{"id":140397,"date":"2025-05-20T14:51:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T18:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=140397"},"modified":"2025-05-20T14:51:57","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T18:51:57","slug":"the-sixers-eyeing-high-upside-with-no-3-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/20\/the-sixers-eyeing-high-upside-with-no-3-pick\/","title":{"rendered":"Sixers Eyeing High Upside With No. 3 Pick"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Sixers were lucky in last week&#8217;s draft lottery. Philadelphia jumped from the No. 6 odds to the No. 3 pick, securing a chance to select a top-three prospect. They had a chance of falling out of the top-six and losing the selection entirely. Luckily, the Oklahoma City Thunder didn&#8217;t earn the rights to a top-10 selection. There have been recent rumblings about trade ideas, but 76ers President Daryl Morey&#8217;s most recent comments make it seem they have their eyes set on selecting a high-upside prospect at No.3.<\/p>\n<h2>Sixers Eyeing High Upside With No. 3 Pick<\/h2>\n<h3>Positional Comfort<\/h3>\n<p>Last week on 97.5 The Fanatic, Morey emphasized the team&#8217;s comfort and satisfaction with their position in the draft and the importance of finding a high-upside prospect who can immediately contribute in their desire to compete in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Three, we feel very comfortable about the player who will be there. Really excited, and yeah, it was definitely a celebration day and a high-drama day that all Philly fans and everyone in the front office and coaching staff went through. &#8230; To get a high-upside player that we also think can contribute right away is a big deal, and we feel three is a great spot to be.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Daryl Morey Speaks on the Philadelphia 76ers&#039; Third Overall Draft Pick| Is Ace Bailey an Option?\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hNpT-Df953I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Competing Remains a Priority<\/h3>\n<p>However, according to ESPN&#8217;s Jonathan Givony, some teams don&#8217;t trust Morey&#8217;s comments and expect the Sixers to entertain trade offers for the No. 3 pick. The Sixers are also expected to be active in trade negotiations involving several stars around the NBA. Trading for a star like <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a> remains a possibility.<\/p>\n<p>When healthy, the Sixers have the talent on their roster to compete as soon as next season. Most notably, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/embiijo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joel Embiid<\/a> should be fully recovered from his knee injury by then.<i class=\"fas fa-copy\"><\/i> <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tatumja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jayson Tatum<\/a>&#8216;s Achilles rupture gifts Eastern Conference teams like the Sixers an opportunity to take advantage of the 2025-26 campaign. The conference becomes more open and completing a massive trade would display <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/13\/76ers-nick-nurse-darly-morey-next-season\/\" target=\"_self\">Philadelphia&#8217;s top priorities<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Prospects to Watch<\/h3>\n<p>The two prospects who will most likely be available at No. 3 are Rutgers wing <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/airious-bailey-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ace Bailey<\/a> and Baylor guard <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/vj-edgecombe-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">VJ Edgecombe<\/a>. The two high-upside prospects both fit the mold of what the Sixers are looking for in this draft.<\/p>\n<h4>Ace Bailey<\/h4>\n<p>Although Bailey has <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/17\/ace-bailey-2025-nba-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_self\">a raw offensive skillset<\/a>, he possesses natural skills that can&#8217;t be taught. Entering last season, his untapped talent why he was a prospect who could potentially catapult into the No. 1-overall conversation. Bailey averaged 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and 1 steal per game in his freshman season at Rutgers alongside another top-tier draft prospect in <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/dylan-harper-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dylan Harper<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Bailey&#8217;s fit in Philadelphia is intriguing as he wouldn&#8217;t be the team&#8217;s primary scorer, giving time for him to develop into his unique frame. In addition, Bailey complements the Sixers&#8217; roster construction with his positional versatility. In the past, veteran forward <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/georgpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul George<\/a> has given the freshman heavy praise and could contribute to Bailey&#8217;s development.<\/p>\n<h4>VJ Edgecombe<\/h4>\n<p>In comparison, Edgecombe has <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/12\/v-j-edgecombe-2025-nba-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_self\">unreal athleticism<\/a> he uses to provide immense impact on both sides of the floor. He showed that bounce at the combine with his 38.5&#8243; vertical. As a defender, he became a disruption for the opposition to handle. As a freshman for Baylor, Edgecombe averaged 15 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.<\/p>\n<p>Edgecombe&#8217;s skillset would supply the Sixers with increased athleticism in their crowded backcourt. The Sixers have offensive-minded guards with contributions from <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/maxeyty01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyrese Maxey<\/a>, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mccaija01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jared McCain<\/a>, and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/grimequ01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Quentin Grimes<\/a>. However, Edgecombe&#8217;s defensive versatility would naturally open significant minutes for him.<\/p>\n<h3>Potential Plan For the Future<\/h3>\n<p>As Philadelphia maintains their draft position, it signifies their confidence in identifying the most ideal prospect for their team in this draft. Adding a high-upside prospect could be appealing as a reset to the team&#8217;s timeline. This could offer long-term hope amid Embiid&#8217;s injuries and George&#8217;s terrible contract. The Sixers will want this No. 3 pick to contribute to winning basketball while developing into the main data point of the franchise&#8217;s future.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Kyle Ross-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Sixers were lucky in last week&#8217;s draft lottery. Philadelphia jumped from the No. 6 odds to the No. 3 pick, securing a chance to select a top-three prospect. They had a chance of falling out of the top-six and losing the selection entirely. Luckily, the Oklahoma City Thunder didn&#8217;t earn the rights to a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5542,"featured_media":140486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,556,13],"tags":[49375,49399,1107,267,98,50,49644],"class_list":["post-140397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-nba-draft","category-76ers","tag-2025-nba-draft","tag-ace-bailey","tag-daryl-morey","tag-joel-embiid","tag-nba-draft","tag-paul-george","tag-vj-edgecombe"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5542"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140397"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140488,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140397\/revisions\/140488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}