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feeder86 · 6 years

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The affair

Had Josh been attracted to Damon from the start? Yes, he could certainly remember finding him very good looking when they first met. Josh had been with his boyfriend Jake for almost ten years by the time he met Damon. They had met in college and had never really wanted anyone else. They moved straight from the college dorms into a rented apartment in the city and never looked back. Josh and Jake against the world; stuff like that made Josh feel bad when he thought back now.

“We should start hanging out with more gay couples,” Jake suggested one afternoon after a particularly painful afternoon with a collection of their straight friends and their collective small children running amuck. “Ones who don’t have small children!” he grumbled, pulling a crayon away from a particularly grubby looking baby, determined to eat it. “There’s a guy in work who has been with his boyfriend for almost as long as us. He’s quite fun. I’ve never met his boyfriend, but maybe I should suggest we all do something some time?”

Josh nodded enthusiastically. It still surprised him how hard it was to make friends as an adult. But, equally surprising for Jake, it wasn’t all talk, and the following weekend, Jake’s colleague Ed was coming over with his boyfriend Damon.

“Just relax, I don’t think they’re that fussy,” soothed Jake.

That Saturday, the doorbell rang and Jake hopped up to get it, bringing the happy couple in to the kitchen to meet Josh, who was slaving away. It felt rude, but Josh knew that his cheese sauce would catch any moment if he left it.

Ed was shorter and athletic looking, with a handsome face under glasses that suited him perfectly. Damon on the other hand, was taller with a larger frame and piercing blue eyes. He was a little stockier than Ed; which probably would’ve put some people off, but to Josh, he was the far more handsome of the pair. After a hasty handshake, Jake took them off to the living room whilst Josh finished off the cooking. However, five minutes later, in came Damon, smiling away enthusiastically. “They’re already talking about work in there!” he said, shaking his head mockingly. “I’m so bored and thought you might need a hand in here. Please say you need a hand!” He looked around at the items that were already prepared, picking at the foil over the hot items and marvelling. “Smells amazing!” he cried.

Josh was grateful for the help. He’d taken on far too much this evening and was already feeling a little stressed. He set Damon to work plating up items as they came out and, although it was only a little help, things seemed to go smoothly after that. Whilst they worked in the kitchen, Josh and Damon chatted fondly about favourite foods and their passion for good eats. By the time they had both served up, they already felt like firm friends.

Josh had made far too much food. He looked at it all, realising that he and Jake would be eating it for the next week as leftovers. But, sat at the dinner table, it gave him a chance to get to know Damon’s other half, Ed, better. Pretty quickly, it was quite clear that Ed enjoyed talking about himself and after fifteen minutes of it, Josh felt quite guilty that he found Ed rather boring. He wasn’t the only one by the looks of it either; his own boyfriend Damon was too busy picking away at all of Josh’s food to even want to contribute.

Thinking back, that was probably the first time Josh had felt aroused by Damon, watching him continue to eat well after everyone else had finished. His greedy eyes scanning from each thing left in the centre of the table and his decisive fork piecing each in turn until it was all gone. Not a single thing left over. Josh had never seen a man with a better appetite. Ed only seemed to notice that his boyfriend had eaten everything when Damon finally put his fork down; he had been so busy talking about himself. He looked at Damon confused and Josh could see that they were sharing a look that only they would understand. If Josh had to guess, Ed was probably feeling a little embarrassed about what a pig Damon had just made of himself in front of their new friends.

“Who’s for dessert?” asked Josh, collecting the plates. He wouldn’t have seen it, had he not been up on his feet reaching over the table, but there was Ed squeezing Damon’s thigh as if to warn him.

“I will, but Damon is okay thanks,’ answered Ed. Josh looked over at Damon, who looked a little disappointed, but nodded in agreement with Ed.

It felt rude, serving up dessert and not giving any to Damon, who watched them all eat, looking envious. Josh was glad when everyone finished so that he didn’t need to watch anymore. He was also glad that he could finally pack off boring Ed into the lounge for a bit whilst he tidied up. “I’ll stay here and help,” Damon stated, as Jake and Ed started walking away; the conversation already turning back to work.

“I’m alright cleaning up by myself,” Josh smiled, feeling grateful none the less.

