Ohio State Buckeyes guard D’Angelo Russell could be a perfect fit for the Sixers at the No. 3 pick: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
D’Angelo Russell denied a recent report in the Los Angeles Times that he didn’t want to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, who own the No. 3 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
“The workout [with the Sixers] was great,” Russell said on SportsCenter. “What guy wouldn’t want to play for any NBA team? I [saw] Fran Fraschilla Tweet 95 percent of the Tweets this week are just a misdirection, and starting with that one. I never would say anything like that. I know what I’ve come from and I know what I’ve been through and it would just be a blessing to play in the NBA.”
The latest mock draft from DraftExpress.com has the Sixers taking the 6-foot-5 Russell at No. 3 with the Knicks taking Latvian 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis at 4, while ESPN’s Chad Ford has the Sixers taking Porzingis and the Knicks selecting Russell.
Since the Sixers have both Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, if they select Porzingis the thinking is that they would have to trade one of their bigs. Embiid, meantime, could miss several months, if not the entire upcoming season, as he recovers from surgery on his right foot.
Immediately after the draft lottery, Russell praised the Sixers.
“If I end up there [in Philadelphia] it would be a blessing,” Russell told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer after the lottery. “I know I would make the best of the situation. So I am ready for it.”
Russell averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists for the Buckeyes this season and is a supremely confident player dating to his time playing for legendary high school coach Kevin Boyle at Montverde (FL) Academy.
Having traded away Michael Carter-Williams, the Sixers would seem to be in need of a young point guard to lead the team into the future.
“The goal in Russell would be to replace what they just traded away in Michael Carter-Williams,” ESPN’s Tom Penn said recently on air. “He was the Rookie of the Year. You saw how well he performed in the playoffs, how well he’s doing in Milwaukee, and they gave him away for basically nothing, the Lakers pick in a future year and now the Lakers are going to be better.”
