Not a lot was known about Richaun Holmes coming into the draft. He spent a year in junior college after not receiving any offers from D1 colleges out of high school, then played his final three at Bowling Green in the Mid American league where under the radar to most, he showed significant improvement every year in his game. But it wasn't until his impressive showing at the combine and 5 on 5s that his draft stock shot up. And now Richaun Holmes can officially say he's an NBA player as the Sixers have signed him.
The details of the contract have yet to be made known other than that it is a multi-year deal. If it's similar to the Sixers previous second round offers, which I feel is safe to assume unless Richaun wants to run the risk of being KJ-ed (see midseason departure), it's probably a 4 year deal slightly above the minimum contract with the first two years partially gauranteed and two more years as team options.
Holmes is an exciting prospect to me for a number of reasons. He is an embodiment of how the Sixers play (or maybe hope to play) both offensively and defensively. Defensive will be his bread and butter from day one. He projects to be an above avergage rim protective after avergaing 2.8 and 2.7 blocks per game in his junior and senior year respectively. He has a lot of bounce which will also help in the rebound department. He also seems to be fairly light on his feet, giving him the ability to defend stretch 4s around the arc. His motor is extremely high which will help him on both sides of the court.
Offensively, most of his points will come under the basket or on hustle plays. His ball handling skills are very poor however he did boast a reliable three point shot his senior year in college, taking 1.4 three pointers per game and hitting them at an impressive 42% clip. This bodes well for the sixers as they now have a big to compliment the trio of bigs, Noel Joel Jah, who can stretch the floor and provide the trio some room to work in the paint. His above average athelticism and motor will also be useful when the sixers try to get up and down on teams.
Having said all this, Richaun is still a second round draft pick for a reason. He's slightly undersized at 6'9, wasn't playing against the best teams in college and a lot of his talent is still untapped. It's hard to gauge just how effective he will be and when he will start to truly be a piece of the Sixer's plan moving forward, if he ever actually does become a piece of the plan, however before breaking his elbow on a hustle play to defend a breakaway in the last of the Utah games, he showed flashes of all the attributes that made him somebody that climbed draft boards.
He's by no means there yet, but he showed a number of reasons to get excited about him as a prospect and at how he will fit into the system. I'd say second rounder well spent Dark Lord Hinkie, well spent.
By: Leo Porth
Follow us on twitter @BroadStBeat
Holmes is an exciting prospect to me for a number of reasons. He is an embodiment of how the Sixers play (or maybe hope to play) both offensively and defensively. Defensive will be his bread and butter from day one. He projects to be an above avergage rim protective after avergaing 2.8 and 2.7 blocks per game in his junior and senior year respectively. He has a lot of bounce which will also help in the rebound department. He also seems to be fairly light on his feet, giving him the ability to defend stretch 4s around the arc. His motor is extremely high which will help him on both sides of the court.
Offensively, most of his points will come under the basket or on hustle plays. His ball handling skills are very poor however he did boast a reliable three point shot his senior year in college, taking 1.4 three pointers per game and hitting them at an impressive 42% clip. This bodes well for the sixers as they now have a big to compliment the trio of bigs, Noel Joel Jah, who can stretch the floor and provide the trio some room to work in the paint. His above average athelticism and motor will also be useful when the sixers try to get up and down on teams.
Having said all this, Richaun is still a second round draft pick for a reason. He's slightly undersized at 6'9, wasn't playing against the best teams in college and a lot of his talent is still untapped. It's hard to gauge just how effective he will be and when he will start to truly be a piece of the Sixer's plan moving forward, if he ever actually does become a piece of the plan, however before breaking his elbow on a hustle play to defend a breakaway in the last of the Utah games, he showed flashes of all the attributes that made him somebody that climbed draft boards.
He's by no means there yet, but he showed a number of reasons to get excited about him as a prospect and at how he will fit into the system. I'd say second rounder well spent Dark Lord Hinkie, well spent.
By: Leo Porth
Follow us on twitter @BroadStBeat
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