With the 25th pick in Thursday's NBA draft, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Latvian center Anzejs Pasecniks.
The 76ers acquired the pick from the Orlando Magic.
Feel free to embrace the small, yet very real comparisons to New York Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis, as he and Pasecniks are both over 7-feet tall, of Latvian descent, and extremely agile for their size. The two even played side by side at the 2013 U18 European Championships, comprising quite the daunting frontcourt at the time.
The buck stops there, though. Pasecniks has it in him to develop a touch from outside, but hasn't had the opportunities in Spain to work the kinks out, which would include him having a quicker release. He's buried some 3-pointers every now and then, but not enough to put too much faith in.
Using a pick on him means investing in a player with great size with the hope that he can eventually develop into a dependable stretch-five. As is the case with most centers in this class, Pasecniks should put on some muscle and get stronger to help give him more of a fighting chance in an area he has great difficulty in at the moment - rim protection.