NBA Draft: Sixers Select Jaden Springer at #28 Overall
The Sixers did not trade Ben Simmons on Thursday night.
But they did stand pat at #28 overall and took Jaden Springer from Tennessee:
The 76ers select Jaden Springer from Tennessee with the No. 28 pick.
He joins Keon Johnson as the second Vol to be selected in the first round in tonight's draft. pic.twitter.com/LLHS6UYKPJ
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 30, 2021
This pick was a slight surprise considering that Jared Butler and Sharife Cooper were both on the board. Miles McBride, too.
Springer is a good defender, especially on-ball. Definitely a grimy and scrappy guy out on the perimeter. He’s a 6’4″ freshman who is only 18 years old and was seen as an analytics standout, so Daryl Morey might have honed in on that. Springer is not necessarily exceptional at any one thing, and isn’t going to fill up the bucket, but he does a variety of things pretty well and has a relatively high ceiling. He’ll grow into more of an offensive player and has the body type of a SG/wing tweener.
Jonathan Givony’s breakdown at ESPN:
Springer is a strong-framed wing with a powerful first step, aggressive scoring instincts, outstanding defensive intensity and good enough mechanics to project his set-shot jumper becoming a weapon in time. His propensity for hunting difficult shots, lack of a pull-up game and bully-ball style in the paint will need to evolve to carve out a niche in the NBA in the short term, but there’s enough to like here with his ability to score while using his tough, fearless nature to his advantage defensively to eventually find his way.
I’ve seen a couple of Marcus Smart comps on various draft websites. That’s a pretty good shout.
From Eric Yearian at NBADraft.net:
Strengths: Scrappy, young combo guard with a defensive focus and an expanding offensive game … Didn’t take a ton of threes, but shot 43.5% on them. Shot 81% from the free throw stripe … Easily repeatable jump shot mechanics … Does a very good job of regaining his balance when making offensive moves, allowing him to make difficult shots … Excels at using the rim or his body to protect his shots in the paint by using reverse layups … Smooth athlete who is able to get to the paint against defenders. Is able to create and take away space from defenders to keep them off balance … Is good at making pull up jumpers either off the bounce or off a pseudo post up … Even when defenders expect it, he’s able to get his shot off … Moves well off the ball and is able to use screens effectively … Can be disruptive defensively, had 5 games with 3 steals … Is a willing facilitator, recording 5 or more assists in 7 games …
Weaknesses: Lacks elite explosiveness … Appears to be more of a 2 than a combo, and lacks size on the wing at 6’4 … Doesn’t possess high level athleticism, relies on angles and reading what the defense is giving him. ..Has trouble taking care of the ball, averaging 2.4 turnovers per game … Needs to develop more lead guard skills so that he can be a secondary ball hander at the next level. Could be overmatched athletically and physically at the next level. Shot is mechanically sound, but lacks fluidity and can be slow to load up at times. Relies on others to get his scoring opportunities off of cuts, not somebody that will break people down off the bounce.
Daryl Morey is going to speak after the draft. Here’s a video clip of Springer in the meantime: