Sixers draft watch: Dennis Smith Jr. a perfect fit, other prospects that could land in Philly

The Sixers don’t yet know what their draft pick will be when June arrives. In fact, no one does.

With just under a dozenremaining in the regular season, plus the unpredictable draft lottery, Philly could fall anywhere from pick one to pick eight. They also have the right to swap picks with the Kings, creating more unpredictability — as well as the rights to the Lakers’ pick if it is not in the top three.

So we know Philly will have a top eight pick, maybe two.We also know they won’t be picking a big man.

That narrows the field a bit.

Here’s a brief look at the soon to be former college stars whom Philadelphia could select in June’s draft based on their play style and fit into Philly’s scheme:

1. Lonzo Ball, 6-foot-6 point guard, UCLA

Ball would be an epically good fit for Philly — as they need a pass-first point guard who can distribute the ball to Joel Embiid as well as an off-ball scorer who can succeed when Ben Simmons is playing at the point. Ball is exactly that, a big agile point guard who can score. He draws comparisons to Jason Kidd and has posted a14.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 1.9 steals per game stat line while making more than two 3-pointers per game. However, he’d require a top two pick so the Sixers would need to get very lucky.

2. Markelle Fultz, 6-foot-4 point guard, Washington

Another long, scoring-gifted West Coast guard, Fultz is all but assured to go in the top two as well, so despite his perfect fit — like Ball — Philly would need some help from the pingpong balls. With a 6-foot-8 wingspan, NBA teams will overlook the lackluster 10-win season his Huskies had. He averaged23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game in Washington.

3.Dennis Smith Jr., 6-foot-2 point guard, North Carolina State

Smith is arguably the most athletic player on this list, but clearly is lacking in the size department. Still, 6-foot-2 point guards can still be stars in the NBA and Smith is a talented and creative scorer, netting18.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He also fits in with the Sixersbecause he is 12 months removed from ACL surgery and is still recovering. One can only presume Smith will be even more impressive at 100 percent.

4. De’Aaron Fox, 6-foot-4 point guard, Kentucky

Fox won’t slip outside the top five in the NBA draft, but he is among the worst fits for the Sixers at point guard — their biggest position of need. Essentially, he is a smaller version of Simmons who rarely scores from beyond the arch. Still, He scored16.4 points per game and if things fall a particular way on draft day, it would be silly for Philly to let him slip by.

5. Sindarius Thornwell, 6-foot-5 shooting guard, South Carolina

He won the SEC Player of the Year and is increasing his stock with the Gamecocks, who have made an unexpected run past Duke in the NCAA Tournament. His stock is rising, but he might be a stretch in the top three. But if the big names are off the board — and the Sixers are OK passing up on forwards Josh Jackson or Jason Tatum — he might be a good pick up in the five-to-eight range. Heaveraged 21.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game this season.