76ers PICK Labaron Philon Jr. at No. 22

With the 22nd overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Labaron Philon Jr., we react to the pick and discuss the rest of the NBA Draft and discussed the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade! #Philadelphia76ers #NBAonX 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:01

One two. Check me out right here, yo.

SPEAKER_02 0:10

What's going on, ladies and gentlemen? Welcome into another episode here of the 610 Podcast. I'm your host, Jay Hollihan. We welcome you back on this Wednesday evening as we discussed the first, the really first move in the Mike Gansy era for the Philadelphia 76ers, and it comes at pick 22, in which the 76ers select LeBaron Phylon Jr., a guard out of Alabama. And that is who the 76ers take as their first real move by Gansy. Now instant reactions out of this pick, and we'll obviously go through the first round of the NBA draft. And this evening, I mean, according to the Seventy Sixers, obviously, because we have the full rundown of the draft here, and the Seventy Sixers, as we know, did nothing past selecting Phylon. So the instant reactions from me are this the Seventy Sixers have kind of essentially replaced what they traded away in Jared McCain. Now Phylon is listed. Listed height is at 6'4, weighs 185 pounds, and is a player that in his two years at Alabama got significantly better from year one to year two. Last year he was a 22-point per game player, shot close to 40% from three-point land, 50% from the field, 80% from the free throw line, averaged 5 assists per game, a steal per game, and honestly, all things considered, when you look at the board, he was probably the best player available. But again, the Sixers did have bigger fish to fry in the direction of who they took. In the direction of obviously what their needs were. Their needs were at the wing. Now, do you want to always draft for you know trying to replace something that you don't have or something that could be a question mark down the road because we have free agency coming up, and who knows if they add to that wing position, who knows what they do because of the fact that, hey, will Gansy ultimately want to keep Paul George here? Is that really one of his kind of players now? Granted, I don't know if he has the ability to trade away Paul George in terms of who would want that contract mixed with that age. But you, of course, look at the fact that you had players available that could have gone off. It would have made sense to go off at twenty-two, and instead they went totally best player available. They did that pretty constantly with Daryl Maury, but I will say that Mori was much more focused on the backcourt than he was the front court. It never felt like he was looking to make a move to kind of add someone that he liked as front court depth as a young player, but with Ganzi, I feel like he just went, you know what, he really is the best guy to take here. Let's go with him. Let's go with that. And the other thing too is this could also kind of tell you that when the 76ers decided, because there's two ways of looking at this. They could have said, well, we like the front court, Zubi Edge of Force sitting there, Coa Pete sitting there, you know, there was all the I mean, all the talk about, well, you know, they'll take Coa Pete. And Coa Pete goes the last pick in the first round. But all the talk about, oh, Coa Pete's the guy, they're gonna select Coa Pete. You know, the the for weeks it was all Coa Pete, Coa Pete, Coa Pete. And he goes 30th. I mean, it's not like he went the following pick. Zubi went over him. The way they were talking about this, you would have thought Zubi was gonna go last or fall into the second round, and Pete would be the player at twenty-two. Or where the Hawks took him at twenty-three. So the 76ers here, you could look at it and say, well, this clearly was a decision from the 76ers front office that said, we don't know why the heck Daryl Morey traded away Jared McCain. We liked that kind of player, we liked the f what we were building here with him. Go get us a guy who can essentially not replace him, but fill into that same role. Because while I mean Phylon is not necessarily and I see somewhere now I see here he's listed 6'3-176, uh, according to ESPN. So, you know, when you look at him compared to Jared McCain, whom McCain's obviously a player that you're going to be comparing Phylon to throughout this, and he's 6'3, 195 is McCain's listed height and weight. I mean, it's kind of the same player. You got a three-point shooter. Now, I mean, anyone and everyone, if you're playing a guard position, you have to be able to shoot at the NBA level. But you get kind of another three and D guy in phylon. Now we'll see what kind of other attributes he has, but this is going to be a very intriguing. I don't want to say project, but I do think there will be, of course, work that needs to be done there. But this will be a very intriguing fit for this Sixers team because you have Maxi, you have VJ, you have Phylon. Now, would all three of them be on the court at the same time? Unless you're facing a team that goes really, really small. Like in Oklahoma City, or, I mean, it'll be interesting to see what the Spurs look like next year. You're really not going to need to have the three of them out there at the same time. I mean, that hasn't been the 76ers' philosophy throughout this entire Nick Nurse era. I think at times, I mean, I was clamoring for them to go small throughout even last year and just put your best players on the floor. Now, you obviously there's only one basketball. So, you know, sometimes that's not the best option. But if you are a very backcourt-based team, backcourt-minded team, why not? And when you look at, I mean, when you look at Maxi, Edgecombe, and then a phylon projects to where they are projecting, you're talking about a 76ers backcourt that is the future of this team. Which would then lead me to believe, okay, if that's the face of it, then you're gonna need to add into that front court through free agency here. Now, this was kind this was kind of uh be became the more popular way of thinking under Myers in Golden State. And that's why I sit here and say, now, that's kind of the way the NBA has trans transitioned into itself now, and I go back to the point that listen, that was not Nick Nurse's forte at all last year. I mean, it's the twenty-four-twenty-five season, you can't even really sit here and look at that much. In twenty three and twenty-four, there were times where they could go small and it worked, but few times really come to mind down the back end of the season. And now when you think about it moving forward, this has to be, in my opinion, the direction that this team goes into. So we're gonna play two clips here about the draft pick. We'll play Mike Ganzi, and you'll hear from Phylon as well. But first, we're gonna play for you Mike Ganzi on going with LeBron Phylon Jr.

