2008 NBA Draft - Sixers get their man!

When you have the 16th pick in the NBA draft, especially in today's NBA, you're definitely looking for the best available player. You can't expect to find an instant impact guy, but you certainly can hope to get someone with a lot of up-side. Last night the Sixers used their lone pick of the night on 20 year old Marreese Speights from the University of Florida. The 6'10" PF/C already has an NBA body, weighing in at nearly 250 lbs. Not only did the Sixers get themselves the best available player, they got exactly what they needed, a low-post presence who can run the floor.

Speights avegarged 14 and 8 last year in his Sophomore season at Florida in just over 24 minutes per game. He also shot over 62% from the field which was 9th best in the nation. He sat behind current NBAers Al Horford and Joakim Noah his Freshman year, seeing limited minutes on the 2007 National Championship team. He has a lot of room to grow, with the critics saying he has "work-ethic" issues. Sixers GM Ed Stafanski says Speights will see limited minutes for the Sixers in the '08-'09 season, but after that he should be ready to contribute significantly.

The drafting of Speights raises some interesting questions for the Sixers as we head into the July 1st free agent period. With Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams as restricted free agents, Andre Miller sitting at 9 million heading into his final year of his deal and 11 million dollars of cap room to play with, it could get very interesting around here soon. Stay tuned!