Sixers need to find their Edgecombe in the NBA Draft
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Baylor's VJ Edgecombe. Photo: Jared C. Tilton
The Sixers have one of the top picks in Wednesday night's NBA Draft — and many looming questions about their future after last season went bust.
Why it matters: Bandwagon? There'll be no wagon to band back together this season unless the team makes some moves to inspire faith among fans who are skeptical that the Paul George-Joel Embiid experiment will work.
- Embiid, the 2023 MVP, is coming off knee surgery and has only played in 58 combined games the last two seasons, per the Inquirer's Keith Pompey.
Driving the news: ESPN is projecting the Sixers will use the third pick to take Baylor's VJ Edgecombe, an explosive guard who could play alongside Tyrese Maxey for years to come.
- The Sixers could also trade the pick, including a potential deal with a team that wants to take George following another injury-plagued season.
The intrigue: There's a strong Sixers contingent, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, that's prodding the team not to draft Rutgers guard Ace Bailey, who canceled a scheduled workout with the Sixers this month, per the Inquirer.
- "I just don't like that," Shapiro told the "Men at Work" podcast. "He's got great talent, great upside, but if you don't want to be here, if you're not dying to be here, I don't want you to be here."
Meanwhile, Duke's Cooper Flagg is our state's most searched prospect, but good luck with that pipe dream. He's pretty much a lock to go No. 1.
What they're saying: Pompey, the Inquirer's Sixers beat writer, thinks it's too risky for the Sixers to trade the No. 3 pick and potentially not land one of their "prime targets."
- Welcome home, Edgecombe?