NBA draft is finished,
but Sixers aren’t done

Off the Dribble
By Ryan Smith

You would think that after the 76ers made three trades over the course of one evening during last Thursday’s NBA draft, they’d be content for a while.
But something about this draft gives you reason to believe that team president and GM Billy King isn’t done just quite yet.
"Now the next step starting tomorrow involves teams that drafted guys that I have a high interest in, and I will do everything I can to acquire them," King said at the Wachovia Center after the draft had ended. "There are also some people we’ve talked to about players, some other veterans, but we’ll discuss it after the draft. The first phase is what we did during the season, and this is the next step. We’ve still got more work to do."
The Sixers acquired four players in the draft, making three trades in the process.
In the first round, the Sixers came away with Georgia Tech’s Thaddeus Young (12th overall pick) and Colorado State’s Jason Smith (20th overall pick).
Many mock drafts had the Sixers taking Smith, a 7-foot center, with the No. 12 pick, the slot where they took Young.
That means the Sixers not only got the guy they wanted in Smith — he was acquired in a trade with the Miami Heat in exchange for the player that the Sixers selected at No. 21, Daequan Cook, in addition to a future second-round pick and cash — but they also got a valuable player in Young.
The 21-year-old Smith was named first-team All-Mountain West Conference in each of the past two years.
As a junior last season, he led the MWC in rebounding (10.1 rpg) while ranking sixth in scoring (16.8 ppg), fourth in blocks (1.6 bpg), fourth in field-goal percentage (.579) and fourth in free-throw percentage (.770).
That leads me to wonder if the Sixers picked Young, a 19-year-old forward, for themselves or because they know that another team likes him.
And that other team just may be the Milwaukee Bucks.
Prior to the draft, the Sixers tried hard to trade up to the Bucks’ No. 6 slot to pick Yi Jianlian, a Chinese import with a huge upside.
"We did everything we could to move up to get a big (man), but it didn’t work out," King said. "The next big guy on the board was Jason Smith, and that’s why we made the maneuver with Miami to get Jason Smith, giving them a future second-round pick and cash to get the big guy that we wanted.
He later added: "We were very close to pulling off a deal to get us probably in the top seven, just as the draft started. It didn’t work out, and then we thought we had a chance to get another pick right after that and it didn’t work out."
The Bucks picked Yi at No. 6, but his agent says the player will refuse to sign with the Bucks.
The Sixers reportedly are on a list of teams that Yi is willing to join.
There is no doubt that King will make a strong play for Yi, a 7-footer with a way above-average jump shot.
"I think we offered some great situations and the other teams just chose not to do them," King said. "We were being as aggressive as we could."
They will continue to stay aggressive throughout the remainder of the offseason.
But if the Sixers can’t land Yi, it’s not like they aren’t getting a great player in Young.
The 6-foot-8 forward was one of the top freshmen in the country last season. He scored a team-high 14.4 points per game while adding averages of 4.9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.29 steals.
He also hit 39 three-pointers on 41.9 percent shooting in 31 games played.
In addition to Young and Smith, the Sixers acquired the draft rights to Vanderbilt’s Derrick Byars (42nd overall pick) and Providence’s Herbert Hill (55th overall pick) in the second round, both via trade.
The Sixers selected Finland’s Petteri Koponen with the 30th overall pick but traded his rights to Portland for the rights to Byars and cash considerations.
Finally, the Sixers traded the rights to Ukraine’s Kyrylo Fesenko (38th overall pick) to Utah for the rights to Hill and draft considerations.
If three of these four players are on the Sixers’ roster when the season begins, I’d be shocked.
Look for King to trade at least two of the newest Sixers to add some veteran depth, an area where they are sorely in need. ••
Columnist Ryan Smith can be reached at 215-354-3114 or smithry@phillynews.com