Sam Hinkie's Plan Takes Another Step Forward With Third Pick
NEW YORK, NY (CBS) — Sam Hinkie's tank plan took a step closer to where it's supposed to arrive Tuesday night when the Sixers drew third place for the second-straight year in the NBA draft lottery, which took place at New York's Hilton Midtown.
The Sixers, who finished 18-64, the third-worst record in the NBA, had a 15.6-percent chance of claiming the top overall pick, which went to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who finished 16-66 and had a 25-percent chance to getting the top pick.
The second overall pick went to the woeful Los Angeles Lakers, who ended 2015 at 21-61.
Now with the NBA Draft all set for June 25, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Sixers are in a position to finally move forward.
With Kentucky's 6-foot-11 Karl-Anthony Towns or Duke's 6-11 Jahlil Okafor likely to go one-two in the draft, the Sixers, who had a 46.9-percent shot of landing in the top three for the second-straight year, now have a chance to nab either athletic 6-foot-5, 180-pound point guard D'Angelo Russell, out of Ohio State, or 6-foot-5, 190-pound 19-year-old Emmanuel Mudiay, who bypassed Larry Brown's SMU program to play professionally in China last season and reminds some scouts of Russell Westbrook.
The Sixers, who had the Los Angeles Lakers' top-five protected first rounder, as well as the Miami Heat's top-10 protected lottery pick, took Joel Embiid with the third overall selection last year.
The 7-foot Embiid, recovering from surgery on June 20, 2014, to repair a broken navicular bone in his right foot, never played a minute for the Sixers last year.
NBA Lottery order
1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. New York Knicks
5. Orlando Magic
6. Sacramento Kings
7. Denver Nuggets
8. Detroit Pistons
9. Charlotte Hornets
10. Miami Heat
11. Indiana Pacers
12. Utah Jazz
13. Phoenix Suns
14. Oklahoma City Thunder
