Just Who Would/Should a Lottery Sixers Team Target? (Plus a GoFundMe Plea From Spike -- Please Read & Help)
Zo looks at some early lottery favorites, and Spike asks for assistance with an unthinkable tragedy suffered in our community.
Let’s assume the ship never gets right for one reason or another and the lottery Gods bless Daryl Morey and the front office with a top 6 pick in what figures to be in every corner, a draft class absolutely loaded with top tier talent and depth. I took a stab at some prospects, immediate contributor type guys that the front office syndicate should have an eye on. In no particular order.
1. Cooper Flagg
One of the more complete prospects in a long while. 6 '9, rangy, Does everything on both ends. Gets his nose dirty on defense, great rebounder and brings the ball up on offense. I think what I love the most is that he doesn’t need to ball to make an impact. He’ll tell you (and I will too) that once that three-ball starts to hit a consistent 45% or so clip he’ll be an even bigger problem.
2. Dylan Harper
A true goddamn hooper. Not the best athlete but sturdy as hell, big shot maker and very deliberate with the ball, knows exactly what he wants to do whenever he has it.
3. Ace Bailey
Incredible athlete for his size (6 '9), takes all the difficult shots and honestly makes them most of the time so I don’t blame him. He falls in love way too much at times with his jump shot but I’d rather have that problem than a guy who won’t put it up.
4. VJ Edgecombe
Maybe my favorite and if not, top three — but this guy is sensational. Elite athlete, glides around the floor, plays above the rim very well and has one hell of an edge to him. He’s exactly the prototype you’d want running with Maxey/McCain/PG.
5. Tre Johnson
Very simple: BUCKETS. He won’t dunk on you or blow you away with his speed but everything he does looks so easy and smooth as butter.
6. Asa Newell
A true Dawg, no pun intended since he plays at Georgia, but truly, a freak-like wrecking ball of a power forward who’s doing his draft stock wonders so far this season.
7. Derik Queen
A very fun prospect. Nimble feet, terrific touch around the rim. I have my questions about guarding in space at the next level but he has all his knee ligaments intact if that means anything to you.
8. Liam McNeeley
He’s already UCONN’s best player and by the end of the season he may be surefire lottery. Can/will guard 1-4, great ball-handler and can shoot the shit out of the rock.
SPIKE ASKS FOR HELP WITH A TRAGEDY IN THE RICKY COMMUNITY
Wanted to tell you today about a tragic story, and a Ricky community member who needs our help.
You may have heard the horrible story already, but if you haven’t: last week, there was a home invasion in Lower Merion that ended in one man being killed, Andrew Gaudio, and his mother being shot and paralyzed. The men who are accused of doing this targeted the wrong house, and were apparently looking for guns that were in a house in Bucks County. You can read more about it here.
In any case, Andrew was a big Ricky guy. He and his brother Robert bonded over the Sixers. It is crushing to know that this happened to a family in our little community.
Robert is now left to care for his mother Bernadette, and deal with the after effects of the tragedy. There is a GoFundMe for him that you can contribute to here. I know it’s a tough time to throw out extra money, so whatever you can spare is great, or if you can’t, just sharing the fundraiser. It looks like there is a lot of money in there already, but when you think about the mountain ahead of them and the time and cost involved in all of this, it’s really just a drop in the bucket.
We are sending all of our love to Robert and Bernadette, and we mourn the devastating loss of one of our guys, Andrew.