The Sixers, Suns and Kings have made a trade involving the #3, #6 and #13 picks the SB Nation Mock Draft.
The Suns have acquired the #3 pick from Philly, as well as Darren Collison and Jason Thompson from the Kings. The Kings get Eric Bledsoe. The Sixers trade down and end up with #6 and #13 overall in the draft, as well as Reggie Bullock. Everybody wins here.
The Suns, a team full of good-not-great talent, really needed to add a star. The very best free agents don't flock to the desert. So adding that first future All-Star can only be done via trade or the draft. Here, they did both, adding the best prospect brought to the valley since Amare Stoudemire more than a decade ago.
The Kings get to pair Bledsoe with DeMarcus Cousins to make a playoff run in 2015-16, while Philly gets to add two more fine talents to their organization with the #6 and #13 picks in the draft, plus Reggie Bullock (a 2013 #1 pick).
Taylor: The Suns won this trade, hands down. They were able to move up in the draft, while also acquiring a serviceable point guard and a decent big to deepen their bench. Philly gets two picks for one and get to add even more youth to their roster. Eventually they'll actually start building towards the present instead of the future, right? Right?
The Kings get a scoring guard to pair with DeMarcus Cousins to create more of an inside-out game. Will it be enough to keep Cousins happy in Sacramento? Time will tell but it does create a dynamic duo that could cause problems for other Western Conference teams.
Kevin: The Sixers love their draft picks. They’ve taken the "Thunder Model" and have taken it to a whole new level. I’m waiting for the 2019 draft when they have the first 13 picks and the entire second round. Don’t discount this happening.
I like Bledsoe a lot in Sacramento. He’s not on the level of Gary Payton and maybe not on the level of Ty Lawson, but he’s going to fit into the George Karl system well there. Rudy Gay (hopefully) won’t think he has to shoot 45 times a night and Cousins is going to have a competent point guard to work with for the first time in his NBA career.
