The Philadelphia 76ers stayed quiet during the 2023 NBA draft, going without a draft pick for the entirety of the night. It was the first time in franchise history the Sixers went through an entire draft making no selections. However, the Sixers were active in the minutes following the conclusion of the draft, making a flurry of moves. The team reached agreement with Ricky Council IV, Terquavion Smith and Azuolas Tubelis on two-way contracts while also adding Marcus Bagley on an Exhibit 10 deal.
Smith and Council were ranked by ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony as the top two undrafted players available and it is easy to see why. Smith is a quick-twitch athlete who showed some upside as a shooter, especially in catch-and-shoot situations, in college. His shooting numbers overall need work, but he does have a quick trigger. In two years at NC State, he shot 35.2% from 3-point range on 8 attempts per game. One of the biggest areas of concern regarding Smith is his lack of size, measuring in at just 6-foot-2 and 163 pounds. His small stature has caused him to struggle finishing around the rim, although he did make some progress in that area as a sophomore.
Council is a player known for his immense athleticism and ability to finish around the rim with explosiveness. He plays with a high activity level and is good at cutting off the ball. The big weakness that caused him to fall down draft boards is his lack of a jumper. His 3-point percentage declined in each of his three years between Wichita State and Arkansas. However, he did shoot 81.2% from the free-throw line over his last two collegiate seasons. If he can improve his outside shooting ability, he could turn into a very useful role player for the Sixers.
Tubelis is a big man who possesses good touch from around the rim while also struggling to make his mark defensively. The Lithuanian native averaged 19.8 points and 9.1 rebounds last season as a junior at Arizona. While he does have a solid offensive game, the major thing holding him back is his poor defense. At 6-foot-9, he lacks the size to defend most centers while also lacking the agility to adequately defend most power forwards.
The Sixers took advantage of the new CBA allowing teams to roster up to three two-way players. Last year’s AT&T NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion Mac McClung and Louis King filled the team’s two-way spots last season. Now those slots will be filled by Smith, Council and Tubelis.
In addition to signing three players to two-way contracts, the Sixers also added a player on an Exhibit 10 contract. Exhibit 10 contracts are one-year, minimum salary deals that offer teams the opportunity to give a player a bonus for eventually joining their G League team. Bagley, the younger brother of Detroit Pistons big man Marvin Bagley III, had a rocky tenure at Arizona State. He played in just 17 games over three seasons. Last November he tweeted that he had not been playing because he “made a mistake and said some things to coach [Bobby] Hurley that I shouldn’t have said.” The Sixers decided to still take a flier on Bagley by signing him to an Exhibit 10 contract.
