With the NBA draft a day away, Noah Levick has the Sixers selecting two well-rounded players, a stellar shooter and a scoring point guard in this Sixers-only mock draft. 

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F – Tennessee – 6-7/240

Williams is a strong, smart, well-rounded player who won SEC Player of the Year in consecutive seasons and was a consensus First-Team All-American (see profile). There’s little doubt he’d check off the Sixers’ boxes of being a mature player who can contribute right away. The questions with Williams would center around his role. Is he an NBA small forward? A small-ball five? A jack of all trades? Watching Williams lead the Volunteers, and listening to him confidently describe his future in the modern, positionless NBA, you sense he’ll make it work wherever he ends up. If players who fit a more conventional role like Matisse Thybulle, Cameron Johnson and Tyler Herro are off the board, Williams would make sense. 

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G/F – Belmont - 6-8/200 

A four-year player at Belmont, Windler improved every season, culminating with averages of 21.3 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game as a senior. He made 42.9 percent of his three-point shots last season on 7.1 attempts per game, an indication that he’s one of the top shooters in this class (see profile). The lefty has a smooth, uncomplicated release and you believe just about every jumper he takes is going in. His rebounding is another asset, with the caveat that most of his production came against mid-major competition. Windler knows he needs to get stronger for the NBA and mentioned after his pre-draft workout with the Sixers on July 6 that he’s gained 10 to 12 pounds since the end of Belmont’s season.

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F – Villanova – 6-7/254 

You’re likely very familiar with Paschall if you’re a local basketball fan. As our Sean Kane writes, Paschall showed impressive growth during his time at Villanova, which bodes well for his NBA prospects (see profile). Paschall is similar to Grant Williams in the sense that he’s a physical, versatile player whose NBA success might hinge on his ability to shoot the three and defend on the perimeter. Like Williams, Paschall comes across as a self-aware, selfless person who could help a winning basketball team. 

“In the NBA, you’re not always going to come in and be the man,” he said after his Sixers workout. “You have to learn how to deal with it and be mature about it. Just know it’s a process.” 

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G – St. John’s – 6-1/180

The Sixers worked out a few undersized guards who can really score, among them Ponds, Ky Bowman and Justin Wright-Foreman. Ponds, who left St. John’s after his junior year, appears to be the best of the bunch and could be an excellent value pick at No. 42. While his creative ball handling and scoring ability stand out — he averaged 20.6 points per game over his sophomore and junior seasons — Ponds noted after his Sixers workout on June 13 that he’s “an underrated passer.” Especially given the heavy burden he had in leading the St. John’s offense, his 5.1/2.0 assist-to turnover-ratio is eye-catching. The Sixers could use both a backup point guard and bench players that can create their own shot. Ponds, if he can overcome his lack of size to be a serviceable NBA defender, might be able to — at least in part — fill those holes. 

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G – Washington – 6-4/202

While there’s no use reading too much into pre-draft workouts, it was noticeable that members of both the Sixers’ player development staff and Delaware Blue Coats’ coaching staff watched Nowell closely at the conclusion of his workout with the Sixers. The 19-year-old earned Pac-12 Player of the Year honors after posting 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game as a sophomore. He’s at his best driving hard downhill but can also hit floaters, mid-range jumpers and NBA threes. Coming from a 2-3 zone defense in college, Nowell will need to prove himself defensively. He’d likely either be on a two-way contract or spend the majority of his rookie season on assignment in the G League.

“Optionality” was one of Elton Brand’s favorite words as he previewed draft night (see story), so there are plenty of directions the Sixers could choose, including packaging second-round picks to trade up in the first or stashing a player(s) overseas. 

(USA Today Images)