NBA All-Time Mock Draft: Which NBA legends would get picked by teams right now?

3. Philadelphia (from Sacramento) — Kobe Bryant

The Sacramento Kings could’ve been two spots higher in this draft if they didn’t feel so strongly about clearing salary that they traded Nik Stauskas, two veterans, a pick swap and an unprotected first away for some cap relief.

Anyway, what’s done is done and the Kings will still get some good players. The Philadelphia 76ers are here now, and they’re taking hometown legend Kobe Bryant. Is Kobe really the third-best retired player ever? Maybe not.

But many of the legends who came before are big men, and Philly is way too deep on The Process to give up on Joel Embiid now. Besides, making Embiid unhappy is a thing that should be illegal.

So the Sixers decide to Trust the Process and institute the Kobe System simultaneously. They know they’ll get decades of Kobe literally putting basketball before the rest of his life, and his insane work ethic will probably help some of the Process-era players still on the Sixers, Embiid included.

Kobe averaged 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game as a Laker, although as with many of these legends his numbers sank a bit due to some quieter later seasons. Kobe is going to give everything he’s got and then some to his team, for as long as he possibly can.

It’s hard not to draw Kobe-Shaquille O’Neal comparisons here, and I’m all for Embiid being the next Shaq. Even if that pairing doesn’t last, getting Philly three rings would be a pretty good outcome for the 76ers.