Why on earth did the Philadelphia 76ers not draft Bol Bol?

Bol Bol should be a second-generation Philadelphia 76ers center.

2020 has been the weirdest year of my lifetime, and it’s *gulp* only July.

The world was hit with a global pandemic, life as we know it – including sports – came to an abrupt halt, and maybe weirdest of all, Bol Bol made his NBA debut, in a glorified preseason scrimmage, at small forward.

My goodness, what is going on?

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Measuring in at 7-foot-2, 235 pounds, Bol is a center-sized center who, get this, played center for all 268 minutes of his college career with the Oregon Ducks. He appeared in nine games before suffering a season-ending left foot injury during a 66-54 win over the San Diego Toreros (cool name) that ultimately ended his season and collegiate career. From there, Bol got his body right, bulked his shoe collection up – he’s a must-follow on Instagram btw – and waited patiently to hear his name top-5, Joel Embiid-style, in the 2019 NBA Draft.

And why not, right? Bol’s a big, fast, and athletic big man with decent hops and a dagger 3 point shot. Sure, he looked a whole lot lighter than 235 pounds and some scouts questioned his long-term NBA durability but surely some team in the lottery would love to add a supersized 19-year-old stretch five center to build a fast-paced run and gun offense around, right?

Yeah, not so much. Bol fell out of the top-5, and then the lottery, and then the first round entirely, while NBA fans the world over watch in horror.

‘How could this be? Could Bol Bol actually go undrafted?’

Well, as it turns out, fans at home – and a visibly upset Bol still stuck in the crowd – would have to wait 14 picks into the second round for Bol to actually find his NBA home, as he was draft-and-traded to the Denver Nuggets by way of the Miami Heat. From there, Bol signed a two-way contract with Mike Malone’s club and was exclusively relegated to the G-League to play for the Windy City Bulls – where he averaged 12 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in 19.3 minutes per game.

Are those Marial Shayok numbers? No, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Clearly the Nuggets liked what they saw, as they recalled Bol back in November and kept him with the team for the rest of the pre-COVID 2019-20 NBA season, despite failing to appear in a game.

Would it be unconventional for Bol to go from a reserve G-Leaguer to an NBA starter without a single game in between? For sure, but if Malone really wants to run a five forward lineup when the season resumes next month, having a player like Bol who moves like a massive small forward playing small forward opens up a world of possibilities.

Possibilities that should belong to the Philadelphia 76ers.

I know, I know, this sort of ‘The Philadelphia 76ers should have signed/drafted X…’ happens pretty much any time a player pops off but in this case, Elton Brand and company really have no excuse. Like, seriously, how do you trade the 35th overall pick to the Atlanta Hawks for a pair of future seconds when Bol Bol is still on the board?

Unlike in the NFL, free agency comes after the draft in the NBA, which means the Sixers didn’t already have Al Horford under contract. In theory, the team was still in the market to add a four/five swing big man who could back up Embiid for 10ish minutes per game, run the fast break with Ben Simmons, and even kick inside to the four and play on the wings in a bigger lineup.

To be fair, Bol isn’t Horford, has yet to appear in an actual NBA game, and may never appear in a single All-Star game, let alone five, but his skill set is unique, intriguing, and nearly unfindable in the second round of the NBA draft. Ignoring the fact that he’s a literal Sixers legacy thanks to his father Manute‘s tenure with the team from 1990-1993, landing a top-5 center 30 picks later is just good value even if he never materializes.

With Horford persumably on his way out at the end of the season, the Sixers will (probably) be in the market for another stretch five forward later this calendar year, that is, unless Norvel Pelle suddenly finds a knockdown 3 point shot.

Look, I get that hindsight is always 20/20. I can understand flipping one pick today for two picks down the line, especially if Al Horford’s addition was a borderline forgone conclusion. With that being said, it’s never a bad idea to select the best player available at any given position in the NBA Draft, especially when you have a bloated, top-heavy roster that’s about to become really, really expensive. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have a Philadelphia 76ers rookie class of Matisse Thybulle, Bol Bol, and Marial Shayok growing together for years to come than pair of future second-round picks regardless of how free agency shook out.