The Pelicans won the lottery last night.

After all of the Anthony Davis bullshit, they ended up with the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft and will be rolling with Zion Williamson, barring some incredibly unlikely turn of events.

The Grizzlies won the second pick and the Knicks and Lakers finished third and fourth, which you “just hate to see.” Monty Williams’ Phoenix Suns, who finished 19-63, will pick sixth.

Your team, your town, your 76ers will pick 24th in the first round and have the following selections in June:

  • round one, 24th overall
  • round two, 33rd overall (via the Markelle Fultz/Jonathon Simmons deal)
  • round two, 34th overall (via the Isaac Bonga/Lakers deal)
  • round two, 42nd overall (via the Bucks/Nets/Casper Ware carousel)
  • round two, 54th overall

The Sixers can do something with #24. They can find a contributor. They pulled Landry Shamet at #26 last year and turned into him a piece of the Tobias Harris deal.

Here’s the recent history of the 24th pick, going back ten years, after the jump:

  • 2018: Anfernee Simons (Blazers)
  • 2017: Tyler Lydon (Jazz)
  • 2016: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (Sixers)
  • 2015: Tyus Jones (Cavs)
  • 2014: Shabazz Napier (Hornets)
  • 2013: Tim Hardaway Jr. (Knicks)
  • 2012: Jared Cunningham (Cavs)
  • 2011: Reggie Jackson (Thunder)
  • 2010: Damion James (Hawks)
  • 2009: Byron Mullens (Cavs)

Some hits, some misses in there. I think when you go further into those drafts and look at the cluster of players selected in that 23-29 range, there’s usually at least one who goes on to really impress and turn into a legit NBA starter. Among them? Pascal Siakam and Kyle Kuzma going 27th overall. OG Anunoby went 23rd. Dejounte Murray went 29th and Clint Capela 25th.

You often hear lamentations regarding Bryan Colangelo and those late 1st round picks. What would this team be if they had not drafted TLC and Furkan Korkmaz? I guess we’ll never know, and I’ve always believed that revisionist draft history is corny, because no team ever gets every draft pick right, but Colangelo just happened to get mostly everything wrong, which hurt this team in the transitional phase that linked Sam Hinkie to Elton Brand.

Historically, the Sixers have only picked 24th overall twice in the last 50 or so years. They took TLC a few years back, then you’d have to go all the way to 1963 when they selected Jerry Greenspan, no relation to Alan, in the same position.

Beyond that first round pick, the Sixers can also find contributors at 33 and 34.

Here’s the 10-year history of those picks:

  • 2018: Jalen Brunson and Devonte’ Graham
  • 2017: Wes Iwundu and Frank Mason III
  • 2016: Cheick Diallo and Tyler Ulis
  • 2015: Jordan Mickey and Anthony Brown
  • 2014: Joe Harris and Cleanthony Early
  • 2013: Carrick Felix and Isaiah Canaan
  • 2012: Bernard James and Jae Crowder
  • 2011: Kyle Singler and Shelvin Mack
  • 2010: Hassan Whiteside and Armon Johnson
  • 2009: Dante Cunningham and Sergio Llull

Early second round is a good spot to find that older, top-level college player who may not have the pure athleticism or measurables that NBA teams look for. Brunson and Graham were phenomenal at Villanova and Kansas and will stick as NBA role players and perhaps more. Singler and Mack were similar prospects back in 2011. Jae Crowder was a 34th overall pick and Joe Harris went 33rd.

Marko Milic, Derrick Alston, and Greg Stokes were the three guys the Sixers selected with picks 33 or 34 going back to 1975. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Anyway, we’ll be over at the practice facility for pre-draft workouts heading into June, so more on possible draft picks in the coming weeks.

The time is yours.