76ers Pre-Draft Workout Invitees

In this episode, we're breaking down the 76ers pre-draft workout invitees. Who do we like for the Sixers to draft at 22? Who would make the right fit for the Sixers' revamped front office in their first draft? #Philadelphia76ers #NBAonX 

Transcript

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Check me out right here, yo. What's going on, folks? Welcome into another episode of the 610 Podcast. I'm your host, Jay Hollihan, welcoming you in to another episode here as we discuss the Philadelphia 76ers plans for this upcoming all-important NBA draft. Hey, you traded away a guy to get a first round pick, a guy that could have had an impact for you down the stretch and who knows throughout the playoffs. I mean, we saw what he did, of course, with the Oklahoma City Thunder. We saw how much of an impact he was there. This has to feel like, okay, you know, we gotta we gotta nail this pick. And if you're the 76ers, it's all that important. And I'm telling you, it's all that important that they nail this pick. Now, the Sixers whom have invited six players to begin workouts for the number 22 pick, they are Koa Pete from Arizona, Dalen Swain from Texas, Chris Kanak, or Kanak, I beg your pardon, from the University of Houston, Alan Graves, who dons from Santa Clara, and obviously that's a pretty intriguing player right there with with Graves, and we'll see obviously, you know, what comes out of that. Isaiah Evans from Duke and Zubi Egefore from yours truly's alma mater, St. John's. Now, I'm gonna wax poetic here on Zubi for a minute down the line. But let's get to some of the other guys first. Koa Pete, obviously a player that anytime you have an opportunity to bring in a guy that you feel like, hey, right away, he comes in as a forward, it's a big need. 6'8, 235, athletic, long, lanky, averaged 14 points last year in 28 minutes, shot 53% from the field, not a prolific three-point shooter, averaged 0.2, made three pointers per game out of 0.6, so that's something that you're kinda losing in. From the free throw line, just a 63% free throw shooter, six total rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block, two personal fouls a game, two turnovers as well. Freshman kid. This is your classic one and done. We gotta teach, you know, we gotta really polish him up at the next level. Well, it's gonna tell us a lot about what the Sixers feel in terms of where they are on draft night. Because, trust me, there are guys that you can get that could come right in and potentially have that type of an impact for you right away at that wing position, which let's not be crazy here. That's what the Sixers need. Do I think it's stupid to draft for need? A little I mean, a little bit at times. I mean, you don't want to completely reach for a player, but it's kind of wing heavy at the end of the draft, which is perfect for the 76ers. I'm sure that was kind of in the mind of Darryl Morey when he made the trade, but I mean, great. I don't, you know, necessarily think you needed to sell off the one guy that probably could have made an impact for you, but hey, let's stick on the heat stick to the here and the now. Dalen Swain, whom last year played at Texas, he was at Xavier the previous two years. Um in his career in college, now his career in college, let's actually go with what he did the last two years. He averaged 11 points per game in the 24-25 season out of uh out of 33 games started, 28 minutes per game. You know, this was under Sean Miller, where he was the coach that he was recruited from, and then he followed him to Texas. But he averaged 11 points per game, 82% from the free throw line, 54%, or 53%, I'm sorry, from the field, 25% from three-point land that year, 0.2 made three pointers a game out of 0.8. Not great. But this past year at Texas, he averaged 17 points per game. He nabbed seven total boards, four assists, two steals. He averaged a block in his first two years at Xavier, just you know, 0.3 this past season. But he also shot 34% from three point land. Now, I think there's an argument to be made. Hey, individually, he got a lot better for a Texas team that was up and down and totally riding the roller coaster of a season. But when you look at the production from the Big East to the SEC, and obviously there's a lot of talent in the in the in the Big East, but the SEC you're seeing more quantity talent every time you go around. You know, every every game you play, the worst SEC team is probably going to blow out the worst Big East team. I mean, you know, let's just call it like we see it. So that's kind of what we see out of uh Swain at the moment. But moving right along to what would be kind