Sixers’ 2015 draft set ‘The Process’ back more than people think, or want to admit

A lot of attention goes to the 76ers’ 2017 draft class.

They traded up two spots to select Markelle Fultz first overall. The Sixers also acquired the No. 25 pick in that draft to select Anzejs Pasecniks. And in the second round, they drafted Jonah Bolden (36th pick) and Mathias Lessort (50th) and sold two other picks.

None of the four are currently on the Sixers roster. As a result, some might argue that the 2017 draft was the one that set “The Process” back.

In reality, its failure is second to the 2015 draft.

The Sixers held the third overall pick and used it to select a center for the third consecutive season.

Despite already having centers Nerlens Noel (a 2013 first-round draft acquisition) and Joel Embiid (2014), the Sixers used that third pick on Jahlil Okafor instead of selecting power forward Kristaps Porzingis, who went one pick later to the New York Knicks.

A pairing of Embiid and Porzingis would have given the Sixers a center/power forward tandem that would have been unbelievable for probably 10 years. That’s the draft from which the Sixers never fully recovered.

To pass up on a budding star player in Porzingis and take Okafor, a guy the Sixers would eventually give up, was the turning point.

The 7-foot-3 Porzingis is one of the league’s best post players. The 2018 All-Star can step out and hit three-pointers. He’s also a solid dribbler for someone of his height and can play both power forward and center.

He averaged 19.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and 1.7 assists this season for the Dallas Mavericks after missing a year while recovering from knee surgery. Porzingis has career averages of 18.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks.

In 2019-20, Okafor averaged 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 28 appearances for the New Orleans Pelicans, his third NBA team. He has career averages of 11.0 points and 5.0 rebounds. His best season came during his rookie campaign with the Sixers. He averaged career highs of 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks before a torn meniscus in his right knee sidelined him the final 23 games.

Okafor and Porzingis were both named to the All-Rookie team.

Some have argued that drafting Porzingis may have prohibited the Sixers from being in position to select Ben Simmons first overall in the 2016 draft.

The 2015-16 Sixers finished with a league-worst 10-72 record before winning the draft lottery. The thought is that Porizingis would have propelled them to win more than 10 games in what was the second straight season Embiid was sidelined due to right foot surgery.

Assuming that’s true, the Sixers still would have been in position to nab an impact player to team up with Porzingis and Embiid.

Future All-Star Brandon Ingram (drafted second), standout Jaylen Brown (third), Buddy Hield (six), and Jamal Murray (seventh) also highlighted that 2016 draft.

No, they’re not the transcendent 6-10 two-time All-Star point guard Simmons has become. But one of them would have been at least a valued consolation prize, assuming the Sixers failed to get the top pick.

Others have noted that Porzingis’ former agent, Andy Miller, refused to have his client work out for the Sixers because then-general manager Sam Hinkie reneged on a promise made to Noel, another former Miller client.

But folks forget that Okafor didn’t work out for Sixers, either.

It didn’t take long to realize Okafor’s selection was a bad move for both sides. The Sixers were the wrong team for him based on both his position and the team’s culture.

Everything was out of control in Okafor’s rookie season, including off-the-court altercations and a speeding ticket. On a team loaded with young players, the center didn’t have the veteran teammate who might have steered him to make wiser choices.

Of course, basketball-wise, it never made sense to draft him with the squad already having Noel and Embiid.

By his third season, the Sixers decided that Okafor wasn’t even a rotation player. And that’s sad considering Noel was no longer around after being traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Okafor, who was traded to the Brooklyn Nets during that third season, probably would be enjoying a solid career had the Sixers not drafted him. He would have fit in well with a team that would have paired him with a bruising power forward. And he would have learned how to become a professional by being on a veteran team.

The Sixers would have had arguably the biggest and most dominant frontcourts in league history with a 7-2 center and 7-3 power forward.

They would not have had to sign Al Horford to a four-year, $97 million deal to play alongside Embiid this past summer. Able to stretch the floor, Porzingis would have been a better fit. He would have also been able to slide to center when Embiid was out of the game.

Passing on Porzingis in 2015 was the biggest misstep of The Process.