One May Not Be Enough: Sixers Could Acquire Another Draft Pick

CAMDEN, N.J. - Are the Sixers done making first-round trades? Maybe not.

Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said there may be even more moves in their future shortly after the the team announced it had acquired the No. 1 pick in the draft from the Celtics.

"I think whether we are selecting No. 1 or just staying at three, there's been some talk about our interest in acquiring yet another pick, and I'm not going to give up those efforts because we have moved up to No. 1," Colangelo said Monday afternoon. 

The Sixers will draft the first pick for the second straight year. They sent the Celtics their No. 3 pick and a protected future first-round pick to make the deal happen ahead of Thursday night (see the multitude of terms here). The Sixers are expected to select Washington guard Markelle Fultz. Colangelo didn't name specific players when discussing the trade.

Colangelo sees the 2017 draft class as far deeper than No. 1. He previously said there were "six or seven" players the Sixers were considering for the third spot. Now that the Sixers hold the top pick, he isn't ignoring the rest of the talent still out there. 

"I feel that in the top five or six, within the top 10, there's five or six All-Stars, surefire All-Stars," Colangelo said. "There may be one or two franchise-level players. On Thursday night, we will make a decision and make an announcement that results in one of those franchise-level players."

The Sixers are set with first-round picks for the foreseeable future. The team could wait another year or more to see where those selections fall, but there's a chance it won't delay. 

"I always feel that future assets are just that: they're future assets," Colangelo said. "But when you can look at a group of talent in this particular draft and know that you have a comfort level with who those players are, grab them, grab them while you can because it's a known quantity."

The Sixers still have trade bait after swapping the third pick. Of their two acquired from the Lakers and Kings, they had to give only one to the Celtics. They also have four second-round picks in this year's draft and not enough roster space to use all of them for next season. 

"Some bids have come in and now we are assessing and evaluating all of the alternatives," Colangelo said of the second-rounders.

Then there are current players who could be packaged. Jahlil Okafor's future with the Sixers still remains uncertain. They have remained open to a trade after they were unable to move him at the deadline. A player like Nik Stauskas, who boosted his value last season and has an expiring contract, also could be appealing to another team.  

One question has been answered but plenty remain leading up to the draft. What is known is the Sixers believe their newly acquired No. 1 pick will be key in bolstering the organization. 

"The good news is we still have a plethora of other assets to continue to be available for us and to us as we continue to look at building this team into a championship organization," Colangelo said. "Most importantly, we're taking the next step, I believe, in formulating a solid young core of players that ultimately will lead to a successful and sustainable product. That's our goal and that's where we want to be. With the certainty of No. 1, we know we control our circumstances."