes that doesn’t happen. If you take a real young kid, let’s say, that you think has a real good upside might not be able to play that much right away. But I think any time you draft 15 you’re hopeful the guy can play in the rotation.
"There are two or three guys that bring excitement to us but they may not be there. We’re hopeful. Our coaches are included in this too, there are several guys that we like who we think can come in and play for us."
Perhaps Leonard is among that group. We'll find out on Thursday.
Wow you guys have it wrown the article says thorn said "I don't see us moving up" He didn't say that they would not move up. Just wait and see what happens. And with this team the sixers will have two options.
Option 1: use the free agent market to make this team a strong contender now.
Option 2: use the draft and build for a future, make trades for other draft picks that will fit your team. But this will take at least 4 years to blossom.
Other than that watch the Heat and the Thunder play in the NBA finals for the next 4 out of 6 years.— male- Maybe he should keep his mouth shut about their potential plans. You never know what impact that could have. There is only downside associated with talking about potential plans, and little upside.— Bobphxville
Thorn for Congress!— pedge- Well, saying they won't move up from 15 isnt the same as them not keeping 15 and making a separate trade for a 2nd higher pick— boy_wonder
- Bobphxville; works both ways guy; GMs use the media to float rumors all the time. Get off the guy's back; the fact is, YOU don't know if it's good or not.— JBinPA
- Leonard is a stiff,he will get dunked on just like Sean bradley and Zeller is a stiff also, all you need to do is look at that win duke got on carolina. Austin Rivers shot the ball right in his face , he looked clueless— bgwille
- Hey bbrady, since you want to stroll down memory lane, how about 'Kenny Payne' 1989 in the ist rd, 19th overall. Now that was a real gem.— Xavier19
- Who is going to play center? Hawes? Puleeze.............
Someone has to man the middle and it can't be Vuke fulltime as he didn't get off the bench for the last third of the season in 2011-12.
Find a way to draft Fab Melo and hire Moses Malone to teach him the intricacies, defensive and offensive, of the low post. Vuke can alternate with him, play the high post, and both kingdoms can thusly be served.
And if you need a General Manager, give the job to Dr. J. He is Philly basketball and is respected everywhere. Whatever it takes to bring him up to speed can be accomplished by Thorn who has a respectable curriculum vitae notwithstanding the scorn heaped upon him by some contributors to this website. Erving would be the one who could convince a true superstar to sign with Philly as a free agent.
OK.............so do it.— World - Of course they wont trade up. That involves risk and it requires effort. Why do that when you can just sit back take whoever is left? A smart front office would make a determination as to whether there is a player in the draft(other than Anthony Davis who is not available) who has serious star potential, and do what it takes to get them. Nothing or no one should be off limits.....But no, lets just sit back and take the next Mo Speights or Nic Vujecic. Serviceable but rotation guys at best. Lets help our buddy Rip Van Thorn a little, rotation guys in the NBA are a dime a dozen. They can be had for as little as a 2nd round pick(thats what we traded Speights for) or picked up in free agency every year. Thorn said it himself, you draft for talent...duh. So why not try to put yourself in position to get the most talented player available? Nah, Thorn would rather just stick to the formula that will get us in position to lock up that 8th seed in the last week of the season....cant wait. Thanks Rod and Doug...sorry to wake you guys from your nap...carry on, nothing to see in Sixers land.— audrina
- Thorn did such a good job with the Nets...yikes— Ssteve115
- JBinPA - hey bonehead, no kidding I don't KNOW if it is good or bad. The idea of providing feedback in a forum like this is to provide opionion based upon experience. How 'bout getting off my back. I am just doing what Phildelphian's do best - second guess and criticize.
— Bobphxville - PS - I would lay off of the semi-colon use until you know how to use them. Three in two sentences? You're going to pull something if you're not careful.— Bobphxville
- Bob, you've already been fired from the grammar police for not being able to differentiate 'opinion' from 'onion' in your last post. — goeagles87
- Would someone please check this knucklehead for a pulse?— OldCoach
- How long until we be up there with Miami and the Bulls? Let's get this straight we all know we can't beat them forreal forreal. If Rose and Noah was playing they could have easily swept up. But then again we're content staying at 15. Look at the Eagles, they were at 15 but traded down to get the player they wanted. This staff and new ownership is starting to act like they don't care. We need a Howie Roseman for this team.— Ace-Philadelphia
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
