TWO YEARS AGO, Brett Brown helplessly watched as then-general manager Sam Hinkie made the final decisions on the 76ers' two first-round draft picks. With the third overall selection, Hinkie went with injured big man Joel Embiid out of Kansas. Embiid had fractured the navicular bone in his right foot during predraft workouts and it was known he most likely would miss his initial season in the NBA.
Seven spots later, Hinkie surprised many with the selection of point guard Elfrid Payton out of Louisiana-Lafayette. The image of Michael Carter-Williams, the team's starting point guard, who just came off a rookie-of-the-year season, still resonates in many minds, with his look of befuddlement from his seat in Barclays Center in Brooklyn, only feet from Payton.