Last night, the 76ers selected Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe with the third pick in the NBA Draft. While Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Rutger’s Dylan Harper were the clear 1 and 2 of this draft, the third best prospect wasn’t as clear, and while Harper’s teammate Ace Bailey got a lot of hype, his refusal to work out with the Sixers made it took risky to select him with as a pick as high as the one we had. If it was up to me, the Sixers would have traded the pick for a few more lottery picks or somebody who could help the team in the short term, and I’m sure it was getting shopped, but Morey must not have liked any of the offers he got.
Still, I’m excited to see what Edgecombe can do with us. He averaged 15 points on 43% shooting from the field and 34% shooting from three with Baylor. He also averaged 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 steals, one of just 35 players to average that many steals in college. If he can reach his potential defensively, he’ll be a solid replacement for what De’Anthony Melton brought us, and if we can stay healthy this coming season, we should be much better, or at least, we can’t be much worse than we were last season. I’m glad people are talking about the Sixers in June for the first time in eight years, even though it’s not for the reasons I was hoping for this time last year. I’m hoping people will be talking about us again next June, and for the right reasons. With the Celtics blowing their team up, Haliburton injured for much of next season, and a shiny new lottery pick, there are no excuses. If we’re ever going to contend with Embiid, this is the time to do it.
