Sometimes the best things in life come to those who wait. Labaron Philon had to wait a little longer than he wanted on Tuesday night, going from a projected lottery pick at one point to being the No. 22 overall selection by the Philadelphia 76ers.
But in Philadelphia, Philon found a perfect landing spot for his skill set. Playing alongside Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, Philon will have time to develop his game. It'll be a similar situation that he was in as a freshman at Alabama, playing alongside Mark Sears, Aden Holloway, and Chris Youngblood in the Crimson Tide backcourt.
He won't have to carry anywhere close to the burden he carried for Alabama last season. Instead, he can focus on packing a punch off the bench on both ends of the floor for a playoff team in Philly.
The 76ers were major beneficiaries of Philon's draft night slide. At Pick 22, they got a player who some believe will wind up one of the 10-12 best players in this loaded class. According to FanSided's Christopher Kline, the Sixers earned the highest marks for their selection of Philon.
NBA Draft expert rates Philadelphia's selection of Labaron Philon an A+
"For as much as Philly needs size and physicality in the frontcourt, the guard room behind Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe was disastrous down the stretch," Kline writes. "Philon adds instant offense to the second unit. He's a slippery ball-handler with three-level scoring chops, strong playmaking feel and a workable defensive projection, despite his thin frame. A big win for new Sixers president Mike Gansey."
Kline isn't the toughest grader in the world and handed out a handful of "A+" grades from last night, but it's hard to argue that the 76ers got tremendous bang for their buck at No. 22. Anytime you can land a lottery-level talent outside of the lottery, you deserve high marks.
As Kline notes, the 76ers had very little to offer in the backcourt behind Maxey and Edgecombe, especially after trading Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the deadline. This pick was actually acquired from the Thunder in that trade, and Philon will look to replace the production McCain was giving the Sixers before being dealt.
One could argue the 76ers had bigger needs on draft night. Kline points out that they needed size and physicality in the frontcourt. They could have gotten that with St. John's Zuby Ejiofor or UConn's Tarris Reed Jr., both of whom were drafted shortly after Philon. But smart NBA teams draft based on the best player available, and it's tough to argue against Philon being the best player available when Philadelphia was ready to pick.
The real grade of this pick will take place down the road once Philon's career trajectory is known, but for right now, the 76ers are one of the biggest winners of the draft.
Add us as a preferred source on Google