Philadelphia 76ers Trying to Acquire Top-5 Pick

Former Cleveland Cavaliers' general manager David Griffin recently appeared on Sirius XM NBA Radio's show and dropped this draft news pertaining to Philadelphia:

“Philly is very much looking to move up to get somebody they think will go in the top 5."

Griffin has been linked to Philadelphia's open GM position. The position has been open after burner accounts were linked to the team's president of basketball operations, Bryan Colangelo. Colangelo denied it, but the phone numbers were linked to his wife's phone. Brett Brown has been serving as interim GM in addition to maintaining his head coaching duties. This stands to be a credible source given that Griffin is still a candidate to be hired by the organization.

WHO IS THE TARGET? 

The Sixers have an NBA-high 6 draft picks heading into the draft. Picks #10, #26, #38, #39, #56, and #60.

Here are the 6 players most projected to be selected in the top-5:

Deandre Ayton

• The center out of Arizona is likely to be the #1 pick after averaging 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds while leading the Wildcats to the Pac-12 title. Legitimate questions about his defense, but he looks like he will be a star on the other end of the court.
• NOT a Philadelphia target with Joel Embiid locked in at the 5. Phoenix is not looking to deal the #1 pick and sounds committed to drafting Ayton.

Luka Doncic

• The 6'6" European sensation has been heralded as good enough to go #1 over the past few months, but concerns about his athleticism and inability to workout for teams (currently participating in the ACB playoffs) have dropped his stock. Likely still a top 5 pick.
• POSSIBLY the target. The SF with a nice shot, solid handle, and excellent court vision could be the next European NBA star and could be a great fit next to Simmons and Embiid.

Jaren Jackson Jr.

• The 6'11" big man out of Michigan State has been projected to be a PF/C in the NBA. Jackson did not put up the same flashy stats that Ayton and Bagley produced in college, but the big man has immense potential as a floor-spacing big man with outstanding defensive attributes. Averaging just 21.8 minutes, Jackson averaged 10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 3.2 fouls per game. These numbers may look modest but averaging 3.0 blocks, 51.3% from the field, 39.6% from beyond the arc, and 79.7% from the free throw line show that Jackson is an elite shot blocker with a sweet shooting stroke.
• POSSIBLY the target. Jackson would space the floor on offense for Embiid to work down low, just like Saric and Ilyasova did this past season. On defense, Jackson and Embiid would terrify opponents that attacked the paint.

Marvin Bagley III

• Bagley is another prospect that has a legitimate argument for going #1 overall. The 6'11" PF/C out of Duke, put up 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds as a star freshman. Shooting a stellar 61.4% from the field and 39.7% from 3, Bagley was dominant on the offensive end but his .9 blocks disappointed on the defensive end for someone who was so physically dominant.
• UNLIKELY he is the target. Bagley will likely be a 15-20ppg guy immediately, but he may be best suited at C in the modern NBA. Embiid is Philly's franchise C and the overlap in their games may not mesh as well as some of the other prospects.

Mo Bamba

• Bamba made headlines with his NBA combine record 7'10" wingspan. The 7'1 PF/C didn't stop impressing there, as he reportedly wowed the Chicago Bulls with a 3/4 court sprint faster than NBA All-Star guards. His time was faster than Russell Westbrook, John Wall, Kemba Walker, James Harden, Dwayne Wade, and Victor Oladipo posted in their pre-draft workouts. The 10.9 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game predict a defensive menace in the NBA, but expect the hardworking big man to continue to improve the range on his jumper and produce near his 12.9 points per game in his rookie year. Bamba has the physical gifts to be more dominant than Rudy Gobert on defense, and potentially be a #1 or #2 option on offense. A good guy with no character issues and another Texas product destined to be a star in the league.
• UNLIKELY to be the target. Bamba has as much upside as anyone in this draft, but he doesn't seem to be a good fit next to Embiid. Bamba and Embiid both excel as centers. Bamba could do much better than Bagley could guarding power forwards on the defensive end, but lacks the shooting yet to play next to Embiid on offense.

Michael Porter Jr.

• Porter left high school looking like a future #1 pick. His collegiate career at Missouri didn't last long though, as he suffered a major back injury (L3-L4 microdiscectomy) in the first 2 minutes of his first game. He recovered to play 2 final games with Missouri, but lacked the explosiveness that made him the dominant player he was in high school. The 6'10" former McDonald's All-American was a dominant point-forward in high school and projected to go head to head with NBA superstar wings. A recent hip injury (muscle spasms potentially related to back injury) and concerns about the recovery are still leaving teams wary of drafting Porter.
• SB Nation has this phenomenal piece on MPJ's injury. Of note:

• "Using PER as a baseline, the study found that a patient won’t return to his typical level of play until his second season following surgery."

• POSSIBLY the target. Because Porter's injury kept him sidelined for most of the NCAA season, there is naturally a lot of concern about the severity of the injury. He had herniated discs but the procedure was short and never left him bed-ridden from the day it was performed. To some extent, it has been blown out of proportions, but it is hard to know what other issues could stem from the back injury. If he regains his form, he could be the best player in the draft and a dominant combo forward. Philadelphia didn't back away from taking Embiid after his injuries, so they may view MPJ as a risk worth taking. He could start immediately at the 3 or 4 for a team looking to make the next step and be a crucial go-to scorer.

There seems to be a distinct drop-off in prospects after these 6 players, with Trae Young, Wendall Carter Jr., Mikal Bridges, Collin Sexton, and Kevin Knox being some of the prospects seen outside the top-6 in most NBA mock drafts.

The most likely Philadephia target is Luka Doncic, Jaren Jackson Jr., or Michael Porter Jr.

Philadephia has some negotiating to do with the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, or Dallas Mavericks to acquire a top-5 pick by Thursday.

Fortunately, Memphis appears to be open for business:

From @MikeAScotto 's mock draft in @TheAthletic - Grizzlies exploring what Parsons + 4 would get them in a trade... pic.twitter.com/qJJR8DHvdp

— Peter Edmiston (@peteredmiston) June 14, 2018

The NBA draft starts at 7pm ET on Thursday, June 21.