While the Sixers still have a chance to move the pick at some point in the future, they would be wise to check out the player pool to see if there’s a possible difference-maker where they might hold a pick. After all, the Sixers found an All-Star in Tyrese Maxey with the 21st selection in 2020,

In a mock draft put together by ESPN this week, the Sixers find themselves with the 20th pick in the predictive scenario. With that pick, draft analysts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have the Sixers selecting Duke guard Jared McCain.

The former five-star recruit out of Corona, California, recently turned 20 years old. He’s currently in the midst of his freshman season with the Blue Devils.

So far this season, McCain has appeared in 26 matchups, collecting starts each time. With an average of 30 minutes of playing time, McCain has produced 14 points per game while shooting 46 percent from the field. On 5.7 threes per game, he’s knocking down his long-range attempts at a 40 percent clip. The freshman guard has a true shooting percentage of 59, which ranks among the highest for other draft prospects.

While the Sixers haven’t acquired a rookie prospect in the draft over the last two years, Daryl Morey and the front office haven’t shied away from making picks in the past despite their timeline being one that would favor veteran prospects with playoff experience.

As mentioned before, Morey’s first draft pick as the Sixers’ front office frontman was Tyrese Maxey in 2020. The following year, Morey and the Sixers landed Jaden Springer out of Tennessee in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft.

Perhaps the Sixers will find value in the first round again this year.

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Celtics Star Jaylen Brown Calls Out 76ers Guards For Flopping

Brown wasn’t thrilled with the two offensive fouls assessed to him

 Celtics star Jaylen Brown had another rock-solid performance Tuesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Brown continued his hot streak since the All-Star break by putting up a team-high 31 points on an ultra-efficient 11-for-14 shooting along with six rebounds in a 117-99 win for the Celtics at TD Garden.

The only downside to Brown’s showing was the four turnovers he committed. Two of those turnovers came with Brown being whistled for offensive fouls in the second quarter.

Brown clearly didn’t love the calls and believed that Cameron Payne and Tyrese Maxey got away with flopping on those possessions.

“It just sucks when you work on certain things, like you work on getting to your spots, you work on the little guys guarding you and I had two offensive fouls tonight, where I feel like they allow these guys to use their hands to stop you, to guard you,” Brown said. “But as soon as you try to own your space, it’s an offensive foul. Those possessions hurt our team. Those are stuff that I work on all the time.

“Flopping is a part of the game and I feel like if you want to get certain calls or you don’t want to get in those situations, you almost got to like learn to flop.”

In each instance, Payne and Maxey played aggressive defense on Brown, who tried to muscle his way past the smaller guards at the high post. Brown was called for hooking Payne as he made his way into the paint while the three-time All-Star tried to back down Maxey only for Maxey to fall to the floor after a couple of bumps to the body.

It’s a lesson learned for Brown and the fouls didn’t deter him. He ended up shooting 10 free throws — six more than his average — as he was a catalyst in a ninth straight win for the Celtics.