NBA Draft: Grading the Philadelphia 76ers’ last 10 first rounds

2013

The moves: Traded for Nerlens Noel, drafted Michael Carter-Williams

Nerlens Noel

Ah yes, the beginning of “The Process”. So, in 2013 Sam Hinkie was brought in as general manager to try and rebuild the Sixers franchise. He started by trading All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday in exchange for the sixth overall pick, center Nerlens Noel. Noel was touted as a shot-blocking, rebound-chasing, dunking machine. Many initially saw him as the consensus number one pick when he was in high school. Noel would be sidelined with a knee injury, which dropped his stock.

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Nevertheless, Noel ended up on the Sixers and sitting out his first year as he was still recovering from that knee injury. But, once he did land in Philly, Noel showed promise. In his first two and a half seasons with the Sixers, Noel averaged 10.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.

But, because of the center carousel that the Sixers found themselves in, Noel would end up being trade to the Dallas Mavericks. This would shock many Sixers fans, as Noel was beloved and many felt that Jahlil Okafor would be the odd man out. However, due to the fact that Noel would be due for a contract extension soon, and since the team did not want to pay three centers, Noel was gone. Oh, what could have been.

Grade: B

Michael Carter-Williams

Now, the 2013 NBA Draft ended up being a fairly underwhelming one at the top. This was primarily because the star power that year seemed to come from anywhere but the top of the draft. That being said, you did have some really impressive players getting drafted outside of the top-five like Giannis Antetokoumpo, CJ McCollum, and Steven Adams. However, the biggest surprise would end up being the eventual Rookie of the Year in Michael Carter-Williams.

Now, MCW was by no means seen as a top pick. At the time, many fans hoped that the Sixers would end up picking CJ McCollum, the Lehigh kid who shocked the NCAA world. But alas, he was taken one spot earlier. This led to MCW falling to the Sixers at 11.

Now, this pick in and of itself ultimately turned out to be amazing. In his first two and a half seasons in Philadelphia, Carter-Williams averaged 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game. Now, MCW had a ceiling, as he was not extremely athletic and did not have a solid jumper. However, the Sixers were able to flip Carter-Williams to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team trade in exchange for a 2018 first round pick and Kendall Marshall. At 11, the Sixers made out light bandits, here.

Grade: A