Sixer Draft Pick Nikola Vucevic Will “Fight For Some Time” On Court
PHILADELPHIA — Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski said newly drafted Nikola Vucevic, a center from USC, fills a need, and can be expected to “fight for some time as a rotation player” next season.
The Sixers used the 16th overall pick in Thursday’s draft on Vucevic, who after measuring at a shade under 7 feet in the Combine in May shot up teams’ boards. He averaged 17.1 points and a Pac-12-leading 10.3 rebounds for the Trojans last season.
Stefanski said Vucevic, 20, has “a great wingspan” and is “a good shooter with size” with “a very high basketball IQ.”
“He has a pro-type of game right now,” he added.
The Sixers worked Vucevic out on June 8, and his agent told Stefanski that the young man is “in love with Doug Collins,” the Sixers’ coach. He also knows Sixers point guard Jrue Holiday, having played against him when Holiday was at UCLA.
Collins said in a statement that the team is “incredibly thrilled” to take Vucevic.
“I liked him from the moment I saw him at the Chicago pre-draft camp,” Collins added. “He is a hard-working skilled big man with a desire to succeed who gives us more size in the front court, which is a need. He is a player that we are ecstatic to have on our roster, and I look forward to coaching him.”
Stefanski said Vucevic was “in the mix all along” with the Sixers, to the point that they considered trading up in the draft, just to be sure they could take him. Nothing materialized, so the personnel types crossed their fingers as the selection process unfolded. They were particularly concerned from No. 12 on.
And overall Stefanski said the Sixers were “very busy” on the phones. There had been a great deal of speculation about them dealing Andre Iguodala, but that didn’t happen — at least not yet — and Stefanski declined to say which players were discussed in potential trades.
What he did say is that the Sixers are forever exploring other ways in which they might improve their team.
“We need to do more,” he said.
Comments