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SB Nation Mock Draft: The Philadelphia 76ers acquire the 10th pick, select Stanley Johnson

By Taylor Made, Lucas Shannon, Kevin Nesgoda, and Infomantae
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Hot Hot Hoops and Liberty Ballers have completed a trade for the #10 pick.

The Heat will receive the 2015 13th overall pick, 2016 OKC 1st round pick (protected 1-15), 2016 Denver 2nd round pick, 2017 Sixers 2nd round pick.

With the 10th Overall Pick in the 2015 SB Nation NBA draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select Stanley Johnson, guard/forward out of the University of Arizona.

From Liberty Ballers: Johnson is a strong athlete with significant upside. We feel confident that, through hard work and NBA coaching, that Johnson will become a strong perimeter shooter and will be an excellent complement to our core of Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, and Mario Hezonja, especially on the defensive end of the court, and will help us on our path to building a championship-contending team for years to come.

The price of trading up three slots was a significant one to pay, more than the market would suggest, but given that the we have five second round picks this season - some of which we anticipate trading, the expectation for a strong 2016 record for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and our confidence in Stanley Johnson as a prospect and being selected, and who we had rated higher than this draft slot, we felt this was a worthy trade despite the cost.

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SB Nation Blogger Mock Draft

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SB Nation's NBA Network conducted a mock draft with bloggers from each team site making or trading "their" team's pick. Here's a look at how things went down.

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SB Nation Blogger Mock Draft

Kevin: Now the 76ers start adding to their depth and to their long term core.  If for some reason that either Saric or Hezonja don’t come over this season then Johnson can definitely step right in.  Johnson has wingspan for days! WINGSPAN FOR DAYS!  I don’t project him to be a world beater offensively, but with the NBA switching to a long range wing game, Johnson is going to be able to stop a lot of wing players in the NBA.  He’s athletic enough to guard point guards and he definitely will get his crack of the Kevin Durants and Lebron Jameseses of the world.

Lucas: The 76ers went into today possessing the 3rd pick. They left with Mario Hezonja and Stanley Johnson, that is a good day. Johnson is  an impressive athlete, not only is he 6’7" with an 6’11.5" wingspan, but he is also 243 pounds, and physically ready to hold his own when driving to the rim. He should fit the 76ers up tempo offense well, as he excelled in transition for the Wildcats (he didn’t have the opportunity to get out and run last year on account of the fact that Sean Miller prefers to play at a very slow pace.) He has a considerable amount of work to do in terms of polishing his game in order to become an  efficient, as he only shot 47.1% from the field last season. However, Johnson is only 19 years old and I believe his floor is, at worst, an average wing on each side of the ball, and at best he will be on quite a few all star teams. He may not be the type of player that elevates an organization by himself, that will be Hezonja’s job. between Johnson, Nerlens Noel, and Joel Embiid, the Sixers have a solid young core of talent to pair next Hezonja. Hinkie has caught a lot of flack for his aggressive tanking, but it may begin to pay off in the next few years.

Taylor: The Sixers needed to take the best player available and they did. Johnson is a beast, a big strong guy who can bang down low and step out for the jump shot. He should be able to overpower a lot of small forwards, and is quick and athletic enough to play a bit of stretch four as well. He still needs work on his jump shot, but that will come in time. For now, he can rely on his leaping ability and his 6'11" wingspan (yes, Kevin, for days) to attack the basket. On defense, Johnson can be a scrappy defender who gives the opponents fits, but he can also take plays off. He needs to keep his head in the game and he could become a solid, if not great, two-way player.

Dontae: Couple this pick with the trade and drafting of Mario Hezonja, and you have an exciting day for the 76ers. They could have just D'Angelo Russell, but Hezonja with Stanley Johnson is much greater value.

Johnson gives the Sixers the foundation of a large and athletic team full of potential playmakers. Sounds just like Hinkie has been watching the Golden State Warriors. Johnson should immediately be a beast on defense. He already has a true small forward frame, he's strong, quick, and uses his length (6'11.5" wingspan) well. He can use that frame on offense just as well, but he does need to refine the nuances of ballhandling in traffic and finishing at the rim (one issue has beget the other) in order to really reach his potential. He has good mechanics as a shooter, but I still take his 37% 3PT shooting in college with a grain of salt.

Think of him in the mold of a Kawhi Leonard, they both had some of the same concerns and strengths (rebounding, defense) coming out of college, except for one thing. Leonard was lauded for his focus, where's Johnson has notably been seen as "spacing out" on the defensive end of the floor. His mindset will determine if he can become a star or just another defensive rotation piece on this team.

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2015 SB Nation Mock NBA Draft

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