of an intriguing player to take on for the Philadelphia 76ers, and I mean that because Chris Senak has, in my opinion, more of a I think you're gonna have to do a lot of building with him. He's also a center, and he's 6'11. Um, so not a seven-footer. He averaged nine points this past year with Houston, uh, 48% from the field. He averaged around a made three-pointer a game, if that's anything. Eight rebounds, he started 36 games, averaged, you know, 25 minutes per game, but he's not a seven-footer. And you know, at the NBA level, now granted, height's not everything, you know, for what teams value nowadays at their five position. I mean look at the Knicks and look at Kat. But at the same time, with that being your first round pick, and you're probably bringing in a guy, like in my in my personal opinion, I'd rather have a guy who's ready now, and I think can also get better as we move forward down the line. I think that's what you could have in a swain, and we'll get to some other guys that I feel that way about as well. So, second round, you know, if you were picking there, I could see that being a serious and I mean serious, serious guy you'd want to look at. Now, the powers to be on the uh ESPN NBA mock draft, they have the Raptors taking Snack at 19. So, you know, uh Jeremy Woo's NBA mock draft, he has him going off there. I mean, we'll see, you know, how he ends up panning out if he is taken there. But it'll be it'll be obviously be interesting from that standpoint. Now the Sixers obviously also bringing in Alan Graves and Graves whom the the interesting part about Graves that I like, and I'm sure this might be lost on some people, but when you look at the season that Santa Clara had to get to the tournament, he was a big big part of that. Um, and you know, I obviously a lot of people were, I think, kind of surprised, uh, to say the least, that, hey, you know, he's he's keeping his name in the NBA draft because of how much talent is in there. But, you know, there's no denying, and the fact that he you know only started four games, but twenty and twenty-three minutes, you know, he averaged twelve points, shot forty-one percent from the three-point land, fifty-one percent from the field, seventy-five percent from the line, snabbed six boards, two assists, two steals, a block. So obviously a player that can bring it at both ends and probably will play the power forward position. 6'9, 220. There is like I was saying with Snack, there's serious potential there. That's the guy that if you're sitting at 22, you go, man, he's got talent and we think he can get better. But at the same time, in college, now granted, you're going against Gonzaga, you're going against St. Mary's, but when you have to be at the NBA level, and you're going up against, you know, the Yukons and the Michigans every night, how is that going to fare? So that's something that you also have to take into account as well. Isaiah Evans, intriguing, out of Duke, of course. Evans, whom you know, the interesting thing about Isaiah Evans, and I think I don't want to totally compare him to this, but I just mean in terms of the way that he is able to play off the ball, he reminds you a little bit of Mikel Bridges. Now, he's shooting guard. Sixers have enough shooting guards. I don't think they want to go in that route. But just in terms of the prospect of Evans and drafting a guy of his ilk, I think you're looking at a guy here, excuse me, that has the potential because you look at what he did at Duke with Boozer. You know, averaging 15 points, shooting 36% from three. Now he he has never seen a three-point shot he hasn't liked. And this is something, though, that, hey, Tyrese Maxie spoke about all year long. Shoot the damn ball. You know, how many times do we hear Maxie say, I'm so tired of these young guys being scared to shoot, you're open shoot. He's a guy that would come right in and be that type of player. Now, the interesting part about it is, again, he's a shooting guard. I do not think that you want to go in that direction if you're the 76ers. You know, could that be something in a couple years we'll be saying, man, they should have gone that direction? Maybe. But you know, we'll see. Now I'm gonna be totally biased here on this last one. In that if he comes off at twenty-two, there's two things I'm doing. I'm coming on here to rave about it, and then second, I'm going and buying the guy's jersey along with my other St. John's alum who just unfortunately lost him five to the Knicks in the finals, Julian Champpenny. But if the Sixers take Zubi at Jafor at 22, I am going to tell you right now, you are going to get a workhorse. Now, is he gonna play the five position in the NBA? No. And as I've heard Rick Pettino say before, uh he thinks Zubi is more of a four. Well, what do the Sixers really, really need? They need a four. They need a guy because let's face it, I mean, whether or not he's gonna even be lacing them up next year for the 76ers or not, Paul George ain't getting any younger. And when you, with all things considered with where he's at, in terms of, you know, how I mean Mike Ganzi might obviously feel different about PG. He might say, eh, you know, I think I'm good. But I'll tell you one thing. Zuby, in my opinion, reminds me a lot of what Bob Myers looked at with Danny, with uh Danny Green. With Draymond Green. You know, Draymond was obviously a very undersized center. Now, I I obviously I don't anticipate Zubi to play that position. We know who most likely will be playing that position for the 76ers next year. But he's a guy that you want relentless work ethic. That guy is coming from a program right now in a Hall of Fame head coach. He has the answers to the tests before he even takes the test. He's gonna come in here, and I guarantee you the first thing Nick Nurse is gonna say is, wow, that guy works. That guy is constantly working. Trust me, he is not going to be afraid. First thing he's gonna do is he's probably gonna have a little fun with Vijay Edgecombe from the Baja Mars Invitational where VJ crushed St. John's fans' hearts, um, albeit it was Thanksgiving week. So how much he really crushed us, I don't know, but it was still a killer overtime loss. He hit the big buzzer beater. That's when I knew there was something with VJ. But with Zuby, the biggest thing with Zuby is developing his outside game and his outside shot. And granted, if you're gonna play the four position, that's something you need to have. Well, we know at the NBA level, you can obviously bring that along. And he's got to find three-point shots, not bad. It's just he needs to work on it a little bit more. But man, he brings it on the defensive end, he goes to work on the offensive end. Um, I think he could be someone that could come off the bench this year right away and give the Sixers big minutes, and in two and three years down the line, or four years down the line, it'll be I'm gonna be really interested to see where Zub is going to be in the next couple of seasons. He's a great kid, got an awesome head on his shoulders. I don't see why. You will fall in love with him because of his work ethic. I promise you that. There is not gonna, and if and if there is anything to be questioned about his work ethic, his college coach is gonna be on the line and he's gonna be coming down 76 to give him a kick in the you know what. Because I am going to tell you right now, Zuby is a hard worker. And again, that's something that I think in years past with first round picks that has been questioned. It's not going to be questioned with him. So, and listen, I didn't I I hey, we had the parade today in New York. Well, we, not we, I wasn't there, but um, they had the parade in New York today. I didn't have an opportunity to talk about uh the NBA finals yet and what wrapped up, so I'll take a minute to do so now. Number one, objectively speaking, if this was the Hornets playing the Spurs and the Hornets one and five, let's objectively say this was an intriguing NBA Finals. For an NBA Finals series that ended in five, this was pretty damn interesting. But I'll say this for the Spurs. Two things. Number one, Wemby's got to get in the gym. He's got to get in the gym big time. I mean, you've seen from year one to year two, okay, he's put on some weight. From year two to year three, he's gotten bigger. He's got to continue that upward trajectory, and he's gotta get into work on his postgame. That's the biggest thing from his standpoint that he really needs to work on. Number two, they gotta figure out a way. Either Dylan Harper's gonna be their point guard moving forward. Um I that that's that's it. Dylan Harper has to be the point guard moving forward. They have to find a way to move De'Aaron Fox. It's funny because there was at one point where I would have said, Man, I'd love to have a De'Aaron Fox on the 76ers team. Now, this was five and six years ago when they were looking for a point guard, you know, when there was the whole, well, trade away Ben Simmons. I mean, you know, I think there was a lot of value with Fox with the Kings, but my goodness. You want to talk about one of the worst finals performances of all time? That was horrifically bad. I said this, did he even make a jumper the entire series? I don't recall him making a jumper the whole damn series. Then he has the total brain fart at the end of game four where you just basic fundamentals of basketball, dude, dribble out the damn ball. Oh my god, it is so invigorating the whole entire damn time. Now, you know the Spurs, they're young, they're inexperienced. There's a feeling, and it's you know, it's fair to have they're gonna be back. Now, whether or not they're going to be back immediately next year, because you know the Thunder are gonna be there, that's yet to be seen. But it's gonna be interesting to see where that goes. Now, here's the thing about the Knicks. I've come on here and said it all the time. The Knicks have created a culture. That's why they really win. Because they create a culture and they're gonna outwork you. It's obviously why so many people fell in love with Villanova. It's what made Villanova national champions. Because they weren't the most talented team, but they would bust their ass up and down the floor for 40 minutes. I mean, it's what you've seen out of UConn the last couple years. It's, you know, and they've had obviously and they had great three-point shooting, you know, Dante DiVincenzo and company. Terrific point guard play, Brunson, but, you know, and I mean, who knew that he had this in him four and five years ago when he signed that deal with the Knicks, and everyone's like, whoa, that's a lot of money for that guy, and then all of a sudden it's like, you know, it's pretty worth it. They may have gotten him on the cheap, but you know, hey, it's something, it's a mentality, it's a mindset, it's a makeup that the Sixers have never had. Never had. Not one year did you say, man, those Sixers, ooh, they are they've come to play. They're they're finding ways to win games. And I'm talking about specifically in the playoffs, really. Maybe you want to talk about the 3-1 comeback against Boston, sure. But in terms of sustaining it, it never happened. And until from the top down they change that, I don't know if it ever will. It's honestly one of the reasons. I know I just waxed poetic about him, but maybe Zuby wants to sit there and go, yeah, I don't want to touch that franchise with a 10-foot pole. I mean, let's face it. I'm sure the New Yorkers would love to have him as well. Now, is he a first round pick? I don't know. He might be he might be a second, but I'm telling you. If you want a guy that could have the longevity, I would look at him. But the guys I like out of that are Swain, I like I I think Graves would be intriguing. Zooby. And I mean, obviously it would take time, and I think it would be a little bit of a project, but if you could land, you know, and he drops Snack, you know, maybe. Just maybe, you see him go off the board to the Sixers at potentially twenty-two or if there's a trade involved, and you know, we'll s we'll we'll see from from that matter where they go. But I wouldn't envision they move off of twenty-two. Um, I like Isaiah Evans, I just don't think it's a right fit. But hey, it's in my opinion, it's Bob Myers at the at the top here making these decisions, and then it's Mike Ganze who's gonna be, you know, the one coming to Myers, but Myers is gonna have to okay this. Because I don't think he's gonna let him go into this NBA, go into this draft, and not be a hundred percent babysat. Because listen, the 76ers are at a critical point. I mean, with the way that they are in in in the city of Philadelphia right now, I mean, I thought last year was probably the lowest it's been. I don't think this would be the lowest. I think you probably go with last year or, you know, maybe 2023, but it's they definitely are at a crossroads right now. Because you've watched now the Knicks win a championship, you've watched the Celtics win championships, the Raptors win a championship, held the Nuggets, and all these teams, you know, like you look at the Thunder, well, the Thunder are a little bit different because they did tank. But the other four, they didn't tank. They didn't tank at all. They just had NBA people or basketball people that knew how to make basketball decisions, something that the Sixers have lacked. I mean, I was an infant when Allen Iverson led them to the finals. I think it's been since then. Since they had a real leader at the top in Pat Croce. I think that's really the last time they've had that type of a person at the top. And this NBA draft coming up, this number 22 pick is going to tell us a lot about, you know, the ownership group of or the powers to be with the 76ers and where they want to take this team for not just this year, but for years to come. So thanks everyone for tuning in. That's probably gonna be the next time we are gonna be on. But uh until then, thanks for tuning in, and we'll talk to you next time.