76ers Officially own Thunder's 2020 First-Round Pick

The days of Sam Hinkie's surplus of first-round picks are over for the Philadelphia 76ers. In previous seasons, the Sixers looked forward to the NBA Draft and only the NBA Draft every single offseason. Back in those times -- the times of the tanking -- all the Sixers played for were good draft positions. Hence the reason why they lost so much.

At this point, though, the Sixers are in the stage of turning things around. Instead of trading players to acquire picks, the Sixers are trading picks to acquire players. Being in a position to win now potentially, the 76ers need to ensure they have the right pieces on the roster to help them go further in the playoffs.

Over the last two seasons, the Sixers managed to make the postseason. Unfortunately, their win-now moves during the season resulted in nothing more than a second-round appearance. This year, the Sixers will make the playoffs for the third-straight season, and once again, they sent away draft picks for players before the trade deadline.

The draft won't be as exciting for the Sixers in the future, but at least during this year's draft, the 76ers will have a first-round pick to go with their handful of second-rounders. Heading into the NBA's restart, the Sixers possessed the 22nd overall pick, which came from the Oklahoma City Thunder. It wasn't guaranteed the pick was going to remain Philly's, though.

What the Sixers needed the Thunder to do was to continue winning in the West. Had the pick dropped down to 20th overall, the Sixers would've lost it. But with a win on Wednesday night (thanks to former Sixer, Mike Muscala), Philly will officially acquire OKC's first-round pick for 2020, giving the Sixers a good shot at landing a solid late-round prospect in the first this fall. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_