"The issue for the Sixers is not whether they can get a franchise player in tonight's NBA Draft.

They can't, and they know it.

That's because the draft is considered deep for rotation players, but not for the much-coveted franchise players.

The Sixers, who have the 16th and 50th picks, need a big man who can score and rebound, and a perimeter scorer. They are hoping to fill one of their needs in the draft. The other might have to be filled through a trade.

For the Sixers, drafting a big man would seem to be the most likely scenario because there are many more of those players available as opposed to perimeter scorers.

"We feel we can get a player at 16 who can help us," Sixers president Rod Thorn said. "Hopefully, it's a player in our rotation. I'm not saying next year. But hopefully he'll be a rotation player for us."

The need for a perimeter scorer, meanwhile, could require trading Andre Iguodala.

For weeks, there have been rumors that the Sixers were discussing a deal for Golden State shooting guard Monta Ellis, who averaged 24.1 points per game last season. There's a chance that a deal could happen tonight so the Warriors, who are picking 11th, could draft accordingly.

It would seem unlikely that the Sixers could trade Iguodala for a big man.

"Big men are the premium," Thorn said. "They are very had to get. They're very hard to find. Normally, when teams have top-flight big men, they don't trade them. That's a commodity that's very hard to find."

If that's the case, Thorn said there should be a few big men available for the Sixers when they pick."