The Philadelphia 76ers do not have a draft pick in the 2023 NBA draft. They traded away their first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in the deal that brought James Harden to the City of Brotherly Love at the 2022 deadline, and they were docked second-round picks in 2023 and 2024 by the NBA for tampering.
However, that doesn’t mean the Sixers will or should be inactive around the draft process. There will be a number of talented players who go undrafted, meaning the Sixers should be able to add a young player who could potentially become a rotation player.
One should not brush off undrafted players. The Miami Heat are a prime example of investing in young talent and giving them time to develop. In the Sixers’ case, here are four forwards who could go undrafted but could help in the long run:
Mohamed Gueye, Washington State
Gueye is a bouncy athletic forward who was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team. He had a terrific season as he averaged 14.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists on 48.8% shooting from the field in 33 games. He led the conference in double-doubles (15) and was 18th in the country in offensive rebounding (111).
Drew Peterson, USC
Peterson has good size at 6-foot-8 and he can shoot the ball. He shot 41.2% from deep in the 2021-22 season at USC and while that number dropped to 35.8% in the 2022-23 season as a fifth-year senior, that was on 4.1 attempts per game. His ability to shoot at a high volume combined with his length and ability to put the ball on the floor should make teams attracted to him after the June 22 draft.
Landers Nolley II, Cincinnati
Nolley II averaged 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 41.7% from deep on 6.4 attempts per game. The Sixers could always use a guy who can shoot the ball as well as defend on the other end of the floor. He has shown off an athleticism that should translate to the NBA level and the shooting ability will always be helpful.
Drew Timme, Gonzaga
Timme was a highly successful collegiate player at Gonzaga as he averaged 17.2 points and 6.7 rebounds across four seasons, he was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year twice, and countless other awards. The issue with him is that he isn’t the fastest nor athletic guy in the world which would hurt him defensively. It will be interesting to see how he pans out in the NBA considering his high basketball IQ.
Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire