Sixers shouldn't overthink No. 1 pick

SINCE MAY 17, the 76ers have known that they will be selecting first in Thursday's NBA draft. The thoughts of the front office since then have no doubt ranged from taking the best player, to taking a player of need, to trades and maybe even other places that we'll never know anything about.

It is the first time since 1996 that the organization has held the No. 1 pick. Then, of course, there was little doubt who the selection was going to be, and Allen Iverson went on to have one of the most successful careers in franchise history.

It would surprise most on Thursday if the pick isn't Ben Simmons out of LSU. His versatile game and 6-10, 240-pound body may simply prove too intriguing for Bryan Colangelo, Brett Brown and company to pass on. Unlike Iverson, Simmons isn't as sure a bet to fall into the superstardom category that Iverson did. So perhaps there's a chance that the probable may not happen once the selection is made Thursday night.

"There's no question the confidence in the draft depends on the year," said Jimmy Lynam, the Sixers' general manager from 1992 to 1994. "Someone that is an automatic pick, those instances are few and far between. (Greg) Oden was taken before (Kevin) Durant. In hindsight . . . But back then most would have agreed with that pick.

"The case this year is one that happens more often than not, a player that you hope can be a 'move-the-needle' guy. It might take a little while sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't happen. Drafting is a very imprecise science."

Back in 1986, the Sixers also held the top pick, garnered years earlier in a trade that included a guy named Joe Bryant, father of a son named Kobe. Entering that draft, the Sixers had been quite successful, having won the NBA title in 1983. They had won at least two playoff series in five of the previous seven seasons and were among a few teams in the league to have earned the elite label.

It was widely thought throughout the NBA world that Brad Daugherty, a 7-foot, 245-pound soft-shooting center out of North Carolina was the no-brainer to be taken by the Sixers. The problem in owner Harold Katz's mind was twofold. The team already had Moses Malone and Charles Barkley on the roster, so he wondered how another big would fit (sound familiar?). The other thought was building a roster to more fairly match up against the Boston Celtics.

In what many consider the biggest draft day blunder in team history, the Sixers traded Malone and Terry Catledge to Washington for Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson. They then gave the No. 1 pick to Cleveland in exchange for Roy Hinson and cash. The cash may have been the only piece of those trades that really did any good for the organization.

"The time when we traded top pick, in 1986, I was the assistant GM," said John Nash. "We had Charles, Moses, the top pick. Boston was the team in the East that we had to get by. We had a hard time trying to guard Kevin McHale. Our school of thought if we drafted Daugherty was that he and Moses and Barkley wouldn't be a good fit. Those were three guys that really needed the ball in order to be able to be at their best. That was the conundrum that we were facing. We thought that we'd have three post-up players if we took Daugherty.

"So the talk then turned of trading and getting a tall forward who was able to guard McHale, and that's where Hinson came in. He had had good success against Boston - scoring and defending. Then in getting Ruland and Cliff Robinson for Moses would enable us to spread the floor a little bit better and open things up for Barkley."

It wouldn't be an understatement to say Katz and company overthought that draft.

It appears that Simmons is a given. But the above example shows how trying to emulate styles or combat certain teams' strengths can prove to be a tough task. With Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, the team has three players who thrive most at center. The possible additions of Simmons and Dario Saric adds more size to the mix. If forming a cohesive roster is the plan, then trades and free agent signings have to be a major part of it.

"When I was general manager in 1989, we took Kenny Payne out of Louisville with the 19th pick," said Nash. "Our thinking was to put shooters around Barkley. Picking past the midpoint of the first round is difficult. We had a chance to move up in the draft. We could have drafted (point guard) B.J. Armstrong. Maurice (Cheeks) was up in years and we needed a backup point guard. I wish we would have done that.

"But that's what the draft is about, looking to do things that fits the compilation of your roster. You usually look to take the best player available, and go from there. That is something Portland should have done instead of taking Sam Bowie. But Michael Jordan didn't figure to be a fit with Clyde Drexler and Jim Paxson and they needed a big man.

"With the Sixers right now, they are probably in that accumulating mode due to the unknown future of Embiid. Until you know for certain what to do with Embiid, it will restrict them in trying to really build around him. The draft varies year to year. If (Tim) Duncan or LeBron (James) are there, it's a no-brainer. Those are outstanding franchise players. This draft, there is no clear-cut, bona fide guy, so it's much more difficult. Nothing is certain, though. You look a few years ago when Washington got John Wall at No. 1 and the Sixers got Evan Turner at two and DeMarcus Cousins fell to fifth. I think everybody would have concluded Wall was (the) top pick and yet it wasn't for a couple of years that he established himself as an elite NBA point guard, and some may argue that he's still not in the same category as Russell Westbrook or others. And look how Turner and Cousins have played out. You just never know. That's what the draft is."

If you're a bettor, your money may be safe if you wager on the Sixers taking Simmons instead of making moves that would probably include the 24th and/or 26th picks. But if 1986 is any indication, anything can happen.

@BobCooney76

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