The biggest NBA news of the past several days has involved the NBA rumors, and now what appears to be NBA fact, involving a trade of top draft picks. The Boston Celtics owned the No. 1 pick overall but will now trade down with the Philadelphia Sixers in order to take a different prospect at No. 3. In exchange for the top pick, Boston will also receive a future pick from Philly in the draft, whether it comes in 2018 or 2019, depending on how the teams Philadelphia acquired those picks from perform. Here's the latest on how the Philadelphia Sixers' roster looks heading forward with this huge move.
Philly's talented lineup
With picks within the top of the NBA Draft lottery over several seasons now, Philadelphia is slowly building what looks like a future contender. Last year, the team took LSU's Ben Simmons with the No. 1 overall pick. Previously, they've added big man Joel Embiid and international star Dario Saric. Now they'll add the talents of point guard Markelle Fultz to the lineup.
Embiid began to emerge as a potential All-Star candidate last season, but injuries eventually slowed him down. However, in the games he stepped on the court for the Sixers, his potential was clearly on display. Embiid led the team in scoring with 20.2 Points Per Game and also rebounding with 7.7 per contest.
His teammate Ben Simmons has yet to really show what he's capable of, as foot issues kept him out of his rookie season. He'll be on better display with a healthy 2017 NBA season.
With Embiid hurt, Dario Saric started to look like a possible Rookie of the Year winner over his teammate.Saric scored 12.8 points per game while also grabbing 6.3 rebounds and dishing out 2.2 assists.
He certainly picked up the slack with Embiid and Simmons unable to be on the court for this future team of stars.
Other young teams
A few other young teams in the league to keep an eye on along with Philadelphia will be the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers. It's still expected that L.A. will roll the dice at No.
2 and take Lonzo Ball along with his proud father Lavar. That will add the playmaker to a lineup which includes young talents such as D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, and Julius Randle unless some sort of trade takes place.
In Minnesota, there is plenty to be excited about. Karl Anthony-Towns is considered one of the premier big men in the game these days and is still improving. Andrew Wiggins is a former top pick dealt to Minnesota in the Kevin Love deal and is continuing to blossom as well. There's also Zach LaVine who was injured since the All-Star break of the Timberwolves' season but has been a contributor. Add in a potential point guard through the NBA Draft and this is another team that could be contending several seasons down the road.