2014 NBA Redraft: A tale of two big men and two missed picks
By Corey Rausch
#3 Pick: Marcus Smart (Originally: Joel Embiid)
This was tough as the Sixers have to feel like they nailed this pick even though he did not play for the first two years. Sam Hinkie was all about taking the highest ceiling player available and Joel Embiid embodied that ideology.
That being said, I went with the player who at the time was thought to have the highest ceiling remaining and has also likely been the best player overall. As much as Marcus Smart embodies the attitude that the Boston Celtics it is hard to fit his attitude with a city more than Philadelphia. He is a hard-nosed defensive leader. While he likely will never be an All-Star, he is the kind of player that makes everyone on your team better.
He has discovered a 3-point stroke in his last two seasons, that is also something people were unsure if he could add to his game that takes him to another level, and he was enjoying the best individual season of his career before the league shut down.
It is easy to forget that Smart looked like a future star at Oklahoma State University, averaging 18.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.9 steals per game in his second and final season.
While he has not quite matched that in a more limited role in the NBA, he plays his role to perfection. He would have been the perfect replacement for Michael Carter-Williams when the Sixers traded him away too.
With the fourth pick in the 2014 NBA Redraft, the Orlando Magic select…