“No, I’d rather be in here, it’s better than listening to delightful anecdotes about boring clients in Texas, or Nebraska, or wherever else the pair of them have been recently,” Damon sighed, echoing Josh’s sentiments exactly, despite the fact that he kept quiet about it.

“How come you didn’t have dessert?” asked Josh a couple of minutes later.

“Oh…” Damon laughed nervously. “Sometimes I get a bit carried away when I’m eating and Ed reins me in. He doesn’t want me putting on any more weight.” He patted his stomach as if he were overweight, but the reality was that, even with a huge bloat, Damon was only 10lbs or so off having a completely flat stomach.

“Did you want pudding though?” asked Josh, feeling a little disgusted that Ed would try to control Damon’s eating.

“Well, yeah, of course I did. It looked delicious. You really are a talented cook!” smiled Damon.

Josh huffed, feeling determined. He pulled out the leftover dessert tray and gave a spoon to Damon. “You enjoy it,” he ordered. “You don’t need to listen to what Ed has to say about it. It’s Saturday night after all. If you want it, you have it!”

Damon smiled, with the spoon in his hand, he didn’t need telling twice.

Josh couldn’t believe that he didn’t have any leftovers to try and pack back into the refrigerator. It saved so much time and effort. Damon had polished off enough dessert to make three servings as well as the last of the ice cream. Josh really had never seen anyone with a better appetite. “That was amazing!” Damon huffed, rubbing his stomach. “I could eat that all day long.”

Josh smiled. He tried really hard with his cooking, but Jake rarely even commented these days. “Well, I’ll have to make a larger amount next time you’re over so you can take some home with you.”

Damon chuckled. “I’m not sure whether Ed would go for that!” he smiled, holding the top of his bloated stomach and burping silently into his fist.

“Don’t you listen to Ed! If Jake ever told me what to eat and what not to eat, I’d be so annoyed. I think that’s really awful.’ Josh realised he had to rein himself in. He was being rude.

Damon simply smiled at him. “I suppose we had better go back into the lounge to be bored rigid.”

Josh smiled. “Maybe in another five minutes.” The pair smiled conspiratorially.

“Well, I think that was a success!” Jake nodded after Ed and Damon had left that night. “Ed is funny isn’t he?” Josh simply nodded. Somehow he’d managed to avoid him for the last half of the evening. “I’m not sure what to think about his boyfriend though,” Jake went on, scowling.

“Damon is brilliant!” Josh jumped in defensively. “We’ve arranged to meet up at the food festival in town next weekend when you’re both on that business trip. Damon wants me to try these cheeses they sell there. He says they’re amazing.”

“Good!” nodded Jake. “See, things are working out well. I think we may actually have some new friends to hang out with!”

Josh really did see Damon as a friend back then; someone to go with to try new places to eat, when the boys were away on business trips. Damon was a handsome man so there was always going to be temptation, but he could handle that.

A few months later, Josh was buttoning up a shirt when he looked down and saw the buttons straining. He turned sideways in the mirror and studied his shape. Was he really getting a little paunch on him? As he looked now, he could see the fabric of his pants looking a little snug around his ass as well. Hanging out with Damon was having an effect on them both, for Damon also looked a little heavier each time Josh saw him. His face a little but more puffy or his stomach a little bit rounder. There was no doubt that Damon was getting a little pot-bellied, but from the looks of things, Josh wouldn’t be far behind if he carried on. Josh shrugged his shoulders, took off the shirt and put a better fitting t shirt on instead. He was meeting Damon in town to test drive a car he couldn’t afford. Still, it gave them something to do whilst the guys were away on their business trip.

Damon arrived wearing a t shirt in a similar colour to Josh’s. His however, looked a lot more snug, displaying the shelf of his forming pot belly, with the fabric falling loosely over the cascade, giving him an almost pregnant look. Likewise, his chest looked a little bulkier, with his newly pointed nipples just showing against the fabric. Damon still had naturally wide shoulders and thick arms and so the look suited him; maybe made him look more attractive even.

As they sat in the car together, it was hard not to be distracted by the belly that was collecting into Damon’s lap as he took the wheel. Josh tried to look out of the window instead and make small talk about the car’s upholstery or the sound of the engine, but there was no denying that he was feeling more attracted to Damon. “Now, where do you want to go and eat this afternoon?” Damon grinned, rubbing his hands together after handing back the keys and making his excuses about why he wouldn’t be buying the car.

