Colangelo: 76ers would like to acquire a second top-8 pick in 2016 NBA Draft
Philadelphia is looking to do something big
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1 min read
Bryan Colangelo wants the world to know that the Philadelphia 76ers are open for business. The Sixers president owns the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday, which he will reportedly use on Ben Simmons, but what he does after that could be more interesting. Philadelphia is reportedly shopping young big men Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, and it sounds like Colangelo would prefer to trade the Nos. 24 and 26 picks in the draft rather than adding three rookies to the roster. On Tuesday, he told reporters that he'd like to move up and acquire another top-8 pick.
B Colangelo: 'We are entertaining discussions about trading 24 and 26 to move up.' #Sixers
— Tom Moore (@tmoore76ers) June 21, 2016
B Colangelo: ''We're evaluating what might be there in the middle teens (with 24 & 26). We would like to move into top 8.'
— Tom Moore (@tmoore76ers) June 21, 2016
Colangelo also said, via the Bucks County Courier Times' Tom Moore, that there are six or seven players the Sixers have targeted. Perhaps they want to take Providence point guard Kris Dunn, but that's a tall order. More realistic targets that make sense for Philadelphia include Vanderbilt point guard Wade Baldwin, French swingman Timothe Luwawu, Syracuse swingman Malachi Richardson and Michigan State guard Denzel Valentine.
For the last few years, the Sixers have been the most fun team to watch on draft night, as former general manager Sam Hinkie routinely wheeled and dealed to take prospects he wanted and stockpile picks for later. With Colangelo running the show, the decision-making process might be totally different, but they're still worth keeping an eye on.