SPEAKER_03 9:30

Can you just talk to us about what made Phylon someone you were targeting and just what you see in him as a player and his fit on this roster?

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Yeah, he was pretty high on our board. Um surprised a little bit he was there. But um, you know, I've watched LeBair a lot. LeBairon is just a dynamic guard. You know, he can play out and off the ball, came back for his second year in Alabama, you know, could have came out last year probably and you know, got picked by a little bit higher this year, but um just dynamic and can score, can pass. He's got some like toughness. You know, I think he's gonna fit Philly. He plays with the edge, plays with the swag. You know, he's not afraid. You know, he's a mobile Alabama kid, so he stayed home, so he's loyal, and you know, he's won a lot of games there. Playing with Nate Oates. Um, you know, they play like an NBA system, they get up and down, they play fast, they shoot a lot of threes. So we were very, very excited he was there. Um and you know, he was a really good player last two years, and we're excited to have him Philly.

SPEAKER_02 10:31

I think everyone is in agreement with that. No one was expecting him to fall that far in the draft. Um the hope is though, obviously, you're going to bring in a group of young guys. You know, you you draft VJ, you got Phylon, and I mean, think about Tyrese Maxie is younger than Jalen Brunson. So he's still relevant. I mean, mid-20s. You hope you have this core of players, this young core of players that when you get to the back end of the 2020s, and as you, you know, throughout their careers, they are going to continue to project to get better and better and better. And hopefully that's going to be the case. Now, Phylon talked about VJ and Maxie.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

I would just say learning from VJ, just the transition into the NBA. And then Maxie really just like the work, the work at the game, the way he goes about things, the way he prepares for games, the way he gets ready for practices, and you know, stuff like that. And just like it's a it's a learning point for me, you know. Well, you know, just like being a veteran, going back to college and being able to lead guys and being able to come in and be able to first start and learn from two great guards. You know, they got great, you know, great guards back there. So, you know, just adding me is a blur, really. Just like you got two guys that's really shifty, two guys that really don't know how to handle the ball, and then a guy that can jump out the roof. So that means everything, you know, with that backcourt. I feel like, you know, Coach Nurse is going to have a fun time with that.

