The Sixers could be in the mix to draft Arizona forward Stanley Johnson if their first round pick falls out of the top few selections, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “They’re a winning franchise,” Johnson said of the Sixers. “They told me the facts about how much they’ve won thus far [in franchise history] and the players that they’ve had and what they are trying to do. They are trying to make players get the work ethic part down and that’s what I’m about, so [the interview] was awesome.”
Here’s what else is happening around the Atlantic Division:
- Arkansas forward Bobby Portis has six scheduled pre-draft workouts, including one with the Celtics, Jay King of MassLive tweets.
- The Sixers sat down for interviews at the Chicago combine with Duke’s Justise WInslow, UCLA’s Kevon Looney, and injured Syracuse big man Chris McCullough, Pompey reports in a series of tweets.
- Winslow attended a Yankees game last week with Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, and the freshman said that he would have no problem fitting in alongside ‘Melo if drafted by New York, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “Of course Carmelo loves playing for the Knicks — I know he loves playing for the Knicks,’’ Winslow said. “Our conversation wasn’t how I’d fit in with the Knicks. Our conversation was the adjustment from college to the league and how my workouts were going. He’s being a mentor for a similar guy, similar path, national champion freshman year. It’s great to have a guy like that who accomplished so much to look out for you.’’