The odds of the Sixers standing pat at #12 in the upcoming draft can’t be calculated. Billy King has a ton of chips to play, and he usually likes to play them. For argument’s sake, let’s say he stays at #12.
Most mock drafts have the Sixers picking one of two players: Jeff Green or Al Thornton. It depends on who you ask, as to who the better player is. Chad Ford has Green ranked higher for ESPN.com. DraftExpress has Thornton higher.
Personally, I like Green, but it’s a close call. Let’s take a look at their statistics, vitals and talk a little bit about what the Sixers would look like with each one on their roster.
Name: Al Thornton
Profiles: ESPN.com, DraftExpress
School: Florida State
Age: 23
Combine Results (From Chad Ford’s blog)
College Stats
| Year | PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | FT% | 3pt% |
| 06-07 | 19.7 | 7.2 | 0.7 | 53.0 | 79.0 | 44.4 |
| 05-06 | 16.1 | 6.9 | 1.2 | 51.8 | 74.4 | 47.6 |
| 04-05 | 9.1 | 4.4 | 0.7 | 54.3 | 53.8 | 28.6 |
| 03-04 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 51.7 | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Video:
Name: Jeff Green
Profiles: ESPN.com, DraftExpress
School: Georgetown
Age: 20
Combine Results (From Chad Ford’s blog)
College Stats
| Year | PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | FT% | 3pt% |
| 06-07 | 14.3 | 6.4 | 3.2 | 51.3 | 77.5 | 37.5 |
| 05-06 | 11.9 | 6.5 | 3.3 | 44.5 | 62.4 | 31.5 |
| 04-05 | 13.1 | 6.6 | 2.9 | 50.2 | 69.9 | 40.0 |
Video: :
On the Sixers:
Thornton and Green, while similar in a lot of ways, are different in a few key facets. Thornton gets the edge on his outside game. He’s a better jump shooter, and he has 3pt range to his shot. He’s got the potential to stretch defenses. He’s faster, and he’s a better jumper. With him on the team, the Sixers would be an even more effective fastbreak team. Thornton and Iguodala would prove to be a versatile, productive wing duo. They’d be interchangeable at the two and three.
Thornton’s rebounding numbers in college were exceptional for his size, I’m not sure those numbers will translate. He needs to get stronger. His leaping ability and huge wingspan would help here, but he’s too small to defend a legitimate 4. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The Sixers played their best ball last season when they stayed big (any combination of Dalembert/Hunter/Smith on the floor). The frontcourt is where the Sixers need the most help.
Obviously, neither of these guys is a true power forward, but Green could defend one. He’s nearly 6’10” (w/ shoes on), he’s bigger and he’s much stronger. On the offensive end, Green probably isn’t a guy who you can lean on for long stretches of time, he’s more of a guy who’s going to fit into your offense, and make the guys around him better. Sound familiar? For my money, Green’s game would compliment Iguodala’s perfectly. With Miller at the point, Iguodala at the 2, Green at the 3 and Hunter and Dalembert down low, this is a potent defensive lineup.
On offense, they’d have three excellent ball-handlers on the floor, and finishers at four positions. The only drawback to adding Green is that he hasn’t proven he can hit the spot-up jumper. If he’s got a legit mid-range game, he’s a no-brainer. He can play with his back to the basket, and bringing him in wouldn’t force Iguodala to take a backseat on offense. It would still be Andre’s team, Green would just make everyone better.
Either one of these guys puts the Sixers in the playoffs next year. Either one would start immediately, relegating Willie Green to the bench, which is obviously a good thing. With Green, I think this team picks up right where it left off, playing team basketball, moving the ball, high assist/field goal ratios, and evenly distributed scoring. Thornton doesn’t fit the mold quite as well, but on offense he could bring a new dimension to the starting lineup. Thornton’s outside game and slashing ability could take pressure of Iguodala, spread the floor, and open up the backdoor for easy baskets for the big men.
Overall, defense wins championships, and I think Green brings a toughness and versatility to the defense that moves this team further ahead in the long run.
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I think we don't need neither of them
we need a true, rebounding PF !!
Pretty surprisingly you never mentioned Carney in this post. They both seem to be better versions of Carney, why draft another SF when we have already 2 (+ Iggy)?
Give Carney a chance - are we already giving up on him? he never played !! - and fix the rebounding with our first pick, that has to be a player not smaller than 6'9.
With our second or third we could think about draft another swingman or a guard, if you want
Beyond Oden and Horford, no one really fits that bill at the top of this draft. I'd be all for trading up to get Horford.
Beyond that, you have to take the best player available, and rebounding help doesn't only come from the 4 and 5. I think putting either Green or Thornton at the 3 and Iggy at the 2 makes this team a much better rebounding team. (Green is taller than 6'9", by the way)
It's not worth reaching for a PF at #12, mainly because there's no one worth reaching for, and there should be two guys who can impact the team who should be available at a need position.
Carney isn't the answer at SF, I'm afraid. He may be a nice guy to bring off the bench, but as far as the starting lineup goes, he just doesn't cut it. Not unless he really, really, really progresses.
The way things are shaking out, they're going to have to get the rebounding Big at #21, or later. Unless they trade up.
What do you think about Theo Papalouskas? From what i've heard is that he could be a heck of a point guard with some fire in him
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xf0j-jSHkmY
If we keep all 4 of our picks he might be worth looking at. Although i don't know if he would go into the draft because he is 30 years old.
http://www.papaloukas.net/
Thoughts?
I don't think he's in the draft. Found a rumor that the Heat offered him $10M for 2 years in late May.