SPEAKER_02 12:02

Well, hopefully he's gonna fit like a glove here, and he will continue to I guess grow with this team and also prove a lot of people wrong that he fell that far in the draft. And let's talk about this NBA draft because for all the talk about it was the greatest talent pool that this NBA has seen in quite some time. You kind of thought there was going to be some mayhem. Maybe some teams looking to trade into the top ten, maybe some teams looking to, you know, kind of get crazy here through the draft. Didn't happen at all. I mean, it was very straightforward. It was about as straightforward of a draft as you could see. And it's kind of why, I mean, the NBA draft is just one that, you know, there's a lot to be excited about, more so when the lottery gets picked over anything. But it's just one of those things where it's like, you know, it's not the NFL draft, which is can't miss T I mean, it's almost as big as any sports game. The NFL draft, compared to like the NFL draft itself, has more compel compellingness to it than some NFL games. I mean, you look at like, you know, the Cleveland Browns playing the New York Jets, or I or me showing you a rerun out of an NFL draft, you might take the rerun of the NFL draft at certain points, because my lord, there's just more in intriguement in that than anything else. Now, for this NBA draft, you know, with the Banza going off at number one to the Wizards, here's the thing about the Washington Reds. One day, one day, maybe the Wizards will have finally figured it out. And Debanza could very well be that kind of guy that meshes in the front court with what you have in Trey Young in the backcourt. You've got some intriguing players like uh that Alex Sarr that they took, you know, so there's your your kind of centerpiece for that team, which could be exciting. I mean, I don't know how much Anthony Davis really has left. It's kind of just a mentorship role with him at this point. But, you know, they're giving Brian Keefe, their head coach, uh something to, you know, go out there and try and prove here this season and try and prove he really is the man for the job uh to be an NBA head coach of a serious winning team. Because hey, the Wizards, I mean, you could definitely see a world in which they are going to be a playing team at minimum, or maybe at their best next year. Now Peterson goes off at the board number two to the Utah Jazz and between some of the Utah, you know, the Utah Jazz last year, when they actually played, they were a pretty decent team. I mean, they weren't gun getting into the playoffs, but they were decent. Ace Bailey, you know, gives you a spark, although you don't really know where his head's at. Kyle Filipowski, an exciting player. Um, they they had some good some some pieces there that you know it's kind of like, wow, it'd be interesting to see what this team is ultimately going to look like. Now, Peterson, there's a lot of question marks with his character. We understand that. If you followed college basketball last year, you know about that being the case. But man, when that guy plays, he is a damn good player. And I'm curious to see what he looks like with the Jazz. Cameron Boozer goes to the Grizzlies at three. I mean, in a normal year, he's the number one pick. In a normal year, he's the can't miss pick, but he goes off three here to the Grizzlies. Caleb Wilson taking at four to the Bulls. It's a sad case with Caleb Wilson because of the fact, you know, that obviously he was suffering a fractured hand in February, and that was uh unfortunate that he then had a broken thumb as well. So, you know, as the end of the series season came around, so he was out for the rest of the year. It's a shame that that happened, and you know, we couldn't see UNC at full strength. I mean, I don't know if that would have saved um, you know, Huber Davis's job, but uh I mean it just it just would have been interesting to see what could have happened um for UNC if they had uh their star uh star young player, uh freshman with Wilson. But the top four picks were all interesting. Acuff going off at seven to the Kings, you know, a talented player there in Acuff. Um probably a guy that I'm curious to see how his game translates to the next level would be Jaxel Landeborg going to the Warriors. I'm curious to see what he looks like at this next level. Um the Okori guy that went to the Pistons was drafted by uh drafted out of Stanford. Intrigued there to see what he was originally drafted by the Thunder, and then the NBA draft trade system absolutely sucks. But I'm curious to see how what how his game translate coming over coming in from Stanford. Alan Graves going off to the Raptors at 19. Quintance to the Spurs, that's going to be an intrigue right there. Um Zubi going to the Hawks. I have personal reasons to be curious to see what happens with him. Um Mara as well going to the Thunder. Uh Terrace Reed Jr. to the Nuggets, which is, I mean, I don't really think that would have any type of an impact on, you know, say like, well, we're thinking about moving some things around here with the Nuggets. Like, I don't I don't think that would have anything to do with Jokic, but it would be curious to see what happens, you know, when they have to go to that bench and they have to bring in a guy who's going to need to give them the type of rebounding ability that you're going to be missing when Jokic comes off the floor. Uh Caravan going in the first round to the Cavaliers. A good shooter. Uh a de definitely a very good or no, he well, then they trade him to the Kings. So not the Cavs, traded him to the Kings. Um, I mean, you watch what the Knicks did this past year, and you say to yourself, Man, how do we replicate that? You think about it like this, you take winners. You know, it's what I've been saying for the Sixers, you take winners. Now I don't know if Caravan matches what you have with a lot of those Nick Nova Knicks guys, because is his game ultimately going to translate? We don't know. But that's kind of I think what you think about