Sixers Mailbag: Wroten’s Value, Jerami Grant, Jordan McRae and More

Welcome to Derek Bodner’s Sixers Mailbag. You can check out his previous installments at Libertyballers.com

Each week Derek will answer reader questions and tweets and will appear on the Sports Bash with Mike Gill to answer your questions.

In this week’s edition of the Sixers Mailbag, Derek answers your questions on what Tony Wroten can bring in a trade, how well Jerami Grant and Jordan McRae are progressing, a look at what future picks the Sixers have, as well as a look at the strengths of various international leagues.

On to your questions!

AJ:

Q: Assuming the Sixers end up with the first or second pick, as well as Miami's pick, what would you guess Hinkie ends up doing with the 4+ second round picks?

Well, I didn't think there was any shot he would come away with 5 players from the 2nd round in last years draft, and he did (Well, technically, they traded one for Pierre Jackson, who was taken the previous year, but they basically came away with 5 2nd round rookies). So I'm not sure I'm really confident in my guess.

Sam Hinkie definitely approaches the 2nd round by tackling it with pure numbers, so he could very well use 5 picks, try to sign them to long term non-guaranteed deals, stash one or two, and see who emerges. I think there's still a chance he combines them or adds them to the Miami pick to try to move up, like he tried to do with Sacramento last year. But if he can't, I could see him drafting 4 more second round picks again.

Joseph:

Q: Do you think that we can acquire another 1st rounder in the 2015 draft by trading away Tony Wroten with second round picks and some cash or is Tony part of the Sixers' future?

I don't think Wroten is, at this time, part of the future core. I think they're okay with letting him play out his rookie contract (one more year after this) to see if he can improve, but I think they'd move him if they got value for him.

The question is whether they'd get value for him. If you look at the guys over the past 12-16 months who have commanded a first round pick, the names are guys like Luol Deng,Omer Asik, Jeff Green, Brandan Wright, Dion Waiters, and Thaddeus Young. All veterans going to good teams (or teams who were delusional enough to think they could be a good team. Hi, Minnesota). I don't think bad teams will value Wroten as a building block enough to give up their pick, and I don't think good teams (who have a more realistically obtainable late pick) view Wroten as a piece that can be easily plugged into a rotation and contribute, it would have to be the exact right spot. So I'm not really sure where he fits.

Perhaps they can get a late first round pick for him, but I'm not sure I see it right now.

Avery:

Q: Can you lay out the draft schedule for the Sixers over the next four years. I hear they have something like 24 2nd rounders in the next six years. And why the heck aren't the Knicks catching hell for tanking? If you ask me their recent actions make them more suspect than us.

I set this up a few weeks ago, and I plan to keep it up to date after every trade. It details out the incoming/outgoing picks, while also listing a summary of what they'll have.

As for the Knicks, I really don't care to complain about the national media attention they are or are not receiving. I don't think they people should be complaining about what they're doing: it's what they should be doing. So really, when people complain that the Knicks aren't getting criticized for it, they're really complaining that the Sixers did get criticized. And I've already voice my opinion on the criticism levied against the Sixers enough that at this point it's just repetitive.

Noah (& similar question from Matthew):

Q: I would love to hear your thoughts on Jerami Grant. When he came out of college, he was considered a potential first round pick as he’s very athletic and seemingly has a lot of upside. What are your thoughts on how he’s performed? Despite his potential, it seems like his jumper will never be a consistent shot and he’s not big enough to be a four.

I wasn't in love with Jerami Grant as a prospect. I didn't really have him as a first round prospect at any point last year. And, while I understood the reasoning for his selection because of his potential in case he figures it out, I didn't have much hope. I looked at him as a lottery ball. Great if he works out, but don't count on it.

Well, over the last 2-3 weeks he's really surprised me. The obvious good sign has been his jump shot, as he's made 5 of his last 8 three point attempts, and his length, athleticism, and shot blocking have shown the havoc he can create defensively. It's been fun to watch. A thriller, you could say.

As for his position, I always thought he had to be a 3 to succeed. I *really* don't like playing natural PF's who don't have the ball handling or perimeter skills at the 3, but Grant's build and poor rebounding kind of necessitate that. His jump shot is a good first step in his progression to becoming a three (although I'm not 100% sold on his improvement thus far), but he also really needs to improve his ball handling, particularly with his left hand. He just has no comfort if a defender forces him to change direction or dribble in a crowd.

Eugene:

Q: If the Sixers had the #1 pick last year, do you think they still would've went with Embiid? I'm perfectly happy they snagged him at three, though I'm super curious if their plan A all along was to tank two seasons in a row.

Absolutely.

Last year in the week leading up to the draft, I mentioned to some of the LB staff that I had strong indication that Embiid was #1 on their big board. I didn't have the ability to report that at the time, but everything that's happened since has only confirmed that belief.

Now, I don't believe their intent was to tank two years in a row. I don't think Embiid's short-term availability impacted their decision to draft him, either positively or negatively. They didn't draft Embiid because they could tank a second season, but him missing the season didn't cause them to avoid drafting him, either. In my opinion, they targeted Embiid because he had the best chance to be a franchise player.

Dan: