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.
X19::::freakin hilarious....what a bust!!!— bbrady25- bear:::missed your Mayfair Diner plug....we should hold the "post draft show" there....open late and they finally brought a few flat screen TV's a couple years back....why not....Kennedy-Clinton-Obama all have eaten there why can't the bear.....we can have WIP throw a feed in for some post draft analysis.....
Also I'm a little worried about Leonard....being in Chicago often of the years I've watched and while he is very athletic for the position and has an almost ridiculous body (no fat at all) I'm not sure I see him as more than a solid player.....spot starter type during his career....not sure about his real upside....that's why I like Ross...I can see him being a potential 20 point scorer down the road IF the kid develops and gets lucky along the way....— bbrady25 - I'm starting to really like the idea of Dr J as a GM here. He helped the Orlando Magic turn from an expansion franchise into winners pretty quickly back in the day. Drafting Shaq helped as well but he was part of the picture in building that team. Yeah he would be a good help getting players to want to come here. The man is a legend and a 3 time champ (counting his ABA rings). Plus Doug respects him enough to not try to mess with him. Dr J isn't a pushover either. He really can sell players on this team and speaking from experience as a champ it's win all around.— joesmooth2u
- I have absolutely no problem with the Sixers standing pat and taking either of the Jones's with the 15th pick. It might not be exciting, but it might be the best way to improve the team. Thorn's assessment is right on the money. There are several players with fantastic potential who are likely to fall into the Sixers lap. This is thanks in part to wing players like Dion Waiters and Terrence Ross climbing the draft boards.— incog69
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.
