Philadelphia 76ers: 5 options for pick No. 39 in 2017 NBA Draft

5. Ivan Rabb, PF/C, California

Drafting a big man like Ivan Rabb with the 39th pick in the NBA Draft is contigent upon the Philadelphia 76ers trading center Jahlil Okafor. Among other things, Rabb must also be available. While team officials have fallen out of love with Okafor, they could find Rabb to be a much-needed replacement.

Rabb is a much stronger defender and rebounder than Okafor as the numbers show. He averaged 14.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game as a sophomore with the California Golden Bears.

Okafor, on the other hand, averaged 17.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.3 assists per game as a freshman in 2014-15. He earned ACC Player of the Year honors for his play that season. However, the system at Duke worked in Okafor’s favor, as the Golden Bears’ system did for Rabb.

Rabb doesn’t have an NCAA Championship or Conference Player of the Year award, but what he might have more of is savviness and awareness. He’s a player who can run the floor, finish at the rim and disrupt things in the paint on defense with his length.

He also has the ability to play the power forward or center position, something that can help when it comes to backing up the likes of Joel Embiid, Richaun Holmes or Dario Saric on the Sixers’ current roster.

Rabb wouldn’t be looked to to contribute right away but having him develop on a roster already laden with talented and versatile bigs could help his improvement curve.