Right after the Sixers landed the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft on Monday night, I called for mailbag questions. You can read Tuesday morning's weekly mailbag – focused on possible trade scenarios with the pick, Rutgers forward Ace Bailey and more – by clicking here. But because there were so many questions, we're doing a bonus mailbag this week:
From @CalebTurrentine: If the Spurs go Ace Bailey over Dylan Harper, is it still a no-brainer for the Sixers to take Harper at No. 3? Do you have to worry about fit at all with three small guards?
All year, the expectation has been that no matter which teams landed the top two picks this year, the first two selections would be Duke phenom Cooper Flagg and Rutgers star guard Dylan Harper. But with the San Antonio Spurs picking at No. 2 behind the Dallas Mavericks, many are questioning if a team with De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle already in its backcourt would draft Harper.
First of all, I do think Harper will be the No. 2 pick. San Antonio could very well move the selection – or even Castle or Fox, though the latter seems the least likely – in a win-now trade that sends the pick to a team looking for its next organizational building block. But even if the Spurs keep the pick, it's difficult to imagine them passing up a prospect of Harper's caliber unless their evaluation of him is much different than most.
If it did happen, though, the Sixers should absolutely take Harper if their view of him aligns with the consensus opinion that he has star lead guard upside. Like in San Antonio, there would be questions about how Harper fits long-term. Tyrese Maxey is 24 years old, Jared McCain is 21 years old and Quentin Grimes will likely be back after breaking out as a 24-year-old.
Ultimately, it's a good problem to have. Having many good, young players who can handle the ball and score at all three levels is a gift, not a curse, and it would ultimately offer the Sixers tons of flexibility whenever they need to find upgrades in other areas of their roster.
Having a player like this on your team can never hurt:
Dylan Harper #Rutgers
Hit The Music. pic.twitter.com/ly9a8CNKaR— Tyler Rucker (@tyler_rucker) May 13, 2025
If the Sixers are sticking and picking at No. 3 overall, they have to choose the prospect they believe has the best chance of achieving long-term stardom. The asset is too valuable and the team's short-term future is too murky for any other strategy to be used. And that appears to be the plan.
MORE: Sixers promoting Jameer Nelson to assistant general manager
From @SixersRANK: What's a realistic level of veteran we could get for the No. 3 pick and who would we have to attach to the pick for salary reason?
If the Sixers are trading the No. 3 pick for a veteran, it would rightfully have to be a no-doubt-about-it superstar– maybe even more than that. But the second part of your question precisely illustrates why it's such an unlikely proposition.
In order to acquire a player paid like a star, the Sixers would need to trade a player paid like a star. And as much as people are enjoying the chance to pitch trade proposals centered around Joel Embiid or Paul George, I would challenge you to present any case for another team being remotely interested in taking on either of their contracts.
Embiid is owed $248 million over the next four years and is coming off a season in which he seemed incapable of playing on a consistent basis at any level, let alone reach his previous MVP heights. George is owed $162 million over the next three seasons after a massively discouraging debut campaign with the Sixers. Both players are not just clearly negative assets right now, but are on contracts so enormous that some teams likely won't even consider getting on the phone and talking about trading for them.
The only other path to trading No. 3 for a superstar, then, would be packaging the pick with Tyrese Maxey. And while that combination is valuable enough to be genuinely competitive in a bidding war for most players, it's fair to wonder where it would leave the Sixers long term.
Trading Maxey and the pick for an even better player would not just be a bet on that new cornerstone, but also a bet on Embiid and George being healthy and good enough to help that player contend at the highest level. That feels like a bad bet to make right now.
MORE: Ace Bailey is the early favorite at No. 3
From @sportsdoctormd.bsky.social: What will fill the Tankathon-shaped hole in your schedule now that this is over?
I have three words for you:
SALARY CAP PROJECTIONS.
MORE: Will No. 3 pick prevent Sixers from keeping key free agents?
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