with the Sacramento Kings, which is just a total dumpster fire of an organization. That's going to be an intrigue right there. I mentioned Coa Pete going to the Mavericks, well then, you know, it's get it gets traded to the Suns. Um, so that's obviously going to be something that you look out for as we continue to move forward. But something I haven't mentioned yet, and obviously, you know, we were talking about the draft first, but we we'd be, of course, ripped if we didn't talk about Giannis Antecupo being traded to the Miami Heat. This is a trade that I have to say was m you know, much like the what we just saw here with the Eagles, you know, it felt like it wasn't a matter of if, it was a matter of when. The Heat received Giannis and Bobby Portis, you know, old man Bobby Portis. The Bucks received Tyler Hero, Khalil Ware, Yakes, uh, this I'm not even gonna try and pronounce the last player's name. Yaka Tonich. Number 13th pick this year in the draft, an unprotected in 2031 first round pick, 23, pick swap in the first round in twenty thirty, and a twenty thirty three second round pick. So that's what the Miami Heat get from or that's what the Milwaukee Bucks get from the Miami Heat, and that turned into Nate uh From the University of Tennessee. You know, it is a shame that the Milwaukee Bucks had so many head scratching decisions in the final years of Giannis with the Bucks because it just kind of feels like they sort of wasted the great talent that was such I mean the f you know, in twenty, what was it, twenty nineteen, twenty eighteen, or twenty nineteen, when he really burst onto the scene in the NBA. He had been in the league for quite a few years, but I mean he was just really hitting his peak. And it felt like when they won the NBA finals in tw now when w when you Google Giannis, by the way, he gets the confetti and welcome to Miami. I mean, w what are we doing here? But it felt like this was going to be a guy who was going to be in the finals, take the the Bucks to the finals at least one more time. At minimum one more time, probably for the next you know, five years right after that. But that didn't happen. I mean, that didn't happen in the slightest. You know, they got him Damian Lillard, and okay. You got Damian Lillard, but here's the problem. Damian Lillard was no spring chicken when they traded for him. They already kind of did themselves a disservice there. I think all the Philly fans can be glad that the 76ers did not make that trade. And when you look at the fact that the Bucks brought in Doc Rivers to be their head coach, which I mean, after boot and holes are come on, what what are we doing here? You're just recycling the guy. And recycling coaches. And then, you know, these last two years, he was kinda I mean, this past year especially, he was checked out, he was ready to go. And they were kind of, well, we don't know if we're gonna trade him, oh well, we're gonna trade him. Now, Milwaukee really got a lot of the Heat Heat's depth. And for the Miami Heat, this is gonna be an interesting off their offseason. It's not done. It's not like, well, you got the guy, make a couple small moves, fill out your bench, and there you go. No. You have to now replace the depth you just lost. Do I think they're a total contender? Not necessarily. Because now they are going to need the NBA regular season. They are going to need for whatever they can get in there, or whomever they get, because you know they're they're gonna continue to add. But whoever they get to come in there and be around Giannis, it's gonna take time to build the kind of chemistry that you need to be a true contender. But and for Miami, it's not like okay, we've got the pieces, we just need to add this one piece, and boom, away we go. Like I just said, they're gonna need to build chemistry throughout this regular season. Now that, you know, Spoolstra, Pat Riley, if there was any two guys that could figure it out, it's them. So they have the necessary means, they have the necessary leadership in order to be able to do it. Let's see if they can. Now there's another element to this that's interesting. The Boston Celtics were in serious negotiations with the Bucs, and Jalen Brown was being brought up. Now, if you're the Bucs and you're looking to win, and you're still looking to get back into the playoffs, why would you not trade for Jalen Brown? Problem is, I don't think the Celtics were necessarily looking to give up that much depth. Miami was all for it. All for giving up picks, giving up players, you guys have it. We're gonna Now the one guy they didn't trade away that I was actually curious if he was gonna be a player was Bam out of Bio. I don't know how the hell Bam out of Bio and Giannis are gonna work at the same time. The answer is they're not. So I'm curious if Bam is going to be a part of a trade. That would be an intriguing That would be an intriguing piece that could be held out there in the offseason. However, there is something to be said for if Giannis is gonna play out on the perimeter, you'd like to have someone inside and bam at a bio. So we could see if that's where Miami's gonna go with that one. Now for the Boston Celtics, as I get back to Jalen Brown, Jalen Brown most likely is going to be traded. I can't imagine she's gonna be, oh well, come back. All is forgiven. Now if you trade away Jalen Brown, well, who are you trading him away to? Because now it's almost like you have to do it. And if you do do it, where's he gonna go? I mean I don't really know any other team out there off the top of my head that is actively looking to shop their wings. So this is gonna be an intri very intriguing offseason and a summer for the Boston Celtics, who are trying to get their team back to the NBA finals. Lot to really be interested as we move forward throughout the summer. But of course, the team we care about most here, the Philadelphia 76ers, they still have a lot of work to do. And we'll be breaking it all down here on the Six Ten Podcast. So thanks everyone for tuning in. We'll talk to you next time.