The boys went to one of their favourite places in town and pigged out as usual. It was funny watching Damon get full, taking a deep breath and ploughing back in for more, as if he were taking on a food challenge. “I couldn’t button up one of my shirts this morning,” Josh admitted after they had both finished.

“Ah, welcome to my world!” Damon smiled, lounging back, rubbing his stomach. Josh caught a glimpse of his new belly and slight furriness around his deepening belly button. That’s when Josh felt a slight pulse in his penis. “Ed has been going mad at me lately with all this weight I’ve put on.”

“Oh dear,” Josh sighed, feeling guilty. “I can’t say I don’t feel partly responsible bringing you to places like this all the while!”

“You are partly responsible,” laughed Damon, with a serious look in his face. “I’ve never eaten as well as I have since I starting hanging out with you. I mean…” he started, turning sideways on his chair so that Josh could see how thick he was getting around the middle, “…look at me! I’m turning into a fatso!” he cried, patting his bloated stomach. Josh was grateful for the opportunity to have permission to stare at Damon’s belly, although it didn’t help with the growing hardness in his crotch. “In fact, I’m glad to see that karma is catching up with you too!” Damon turned, pointing at Josh’s little stomach. “I can’t say I hadn’t noticed.”

Josh had to stop himself from instinctively sucking his stomach back in as Damon studied it. “Excuse me. I think you’ll find that you’re the bad influence around here!” mocked Josh. “I’ve never struggled with my weight before I met you. Who got me hooked on cheese and tacos, huh?”

Damon laughed and nodded. “Alright, alright. We’re both to blame then!” he conceded. “What does Jake think about your new huskiness?”

“My what?” laughed Josh at Damon’s choice of words. “He doesn’t say anything, he never has really.”

“Boy, I wish Ed were like that!” Damon sighed rolling his eyes. “I bought myself some bigger underwear the other day and Ed saw the size on the box. He was ranting for ages about it.”

Josh chuckled, but suddenly felt a deep sadness inside of himself. Jake may not nag him about his weight gain, but Jake didn’t really notice him at all when Josh really thought about it. He didn’t notice all the things he did around the house, all his cooking, his attentiveness. Jake’s whole life seemed to be work, with little room for anything else. In fact, Josh couldn’t even imagine Jake giving him an impassioned speech about how chubby he was getting. He just wouldn’t care.

The four men spent an awful lot of time together over the next few months, but by the end of the evening, they would always split into two groups, with Ed and Jake on one side and Josh and Damon on the other. However, evenings like this were never as fun. Somehow Josh and Damon felt constrained by having their partners there with them. They couldn’t joke like they could normally, or eat as heartily with Ed looking disapprovingly at Damon.

“Oh geez! Wasn’t it boring on Saturday night?” chuckled Damon as Josh walked in to the apartment he shared with Ed. He’d been here a few times, but somehow it felt too tempting to be left alone in a private space with Damon these days. However, Damon wanted to watch a movie at home tonight and Josh was quite keen to see it as well.

Josh had put on a considerable amount of weight over the last few months. Whilst he had always been 150lbs his entire adult life, he now tipped the scales at 210lbs. As he sat down, he had an actual belly in his lap and his ass seemed to spread out on the sofa beneath him. Damon on the other hand, was even heavier. He had always been a little broader and Josh assumed he was about 180lbs when he first met him about a year ago. Now however, he looked to be closer to 250lbs. His face looked chubby with a double chin, whilst his stomach seemed round and overfed no matter how he stood. Both of them were taking up more space on the sofa, but somehow Damon’s thighs had swelled even more and his beefy butt was quite wide and bulbous in comparison to Josh.

“Do you remember when one pizza used to fill you up?” Damon sighed, finishing off his box and throwing himself back on to the sofa like a spoilt brat. “I’m sure they’re making them smaller at this place,” he huffed.

“No, you’re just getting greedier…” Josh teased as he nibbled the last slice of his own pizza.

“Oh yeah, it’s just me!” Damon laughed, rolling his eyes before staring at Josh’s stomach. “Admit it though,” Damon began. “You could eat another pizza if I ordered one.”

