Photogallery: 76ers Draft Party

Audio: Billy King | Rodney Carney | Bobby Jones

Rodney Carney had no idea.

After walking to the podium to shake hands with NBA commissioner David Stern donning a red Chicago Bulls hat, the Indianapolis native began setting his sights on the Windy City.

That was until he received word of the change in plans.

“I didn’t know what happened until I sat down and got on the radio,” Carney said in a conference call with reporters late Wednesday night. “They said, ‘Well Philly how do you like it?’ I said, ‘What - I thought Chicago?’ They are like ‘No Philly’ and I said, ‘Oh man - it’s happening. I’m getting traded already.’ It was a pretty good feeling being picked and Philly is a great fit for me.”

Only moments before making their pick, the Sixers finalized a trade with the Bulls that required drafting Thabo Sefolosha with the 13th pick and shipping him for the draft rights to Carney (the 16th selection), a 2007 second-round pick and cash considerations.

In the time leading up to the Draft, Sixers President Billy King stressed that he wanted the team to regain their identity on the defensive end. In Carney, he found a more than capable defender who came highly regarded from a former assistant.

“Rodney gives us someone who is very athletic and talkative,” King said. “He likes to play defense and wants to play defense, and I felt we needed to add some athletes. I’d been talking to [Memphis Coach] John Calipari and different people. He fit the bill.”

Standing at 6-7, Carney is a versatile swingman capable of playing either the two or three and was routinely cited as one of the best athletes in the country during his senior year at Memphis. In his final season under Calipari, Carney averaged 17.2 ppg, earned Conference USA Player of the Year honors and led the Tigers to the Elite Eight. Carney, who was also the Indiana High School Athletic Association state champion in the high jump as a senior at Northwest High School, left Memphis as the all-time leader in three-pointers made in both a single-season (102) and a career (287).

“I can play either [the two or three]” Carney said. “I just need to work on my handling the ball a little bit more and I’ll be an excellent two or three. I can get down there and I can guard a lot of bigger people such as a Tracy McGrady type of player; I could guard those kinds of guys. Either one is fine for me; I just want to get in there and do that.”

“I look at Andre Iguodala and how he did in workouts, and we are basically like the same player. I could fit well in [Philadelphia] like Andre has. Hopefully, I can compliment him and do well too.”

“I think he’s a two – three,” King said. “I think, watching the playoffs and watching the game, you need athletes. When you play New Jersey, they put Vince [Carter] and Richard [Jefferson] out there, you have to have guys that are athletic, that can defend and that can run with these guys. And you have Kyle [Korver], who can play with all these guys, so it gives us a lot of versatility.”

Carney was scheduled to workout with the Sixers on Monday but was forced to sit out with an ankle injury. With that being said, the trip to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) did prove to be valuable, as Carney was able to undergo psychological testing and meet with the Sixers brass.

“The meeting went really well,” Carney said. “We were up there laughing and joking and everything. They really made me feel welcome. I had a good feeling that they may have liked me even though my ankle was hurting and all. Maybe they took everything from what I did during the season and they made that happen from that.”

Said King: “In the workouts, we are able to do the psychological tests and talk with him, and that’s the most important thing. We don’t base our decision just on the workout. We do it more through scouts and watching the guys play throughout their games. Knowing John [Calipari] helped, but mainly watching him play, he is somebody that really impressed us.”

King entered the night in relentless pursuit of Randy Foye and was in several discussions about trading up to select the former Villanova standout.

“We knew that we wanted Randy Foye, and we did everything we could to try to get there,” King said. “We thought we had to get to number 7.We weren’t able to get him, but we kept working the phones.”

“Two days ago, I thought we were right there, and then it fell apart.”

King further bolstered his perimeter defense with the acquisition of a player who has a familiar name. Bobby Jones, a 6-7 forward from the University of Washington, has a long way to go before he is mentioned in the same breath as the former eight-time All-Defensive First Team selection and Sixth man of the Year whose number 24 hangs in the rafters of the Wachovia Center, but is also known for his abilities on the defensive end.

"Whenever you can play defense, rebound and bring energy, you can fit in with any team,” Jones, who harassed Jordan Farmar into 2-13 and 1-7 shooting nights on separate occasions and forced Dee Brown to shoot 5-18 during a second-round NCAA tournament game, said. “With the Sixers, that is definitely what they need and I bring defense, energy and I rebound. I believe in the team concept, and if you have players that are willing to do that, then your team will become better.

"I am happy that Philadelphia liked me so much to get me. Its probably the biggest day of my life so far and I am just taking it all in."

Jones, who was drafted 37th by the Timberwolves before being traded, is also aware of his namesake and the legacy he upheld while playing in Philadelphia.

"I heard of the golfer, the basketball player, the gospel channel on Sundays on BET," Jones said. "I heard every Bobby Jones name, person there is. It's funny; I have a picture in my apartment in Seattle. One of my team preachers gave me an autographed Bobby Jones’ Sixers picture. It is in my room behind some DVDs and other stuff. It's kind of funny now that, that is the team I am going to. It's a coincidence."

The Sixers also managed to acquire the draft rights to Edin Bavcic, the 56th overall pick in the second round, from the Toronto Raptors for cash considerations. The 22-year old is a 6-foot-10, 230-pound, small forward/power forward from Bosnia-Herzegovina and may remain in Europe.