It's an age-old argument for drafts in professional sports: Should a team draft by need or select the best talent available regardless of the player's position?
Brett Brown knows the Sixers may be faced with that situation this June. Currently, he has two big men in Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid. Both are centers, but the transition of Noel to power forward began the last month of the season (see story).
Jahlil Okafor (Duke) and Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky) are expected to be the top two picks in this year's draft. Both are 6-foot-11. Brown wouldn't say who he'd take if the Sixers get the top pick, but he feels strongly on how he would make the pick.
"I think you have to take the best player when that time comes," Brown said earlier this week after the Sixers wrapped up their season. "If it is murky, and it is not clearly defined who is the best player is, then perhaps get need-based. But if that is the way it shakes out then I will coach it, and we will find a way to make it work. How can you walk away from the best player?"
The Sixers will learn when they pick in the first round and how often on May 20 when the NBA draft lottery is held. While the odds aren't great, the Sixers could still land either one or both of the first-round picks they hold from the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.
"The ping-pong ball event is probably my only nervous night," Brown said. "I am OK most nights, but ping-pong ball night is not one of my favorites. I will be really nervous, but we look forward to that."
What Brown enjoys more than the draft lottery is identifying second-round talent. The Sixers drafted Jerami Grant and K.J. McDaniels in last year's second round, and both showed they have an NBA future. The Sixers ended up trading McDaniels to Houston for Isaiah Canaan and another second-round pick.
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In all, the Sixers have five second-rounders in this year's draft.
"I feel like it is Sam's [Hinkie] strength," Brown said. "I think that he has shown that with what he saw in K.J. and Jerami.
"We [Spurs] hit payday years ago with Mano [Ginobili]. It may be unfair to use that as an example, but it's true. He was there. I think you can make money in the second round. I think you can find players. I am backing Sam Hinkie and his group with their analytics. We'll try to uncover players again where we can say, yes, even if it is a single keeper, we found one in those many second-round picks."
The Sixers finished this season with five second-round picks on their roster and five undrafted players.
Hinkie does like uncovering gems. He also has no problem with selecting players who can't immediately help the franchise. Noel, Embiid and Dario Saric are three examples, and Hinkie has been in charge of only two drafts.
"We did it together," Brown said. "I wanted Joel Embiid, and when the injury happened I said to myself, he is going to fall, and we end up getting him.
"The Dario situation, you say to yourself, 'What's best for the club? What's best for the program in the future? We think it is him.'"
Saric signed a three-year deal last spring to play in Turkey with the third year being a player option.
On Sunday, Brown is traveling to Istanbul, Turkey to see Saric. It's the first opportunity Brown will be able to see the 21-year-old Croatian in person since last summer.
This season, Saric averaged 10.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in 24.0 minutes a game for Anadolu Efes, and for a second straight year, he was named the FIBA European Young Player of the Year.
"He is a hell of a player," Brown said. "We could have been intimidated and say maybe we shouldn't, but if we are true to our word and are trying to grow something with the level of patience we are displaying, then do it. In the distant future, I hope we look back and say that was a smart move."