The Philadelphia 76ers held the 28th pick in the 2021 NBA draft as they were looking to continue to build and add to their team. They already had a strong roster that is a title contender so they were looking at a project with that selection anyway.
They went with young wing player Jaden Springer out of Tennessee and the young man spent the majority of his rookie season in the G League as he played only two games as a rookie with the Sixers. Considering he was a 19-year old rookie, it makes sense as to why he didn’t play all that much.
In a 2021 NBA re-draft performed by Rookie Wire, the Sixers select Austin Reaves with the 28th pick instead of Springer:
The Lakers, as LeBron James once said, got a gem in Reaves, who went undrafted. He averaged 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 61 appearances, and even had a game-winner. Reaves proved worthy of a late first-round selection in a redraft after emerging as a solid bench option for the Lakers.
The Sixers still believe in Springer as he still has the chance to develop into a helpful player, but Reaves would have been a big help to this team off the bench in the 2021-22 season.
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Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire