Brian Spurlock – USA Today Sports
With a roster that has many holes, outside of the starting point guard, the Philadelphia 76ers could pretty much go anywhere with the 11th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft and find an impact player that will help right away. One way they could go is with a big man as an insurance policy to Andrew Bynum, and one option there is Cody Zeller out of Indiana.
Prior to the start of this year’s college basketball season, many saw Zeller as the top overall pick. After leading his team to a sweet sixteen appearance this past year, it was teammate Victor Oladipo that was receiving all the hype. Zeller was exposed as being soft on the interior, lacking the toughness to play center at the next level.
Zeller quieted some of the doubters at the combine and improved his draft stock by testing very well in the sprints and in the vertical. Zeller enters the draft being a borderline top 10 pick with the 76ers hoping he can fall to 11.
Zeller’s strengths are that he is a tremendous athlete, he can run the floor very well and he has a high basketball IQ. I think at the next level Zeller can not only use his post-up game because of his height, but he will be athletic enough to step out and hit an outside shot as well as blow by slower bigs off the dribble.
As for weaknesses, Zeller only pulled down 8.1 rebounds per game and for someone that is 7-feet tall that could be a problem. He also is not a great shot blocker, and he is not the best defender even though he is athletic. If he gets a little bit more of a motor on both ends of the floor, he could become an excellent player.
While the comparisons to LaMarcus Aldridge are a bit of a stretch, I see Zeller being a contributor at the NBA level. He will be someone that can give you 12 points and seven rebounds, and he is a smart enough player to not get exposed or try to do too much. The 76ers can use him as a backup to Spencer Hawes or if they decide to bring Bynum back he has enough of an outside game to step in and give them two 7-footers on the front line by playing the power forward position.
Zach Slotter is a writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @zslot6, Like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.
