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The Philadelphia 76ers are continuing to develop their roster for the future, and with two big men now in place, finding a point guard should be next.
Over the course of the past two seasons, a plethora of young talent has passed through the 76ers organization. In an attempt to find the best young stars, the 76ers have decided to give as many young players as they possibly could a look. Despite having a total of 43 players on their roster over the last two seasons, including the 2014 NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams, the 76ers currently have only two players on their roster– Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel – who appear to be significant pieces in their ongoing rebuilding plan. With their frontcourt of the future now almost set, the next piece the 76ers should aim to find is a franchise-changing point guard.
Last week a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer surfaced that claimed the thought around the NBA is that Ohio State freshman point guard D’Angelo Russell is who the 76ers hope to select in the upcoming 2015 NBA Draft. In the article, an NBA executive is quoted as saying, “he’s the guy they want. That’s the word around the league. You know the Sixers. They won’t come out and say it, but he’s the guy they want.” Last Saturday, this notion that the 76ers are hoping to find a point guard continued to be discussed as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweeted:
No — heard Russell and Mudiay could get drafted higher. Knicks like Russell a lot and 76ers very high on Mudiay https://t.co/zTNzDXET8E
— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) May 2, 2015
Russell and Mudiay would both be a viable option for the 76ers to draft, as they are projected to be stars at the next level. The only decision that the 76ers will have to make, should they both be on the board at the time of their pick, is what style of point guard they prefer.
After spending one season at Ohio State, Russell looks to be a better immediate fit for the 76ers given the talent that they already have. Although he lacks the elite athleticism that some of today’s top point guards possess, Russell is a player who can score at will — including from the outside which is something that the 76ers currently lack. During his one season as a Buckeye, Russell averaged 19.3 PPG while shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from beyond the three-point line.
While Russell is more of a natural-born scorer, Mudiay is more of a natural athlete. Measuring in at 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, Mudiay models the type of point guard that is highly common in the NBA today. Although he is a noted poor outside shooter, Mudiay has the pure athleticism that will allow him to get to the basket and score from the inside.
The 76ers are obviously trying to build a championship contender from the ground up. If they want this plan to come to fruition, then targeting a franchise-changing point guard such as Russell or Mudiay is the next logical step. Out of the 16 teams that made it to the 2015 NBA Playoffs, nine of them drafted and developed their current starting point guard. Should they be able to land one of these two young point guards later this summer, the 76ers would be set at this position for the foreseeable future. While one may be more of a scorer and the other may be more of an athlete, both Russell and Mudiay will be able to step in for their new franchise and help them return to prominence.
Greg Sacidor is a Feature Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Greg_Sacidor or add him to your network on Google.
