Philly shrugs as Sixers select a very athletic, very nice player in NBA Draft

The Philadelphia ers entered Wednesday night s NBA Draft with the No pick and an opportunity to garner specific positive interest in a city that clearly tuned out early and in disgust from a season that started with promise and briskly descended into sports hell That apathy was hard to ignore as bars and fans across Philly opted for a midseason Phillies meeting rather than the ers big swing What they missed was the ers picking athletic guard V J Edgecombe And while Edgecombe may prove to be a solid contributor on court he introduced himself off-court as a caring son with a humble demeanor Edgecombe stepped in during his introductory interview on ESPN when an interviewer directed the first question to his mother who was clearly overcome by emotion I m going to talk right now he disclosed We came from nothing We came from nothing man We re truly lucky to be in this position I know the emotions are high right now so I m just going to let her be right now But we came from nothing This is why the emotions are so high right now We lived off a generator for seven years we ain t have no electricity revealed a teary-eyed Edgecombe in his post-draft interview Seeing what my mom had to go through to feed us it s crazy Aubrey Loftus watching the draft in Pizzata Pizzeria Birreria was touched He seems like a sweet guy that moment with his mom was really nice reported Loftus who described herself as the biggest Tyrese Maxey fan Sixers president Daryl Morey spoke to Edgecombe s composure and maturity too I m excited for everyone to meet him Morey noted at the group s watch party after the pick It s a little hard to describe He s very mature for his age for being under he carries himself like he s already been in the league which I don t think is easy Two I think you saw it the love in his family if you were watching the telecast obviously a lot of people have that I m just excited to get to know him No juice at the moment There hasn t been much excitement about the Sixers since the start of last season While Loftus fandom may live and die with Maxey she commented there was a time when she was enwrapped with ers basketball but last season soured her interest This year my interest in the ers was at like a solid but I ve had times when I was a mentioned Loftus Last season was hard to watch At the end I m like I don t know anybody on this gang anymore Those hard watches that Loftus endured were what landed the ers the third pick in the draft The association won just of their games last season in a disappointing campaign that echoed the Process Sixer years of the mid- s when the crew notched and wins in consecutive seasons in an attempt to accrue top draft picks Still the ers are just a year removed from seven straight years of or more wins and the roster retains chosen intriguing young talent Loftus beloved Maxey and Jared McCain a second-year performer who appeared destined to be the NBA Rookie of the Year until he was injured last January Even so it seems fans optimism is stunted by the questions surrounding former toast of the town Joel Embiid A seemingly never-ending series of injuries and an inability to lift the unit in the biggest moments of the playoffs has left multiple fans frustrated Embiid was a hot topic among draft watchers who spoke to Billy Penn on Wednesday night One such fan was Tim Gleason who shared that his dream draft night involved the ers trading away the former MVP I hope they find somebody willing to give Embiid what he wants and get him off our hands Gleason reported I d be sorry to see him go He s been here for years and hasn t gotten it done Embiid the NBA s - MVP has yet to see a conference finals and played just games last season an unfortunately frequent occurrence in the -year-old superstar s -year career with the ers I ve lived in Philly for seven and a half years and Embiid has been the person that will get us to the moment and he s failed us every time Don Wieand revealed I don t blame him but we need to move past this Los Caballitos Cantina exhibited the Phillies challenge not the NBA Draft on Wednesday night Davis Cuffe Billy Penn As a sign of the Sixers diminished standing in the town s sports pecking order the draft was on the back burner on TVs which displayed the Phillies tournament with the Astros on a larger screen At Human Robot and Los Caballitos Cantina the draft wasn t on at all This seemed to sit fine with multiple who were Philly fans first or tuned out to the ers altogether I would say my interest for the ers is at a I don t care noted Se n Varna Yeah added Paisley Fields in agreement sitting with Varna at Stogie Joe s Tavern Wednesday night For specific it won t be wins or trading Embiid but rather a show of heart from players that might ignite the interest and earn the ers specific screen time in town There s not a lot you need to do in this city to gain respect outside of leaving it all on the court Jeffery Fuller disclosed I think the difficulty with this Sixers organization is Embiid hasn t done that Against this sea of disinterest stood Charles Monroe a er faithful who watched the draft at Michael s Place in South Philly which had the draft on not one but two TVs for a small group of er fanatics including Monroe a fan for years who rated his interest at out of Everybody wants instant everything So they want to be good right now revealed Monroe But when you re a true fan you stick through it all The post Philly shrugs as Sixers select a very athletic very nice competitor in NBA Draft appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY