NBA draft: Sixers eyeing Nassir Little, Kevin Porter Jr. in NBA draft as Cameron Johnson goes off board early
The team is currently working the phones to try to trade up in the first round. But it hopes the players fall to them in the draft.
Don’t be surprised if the 76ers snag Nassir Little or Kevin Porter Jr. if they’re available in tonight’s NBA draft, according to a league source.
The Sixers have 24th overall pick in the first round and four second-round selections.
The team is currently working the phones, trying to trade up in the first round. But it hopes the players fall to them in the draft.
Little was a freshman forward at North Carolina this past season.
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound swingman averaged 9.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 18.2 minutes in 36 games this past season as a reserve. Carolina was 17-1 when Little scored in double figures this past season. The Pensacola, Florida native was expected to be a lottery pick in this season’s draft.
Meanwhile, Porter was the 6-6, 218-pound swingman from Southern California. He averaged 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 22.1 minutes this season in 21 games played with four starts. The Seattle native was sixth in the Pac-12 conference in three-point shooting at 41.2 percent.
One of the Sixers’ targeted players – Cameron Johnson – shockingly went 11th overall to the Phoenix Suns. There was a thought that the former North Carolina swingman would fall to 24 due to a bad medical history.
The sharpshooter was also considered the best for the Sixers among all the draft prospects. One league executive said his fit with the Sixers would have been like having Channing Frye in his prime. Frye, a sharpshooting power forward/center, averaged 8.7 points and shot 38.8 percent on three-pointers in his 13-year career, mostly as a reserve.