Sixers 2008 Draft Center

Sixers exhaust all options to look at prospects

With the NBA Draft less than a week away, 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski, Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager Tony DiLeo, Director of Player Personnel Courtney Witte and the entire coaching staff have been exhausting all options in order to get a look at prospects that may be available when the team makes the 16th pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

Since so many players are in demand from a number of different teams, DiLeo stated that the Sixers’ workout schedule changes almost by the hour. While the team pursues players in which they have interest, there are obstacles that potentially stand in the way of getting to see a player in person, whether it be an agent declining an invitation to scheduling conflicts with other teams.

In order to see as many players as possible, the Sixers have ventured out to other cities to take part in the pre-draft workouts. When other teams hold private workouts, it is up to that respective franchise and each player’s agent to determine who will attend the outing. As mentioned by DiLeo, both sides are usually cooperative.

“[At one workout], we saw Kosta Koufos and we saw J.J. Hickson, who we had down here,” DiLeo said. “We saw Anthony Randolph and we saw Donté Greene, who was also here. They were the main four guys who we saw.”

Koufos, a seven-foot big man who averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks as a freshman at Ohio State, could potentially be available when the Sixers make their first-round selection.

“[Kosta] is a very skilled player,” said DiLeo. “He is a seven-footer, so he’s long; he’s 19-years-old. He can really shoot the ball from the outside and he can handle the ball so he has great skills and he’s young. Anytime you have a big man who can shoot the ball, it’s a big advantage.”

DiLeo also indicated that the Sixers recently were represented at a private workout that was put together by the agent for Texas A&M center DeAndre Jordan. The Big 12 All-Rookie Team member averaged 7.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game on 61.7% shooting from the field during his freshman season with the Aggies.

The Sixers hold the 16th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden will host the draft on June 26, 2008.