Chad Ford of ESPN released his latest NBA Mock Draft for 2017, and projects the Sixers to land a guard to round out the starting five and bring some roster balance to a team that already features a stacked front-court that includes Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Dario Saric.
In Ford's latest projection, the Sixers wind up selecting Kentucky guard Malik Monk:
A good but hardly ideal night for the Sixers.
They didn't get the Lakers' pick (though they will get it next year), and their own pick actually fell to fifth. But they moved up to third because of a savvy Sam Hinkie trade that was made years ago, allowing them to swap places with Sacramento.
The Sixers wanted either Fultz or Ball. Now the choice is tougher. But they need shooters, and Malik Monk should be there for the taking. Or they can go with the toughness of De'Aaron Fox to bolster their perimeter defense.
Coach Brett Brown plans to put the ball in Ben Simmons' hands next season, so right now Monk looks more likely. But Fox has a lot of fans in the Sixers' front office, and Brown loves gritty players.
In his lone collegiate season at Kentucky, Monk averaged 19.8 points, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and making 39.7 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
The Sixers could certainly use an injection of reliable outside shooting to go with Embiid, Saric and Simmons.
Matt Lombardo may be reached at MLombardo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoPHL.