The Sixers will have a first-round draft pick this summer courtesy of the Jared McCain trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. That pick comes via the Houston Rockets and should land somewhere in the 20s. With that in mind, when you’re watching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament beginning on Thursday night, here are some names that should land in that range come late June.
Aday Mara
Height: 7’3”
School: Michigan
Position: C
Analysis: We’ll start with the bigs as Philly could certainly look to upgrade Adem
Bona’s spot in the rotation with Joel Embiid’s availability likely never getting any better than it currently is. The biggest thing that Mara seems to get praised for the most is his feel for the game given his size. At well over 7-feet tall, Mara is a good passer and has a jump shot that’s already pretty reliable from midrange and could get to be equally as reliable from beyond.
He’s not a bad collegiate rim protector but will probably need to add some muscle to become a menacing defensive presence in the NBA. Mobility is also a problem for Mara on the defensive end of the floor. He’s been able to put on some necessary weight in the last 12 months and he’ll probably need to add a bit more to his current 255-pound frame in order to be a traditional NBA center. However, he seems to possess a lot of the skills that front offices like in the modern big man and if Michigan is to get all the way to the National Championship game, he’ll have a chance to boost his stock quite a bit.
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Chris Cenac Jr.
Height: 6’11”
School: Houston
Position: PF/C
Analysis: Unlike Mara, the athleticism and mobility is already a plus for Cenac. He’s also got a nice shooting stroke as he enters the Sweet 16 at 34.5% from deep for the Cougars. However, despite his athleticism, he’s not an elite shot blocker nor is he a good free throw shooter despite being a strong three-point shooter. Plus, considering we’re saying Mara could afford to put on a little more weight at 255, then Cenac could stand to benefit from the same thing at 240 especially if he’s going to play center in the NBA.
The NIL era has resulted in an added layer in the draft processes in each sport and players are now more incentivized to stay in college longer. Cenac strikes me as a prospect that has some appealing raw ability that would be enough to get him drafted in the first round this summer if he declares. However, honing his skills to become more consistent in 2026-27 in college while continuing to make NIL money might be a viable option for the New Orleans native.
Motiejus Krivas
Height: 7’2”
School: Arizona
Position: C
Analysis: The Lithuanian big doesn’t possess a ton of upside, but he feels like a higher floor option for a playoff team in the last 10-12 picks of the first round. He’s a pretty sure-handed big man offensively who will finish inside with regularity and continue to be playable late in games due to his strong free throw shooting.
He’s not an elite athlete but does a good enough job blocking shots solely on his instincts and sheer size. This isn’t someone that fans are going to dream about as a steal in the back half of round one, but he could certainly fit the billing as an upgrade over the Adem Bona spot in the Sixers rotation.
Bennett Stirtz
Height: 6’4”
School: Iowa
Position: PG
Analysis: Well, since the trade of McCain got Philly this first-rounder, let’s look at a few guards. Stirtz is finishing his collegiate career at Iowa after following coach Ben McCollum from Northwest Missouri State to Drake and now to Iowa City. Stirtz has been a good outside shooter everywhere he’s been in college, although not as good of a shooter as McCain was in his one season at Duke.
Stirtz is more than just a shooter though as he’s got a high basketball IQ on an Iowa team that plays slow, but he’s able to set up his teammates a decent amount despite the slower pace. Once again, he’s not a flashy pick but what you’re seeing at Iowa is what you’re probably getting in the NBA and it’s just a matter of how translatable those skills are to potentially make him a rotational guard off someone’s bench.
Isaiah Evans
Height: 6’6”
School: Duke
Position: SG
Analysis: If you’re looking to hit a home run towards the end of the first round, Evans is as good of a bet as you can make. He’s a career 38% three-point shooter in two seasons in Durham with the Blue Devils and is shooting 86% from the charity stripe this season. He moves well enough to profile as an NBA shooting guard at his height and we’re already seeing him thrive next to a lottery pick in Cameron Boozer.
A team that drafts Evans that already has a few high-end pieces in place should be able to maximize his strengths without asking him to do too much. He brings a lot of length to the table as well which should give him some nice defensive upside. Evans could certainly be someone that looks to stay at Duke for at least one more year and become a lottery pick in 2027, but if his name’s in the 2026 draft, consider me very interested.
