The Sixers reportedly really like Andrew Wiggins, so much so that they are willing to consider all options to ensure they’ll be in position to secure his services.
But there’s also plenty of misinformation that teams near the top of the draft order like to put out there this time of year, in order to ensure the guy they truly want is still there by the time their pick comes around.
If the way Philadelphia handled Wiggins’ pre-draft workout on Monday is any indication, though, they may indeed have already decided that he’s the one they want.
From John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com:
Wiggins was at PCOM on Monday. So were a handful of reporters. At some point, campus security and a Philadelphia police officer asked the media to leave (see story). Something about it being private property, even though that same group of reporters is there all the time for various reasons. …
Tuesday morning, after the media reconvened at PCOM and took another crack at talking to Wiggins -– he was scheduled for his official workout — the Sixers dispatched an emissary. He said there was a miscommunication. He said PCOM security acted without the Sixers’ knowledge. He said the Sixers didn’t know the media had been asked to leave. …
With Wiggins, they cut off communication. Then the Sixers ushered Wiggins out the PCOM back door, into an SUV, and off to the airport — where he somehow avoided detection by CSN reporter John Clark, who has Philadelphia International wired better than an airline electrician.
It’s worth noting that not all teams behave this way with prospects in for workouts before the draft, and in fact, plenty of them invite the media in to speak with the coach and GM (and sometimes the players) about how the day’s workout unfolded.
The Sixers apologized for not communicating better where Wiggins was concerned, and a team spokesman went on video with reporters to further explain Philadelphia’s position — which, essentially, is that they’re not all that interested in providing formal access to interview prospects in advance of the June 26 draft.
And honestly, that’s fine. Maybe the reporters in attendance could have been notified earlier that there would be no availability to avoid the uncomfortable situation, but from a team standpoint, there is nothing to be gained from having young prospects who are inexperienced in dealing with the press potentially divulge which way the team is leaning with so much at stake.
Philadelphia has seven picks in this summer’s draft, but its highest is third overall. Wiggins may still be there, but he might not — which would require trade talks with either Cleveland or Milwaukee to truly ensure that he ends up with the Sixers, making the team’s somewhat clandestine approach all the more understandable.
Wiggins comes to Philly to work out for Sixers
