Philadelphia 76ers: E.J. Liddell is a fan favorite draft target for a reason

Theoretically, the Philadelphia 76ers could have zero draft picks in the 2022 NBA Draft. The team has long since traded away their second-round pick, and if Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks decides he wants to bolster his roster with the 23rd overall pick in the draft, there’s nothing Daryl Morey can do to stop him.

With that being said, the general consensus appears to be that the Nets will instead defer the pick to 2023, when Kevin Durant will be one year older, and the draft will be deeper, so suddenly, the world is the Sixers’ oyster… at least in terms of late first-round draft capital.

Fortunately, the Sixers’ scouting department is among the best in the business, so something tells me they will be just fine.

But who should the Philadelphia 76ers target with pick 23? Is there a certified marksman from deep capable of spacing the field like J.J. Redick? Or how about a rebounding forward, the likes of which Philly hasn’t employed since *whispers* Ben Simmons? Is there another Tyrese Maxey who could fall for one reason or another but ultimately proved to be a top-5 talent? Well, going back to popular fan consensus, the hot name on NBA Twitter’s lips is none other than E.J. Liddell, the 6-foot-7 upperclassman out of Ohio State who can block, ‘bound, and score with the best of them.

The Philadelphia 76ers should draft – and keep – a big wing like E.J. Liddell.

In 2018, the Philadelphia 76ers drafted a 6-foot-7 upperclassman wing with long arms, a clean outside shot, and a pension for securing turnovers at the most opportune of times… only to trade him away mere minutes later to the Pheonix Suns for a future pick and the draft rights to Zhaire Smith.

In hindsight, that was a mistake, as Mikal Bridges has become one of the best two-way, 3-and-D wings in the NBA, whereas Smith is about to play for the legacy Texas Tech team in the TBT Tournament this summer, but hey, what’s done is done; nothing to do about that now but write stories about it four years later.

Since the clear lowlight of Brett Brown’s interim GM career, the Sixers have searched the league looking for a 6-foot-7 forward who can switch across multiple positions, hit open shots, and play strong defense, but outside of a few games of Wilson Chandler, James Ennis, I guess, and… oh yeah Jimmy “Buckets” Butler – whatever happened to that guy? – the Sixers have largely played glorified shooting guards at small forward, often surrendering size on the wings as a result.

E.J. Liddell, out of Ohio State, could solve that problem in a hurry.

Measuring in at 6-foot-7, 240 pounds, Liddell is a collegiate power forward who will probably play at three more often than not at the pro level a la Robert Covington coming out of Tennessee State. While Liddell isn’t quite the 3 point shooter RoCo was coming out of college, he will similarly enter the NBA as an upperclassman, having played three years for Chris Holtmann at Ohio State and is largely considered the better prospect of the two, as he is a consensus first-round pick by pretty much everyone who evaluates such things.

Why? Because Liddell is a plus defender on ball and off, a rebounding machine, and one of the better blocking small forwards you’ll find in the NCAA or otherwise. His 2.6 blocks per game ranked 18th in the nation – and 10th among forwards – and while he’ll be playing a different role in the NBA, his eye for the ball should translate from one level to the next without much issue. He’s also a phenomenal athlete, as, according to Tyler Metcalf of No Ceilings NBA, there are only four players, Liddell, Chet Holmgren, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Zach Collins, who averaged a comparable cocktail of advanced NBA analytics. Granted, Liddell is the smallest of the four and will be tasked with playing a much different role at the NBA level, but there’s little reason to believe he could have a similar defensive impact to Matisse Thybulle early in his career, even if he gets things done in a slightly different way.

Sidebar: Want to read a fantastic Twitter thread on Liddell? Check one out here from friend of the blog Francis Parker.

Factor in an ascending outside shot, which went in 37.4 percent of the time in 2021-22 on 3.8 attempts per game, and a more developed body of work than your typical one-and-doner, and there’s little reason to believe Liddell couldn’t be a rotational player for the Sixers relatively early in his career.

Look, E.J. Liddell isn’t for everyone. He’ll turn 22 in December of his rookie season, wasn’t a particularly good 3 point shooter during his first two seasons at Ohio State, and, as tough as it is to say, may have a ceiling that’s more starter than star, assuming he isn’t the beneficiary of Tyrese Maxey-level glow up. For some teams, that may slot him lower on their boards, as they would prefer to select a similarly sized 19-year-old with more upside or a player with a flashier collegiate – or G-League – game but the Philadelphia 76ers sorely don’t fall into that category. No, they’re a team looking for immediate, road-tested contributors who have room to improve, sure but are pretty darn good right out of the gate too. If Liddell can make a RoCo-esque transition from collegiate power forward to NBA small forward, there’s little reason to believe he couldn’t fit that bill for the low, low price of pick 23.