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NBA draft workouts: Sixers picking later, so their evaluation process has changed

The Sixers had two first-round picks last year, Nos. 10 and 26, and this season, they have just one, No. 24.

Terence Davis, left, from Ole Miss, guards Luguentz Dort, right, from Arizona State, during a scrimmage at the Sixers pre-draft workout on June 3, 2019 at their Camden, NJ, practice facility.
Terence Davis, left, from Ole Miss, guards Luguentz Dort, right, from Arizona State, during a scrimmage at the Sixers pre-draft workout on June 3, 2019 at their Camden, NJ, practice facility.Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer

The draft position for the 76ers is different than a year ago, but the process remains the same.

Getting the same type of player to come to the Camden practice facility for a pre-draft workout is the biggest difference.

Last year the Sixers had two first-round picks -- No. 10 and No. 26 -- in addition to four second-round selections -- 38, 39, 56 and 60.

This year, the Sixers have just one first-round pick -- No. 24 overall -- but also four second-rounders -- 33, 34, 42 and 54.

“Last year our focus was more on 10 and 26 and now we are looking at players more at the back end from 24-60,” said Vince Rozman, the Sixers’ senior director of scouting.

In an ideal world, the Sixers would like to visit with all the top draft prospects, but that isn’t realistic.

“It’s not easy to get some guys in when they know you are drafting 24,” Rozman said.

Still, the Sixers and other teams impress on agents and the players that trades could always happen.

Last year, the Sixers selected Villanova’s Mikal Bridges with the 10th pick and traded those rights to Phoenix for the No. 16 pick (Zhaire Smith) and a 2021 Miami Heat unprotected pick.

According to Rozman, the most important part of the predraft process is getting to know the prospects.

“I think the beneficial thing is the interview, and sitting with them and getting to them on a personal level,” said Rozman, now in his 12th year with the Sixers and the first in his current role.

A player such as Terence Davis, a senior guard from Ole Miss, feels the same way about the interview process. Davis, who says he has worked out for teams picking in the 20-40 range, participated in the Sixers predraft session on Monday.

“The interview is extremely important because you are interviewing for a real job and this is a real job,” said Davis, who averaged 15.2 points per game and was a second-team all-SEC choice. “That is the biggest part of it. I know the workouts are a big part, but I think the interview tops the workout.”