Draft Night

I’ve been waiting for this day since the 2013 NBA Draft. I remember watching Sam Hinkie’s first draft in Sea Isle City, NJ with some of my cousins. Once he traded Jrue Holiday to New Orleans, I immediately wanted the next year of my life to fast forward to the 2014 NBA Draft. That might sound a little extreme, especially if you consider how many great moments I would have missed if the last year of my life just passed by in seconds. But now we are almost here. We are less than 12 hours away from the 2014 NBA Draft. A draft where Philadelphia has seven picks, including two in the top-10. I really don’t know what will happen on draft night. I’m not sure who will be dealt, or who Sam Hinkie will draft. It was much, much more clear before Joel Embiid’s injury. It’s cloudy right now, but I’m sure the sun will come out tonight, and Hinkie will have some direction of how this team will be built. I mean this draft literally will change our franchise. Obviously it’s not the make it or break it of our franchise, especially if you consider Philly should have a high pick next season, which could turn out to be a LeBron James or Kevin Durant kind of franchise-changing guy. I just don’t know. But as of now, this is the most important night. It’s been circled on many Sixer fans’ calendars since last June. It’s great, actually, because I’ve noticed a certain buzz surrounding the Sixers that I haven’t seen since the early 2000s. I know Philly got excited when the Sixers beat the Bulls, and nearly the Celtics in 2012, but this is a different kind of excitement. Philly needs star players. Philly needs to have a contender year in and year out, and many believe Hinkie and Brett Brown are two guys who are destined for greatness. I believe in both guys, especially Brett Brown. All of this pre-draft talk about MCW being traded, or how Dante Exum couldn’t work in the same backcourt as MCW, or maybe Nerlens Noel will be traded, or whatever. There’s been a lot of talk, and most of it is just that… just talk. There’s no real substance. Nothing really to believe. Who honestly knows what will happen tonight. Maybe Philly and Cleveland have already worked something out that will give the Sixers Andrew Wiggins. Maybe they haven’t. Maybe Philly will simply select Dante Exum, or Joel Embiid. Or maybe they’ll surprise everyone and draft Noah Vonleh. There’s so many damn options, and this draft will absolutely nuts. Enjoy draft night, and let’s hope it is just the beginning of something special for the Philadelphia Sixers.