Sixers Draft Potential Paul Reed Replacement…

Sixers Draft Potential Paul Reed Replacement…

day two of the NBA Draft is officially over and these Sixers added another potential impact player this time at the backup center position the selection at the 41st overall pick was Adam Bona out of UCLA a 6’8 big man with a 7 foot4 wingspan and really interesting story overall he’s a guy who work rate and effort will be the number two or the two most common words that will be used to describe him so I want to break down in this video a little bit of what to expect what his role may be as well as talk about how this impacts Paul Reed as it pertains to the Sixers so I’m going to start out with a couple quick hitters some breakdowns from the bigger NBA media members who followed him a little more in depth than myself start out with Jonathan gavone who wrotes who writes that there isn’t a harder playing Prospect in this draft than Adam Bona his combination of Mobility length power quickness off his feet and intensity gives him considerable defensive potential he should be one of the first players off the board this afternoon luckily for the Sixers that he did stick around to that 41st pick where they did add him we got Kevin oconor of the ringer speaking quite highly of that pick at the time oconor tweets that Adam Bona will be the best backup in Joel embiid Sixers career pure energy and hustle but Bona’s versatility could also enable him to play with Joel embiid for two big lineups embiid can space on offense Bona can handle perimeter matchups on defense and while I’m not as bullheaded that that’s a possibility yet I know we did talk quite in depth last year about the potential for these two big lineups with Paul Reed I do think that it does say a little bit more about Paul Reed than it does about Nick nurse for that not being a possibility that does seem like something that I think nurse would be open to if this situation does allow and frankly we know the rebounding issues that the Sixers team has had that I do think there’s room for another big body playing next to Joel embiid even if Paul Reed wasn’t quite that guy and even if Adam Bona isn’t quite that guy but the reality is that the number one goal or Lane that he will run in is as the Sixers backup center and to dive a little bit more into what he brings to the floor I do want to dive into the full Scouting Report from KOC here and he writes this on the ringer he was the 36 or 32nd ranked Prospect according to oconor says shades of Montes Harold and bism bambo he that Bona is a tireless player with the qualities to be an excellent rotational big the pluses that he writes is that he’s a big body Defender with the hands and feet to thrive in pick and roll scheme he sets Rock Solid screens and rolls hard to the basket active help Defender who explodes like a rocket for emphatic highlight reel blocks shows a nose for crashing the offensive glass and he’s highly physical on the defensive boards quick and explosive leaper with good hands he’ll be a major lob threat and he always runs the floor hard so bigs will reward him show was a quick First Step from the perimeter on occasional drives inside there’s a chance he will develop into a solid face up game especially if he’s able to develop a jumper the minus is he’s borderline hackable as a free thr shooter with limited touch away from the restricted area he’s also not yet a player who can be trusted to facilitate from the perimeter whether in dribble handoff actions or in transition so I do think the free throw shooting was a little bit strong there he did increase these numbers to 69.6% this year on over four attempts per game if you’re shooting 69% from the line as a big man I can live with that obviously the higher the better but that’s not something that I think throws him in the range of hacka Shack or hacka Ben Simmons in which you can absolutely throw a team off and to be perfectly honest if we’re talking about the backup center and my biggest complaint is his free throw shooting we’re doing all right in the Sixers World there now for Adam Bona here he is a guy that you flip on the tape and he does pop that he’s off the charts athletic off the charts work rate he’s running up and down the floor he will have those highlight re dunks when I kind of evaluate that what does that mean to me is he’s kind of Paul re 2.0 that it is a similar athleticism in work rate and those are kind of Paul Reed’s calling cards same with Adam Bona and the interesting factor with Paul Reed here is the Sixers have a decision to make that as of now he’s on a non-guaranteed contract for over $7 million and as they look to shed as much salary as they possibly can and approach this free agency to attack and build a true Contender I do think it’s pretty likely that Paul Reed is a casualty for that now to preface it a little bit I do think that Daryl mour is working the phones right now and that there is some peel because it’s a non-guaranteed contract that these six years could potentially trade out Paul Reed for like a future second round pick that team’s able to cut Paul get that salary off the the cap directly right there and it’s a little bit of a win-win there wouldn’t shock me if that’s the route they go and certainly would be preferential to the Sixers if you can get anything returned rather than straight up cut him but I do think on a cost controlled contract a guy like Adam Bona is going to hold far more appeal to Daryl muray and Nick nurse than unfortunately Paul Reed so it’s been a a good run good couple years but I do think my expectation is we’ve probably seen the end of Paul Reed in a sixer uniform maybe there is is a world where if they do release them they can renegotiate on a smaller figure but I can’t see the Sixers committing $7 million to Paul Reed at this point in time and that’s especially the case after draft drafting Adam Bona now to talk a little bit more about Bona he is a guy who has incredible character as well that all coaches and players speak super highly of him about what he brings to the team the work rate the just positive vibe that he radiates and I do think that’s something the Sixers are paying more attention to this has now been consistent with both Jared McCain and Adam Bona that they are guys described as these hard workers that guys want to be around some Charisma that they each have that people like them and I do think that’s important on a culture-wide standing that far too often the Sixers have just looked at Talent or haven’t done quite the due diligence when you continue to stack these good personalities or Good Vibes within organization that does add up and Bona himself had a really cool quote following the draft when he was asked about things that I did want to pull up here and Adam Bona when asked about being drafted by the Sixers said quote I’m so excited to be there actually my older brother is a Philly fan he’s really excited right now probably he’s back home in Nigeria watching I can’t wait to be there man I’m also getting the opportunity to meet Joel embiid so cool quote there I love to see the excitement from him and cool that his family is fans of Philly already obviously we you know the better to get a little foot in and know the history there I guess and and cool that the we know that there’s African descent for Adam Bona he is from Nigeria officially so I’m sure Joel em beat is a bit of a cult hero over there Down in Africa particularly Joel being a bit of a Trailblazer himself I know there were guys guys like luuk and bbaam and a couple others before him but Joel being able to ascend to the MVP levels that he has become that’s just straight up inspirational for a lot of the guys over there and I think Bona falls under the category also now I did want to dive a fuller picture of what he brings to the table from a statistical stpoint so to pull up the stats of his two years at UCLA as we can see this year he started all 33 games played 26.5 minutes per game produced 12.4 points 5.9 rebounds 1.2 assists 1.1 steals 1.8 blocks which is a really high figure there and doing all that in 26.5 minutes per game and when you do zoom out and take a look at the 2-year sample size here the free throw shooting is the most Stout Improvement that I do think is worth noting that he shot 57.3% as a freshman up to 69.6% as a sophomore that is huge Improvement and stuff that I do think is relevant that again if you’re shooting really over 65% as a big man you’re pretty much going to be passable there is a pretty high tolerance for that and like when you’re a player who has the ball in his hands like a or a wing more often there’s just more opportunity for you to get fouled for Bona he’s going to keep the game simple that he’s going to rim run he’s going to set screens he’s going to roll to the basket and he’s going to play in transition and the only time he’s really going to be fouled is when he’s going up for a layup or dunk that’s really the only time that we’re going to see that there so not something that is a massive concern so as far as expectations and what I’m thinking for Bona he’s going to keep the game very simple that he’s going to maximize the straight up basic big man roles that he’s going to be a screener he’s going to be a shot blocker he’s going to be a lob Catcher And that right there is a pretty complete NBA player from the big man perspective I will say I did get a little push back from some UCLA fans on Twitter who did question a little bit of where is his high IQ that sometimes I think he’s a guy who falls in the category of overexerts himself too much where he’s trying to do too much run all over the place and kind of gets himself out of position there may be a little bit of doubts about the IQ for where he is on the floor I think he’s probably not the most instinctual basketball player but the raw athletic traits and his ability to block shots and catch lobs at a high level is what’s going keep him in the NBA for a long time when you think about guys like Clint capella who straight up made a career out of just shot blocking and catching lobs I think Bona can be that and a little more that I do think there’s more defensive versatility there I saw a couple just clips and highlights again I have not Dove to this guy in the full scale I certainly will before the season starts up but I saw some opportunities in which he was switched out on the onto the perimeter and held his own at least that that 74 wingspan is going to be a real talking point as far as who he’s able to match up with and obviously that catch radius that comes with the lb there so I think this is a great pick for the Sixers a great use of assets by take him with the 41st pick I was pretty open about I would have been very frustrated if with that 16th pick which once again was Jared McCain if that was used in the big man spot there was a lot of smoke connecting to Eve Missy out of Balor there I would been frustrated by that but in the second round there I’m totally cool with it that having a guy like Bona to at least come under the wing and see what he can be at the worst it’s a move to challenge Paul Reed and see if he is ready to step it up this year but I do think Bona can be a number one Improvement and and I do think it it’s not the worst idea to even bring in another player to challenge there so I do want to hear from you guys in the comments what do you think of the Adam Bona Edition I’m pretty excited I think this is I wouldn’t give it an A+ move but pretty satisfied I I’ll throw another B+ which was my grade for McCain as well I’m happy to have Adam Bona a part of the Sixers family I do think that his work rate and his athleticism are going to be something that is pretty infectious in the city of Philadelphia I do think he’s going to be a fan favorite and while he might not be Paul Reed from the standpoint of yelling out the mud and CHP I think that this is going to be a guy that we learn his name pretty quickly so shout out to Adam Bona and welcome to Philadelphia shout out to the Sixers for really nailing both rounds of the draft I’m going to drop another video pretty soon after this talking about Justin Edwards who’s their undrafted free agent signing and a guy that I’ve seen play in person a guy who’s a local Philly area guy and a dude that was a former top five recruit that they managed to snag in the undrafted free agent market so make sure to stay posted for that the best way to do that is by Smashing that subscribe button dropping a like on this video here and any comments you have for me and I’ll will be talking with you next time right here on Sixers digest peace

Sixers Draft Potential Paul Reed Replacement…

In the second round of the NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Adem Bona out of UCLA. Sean Barnard breaks down what to expect from the big man and what it means for Paul Reed. He reads some notable scouting reports and lays out what his role could look like on the NBA level.

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