Josh considered it, shaking his head from side to side. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I could.”

“See, it’s not just me. I’m getting us some desserts as well…” Damon went on, pulling out his cell phone to order more.

The movie finished just as the boys were throwing down their spoons from the dessert, burping from the discomfort of their overindulgences. “Fuck! That was good!” sighed Josh, rubbing his stomach. “Great idea getting that second pizza!” He looked across at the table to see they had downed quite a few bottles of beer between them as well. Damon was looking at Josh’s belly in a strange way, as if he wanted him to see that he was looking at it. “Did I get sauce on me?” Josh asked, looking at himself.

“No. I was just wondering how heavy you were these days,” Damon admitted.

“About 180lbs” Josh lied.

Damon spat out a laugh. “And the rest!” he teased, laughing like he genuinely hadn’t expected Josh to try and lie so badly.

“Alright, I’m over 200,” Josh admitted, placing his hand on his stomach and rolling his eyes at how nosey Damon could be sometimes.

“You don’t mind it though, do you?” Damon asked. “I don’t mind mine,” Damon stated, grabbing a roll of love handle and unintentionally arousing Josh.

“No,” Josh breezed. He really didn’t mind. Damon was hot with the extra weight. And so, if Josh could look half as good with his extra weight, it would be a good deal.

“I just hit 250lbs,” Damon went on, feeling confident in Josh’s company to say so. “I’ve put 70lbs on in the last year! Can you believe that?”

“Yeah, well, I’ve put on about 50lbs myself,” lied Josh. It actually was more like sixty.

“It makes you wonder what size we’ll be this time next year, doesn’t it?” Damon went on. Josh hadn’t really considered it, but he nodded anyway, getting the sense that Damon was trying to open up to him about something. “I’m going to show you something and I want you to promise not to judge…”

Josh lifted his hands up and shook his head. “You know me. I’m not like that,” he smiled.

Damon seemed appeased and flicked through the pictures on his phone until he got to the one he wanted to show Josh. He turned his phone and passed it to Josh, scanning his face for every reaction. The picture was of a shirtless man just a couple of years older than the pair of them. He was tall, like Damon but had considerably more weight on him. If Josh had to guess, he’d probably have said he was 400lbs, with a massive round stomach and huge ass pushing out in opposite directions. “I reckon I would look like that…” Damon said, after Josh had had time to study the picture. “You see how we both carry out weight in a similar way…” he went on, standing up and taking his shirt off to pose like the man on the picture. Josh was stunned by the fast turn of events. The whole time he had known Damon, he had never seen him without his shirt on. If anything, he looked even tubbier underneath, as Josh could see the fat love handles rolling over the waistband of his pants, as well as the bulging of his moobs as they started to burrow under his arms as he stood. “What do you think?” he asked, still holding the pose. “Am I right?”

Josh had to place a wrist over his crotch. “Yeah, I reckon so,” he agreed, looking back and forth from Damon to the picture. Damon smiled and sat down again, not bothering to put on the shirt but letting the fat of his stomach pinch into rolls as he sat in the corner of the sofa looking at Josh. “You look pleased…” Josh said, confused, passing back Damon’s cell.

“I am,” nodded Damon, taking a look at the picture for himself and admiring it. “I’d love to be that big.”

Josh’s mind was whirring fast now. But his crotch was where the action really seemed to be showing. He didn’t know whether it was the fact that Damon was sat there shirtless that was doing it for him, or the realisation that Damon admired his own belly and wanted to keep growing it even larger.

“I found one for you as well,” Damon went on, seemingly oblivious to the impact he was having on Josh. He flicked through his gallery and then turned his cell phone to face Josh; a chubby-bellied guy sat as a computer desk with a round tire of belly surrounding him. “Don’t you think that’s pretty accurate? You carry it more in your stomach like that guy? He’s about 350lbs there, but apparently he’s even heavier now.” Damon reached forward and pulled up Josh’s t shirt to reveal his fat stomach as it fell into his lap; Josh still tried to conceal the part of his crotch where his boner could be seen. “See.” Damon went on, pointing between the picture and Josh’s belly. “You see what I mean?”

“You’ve really thought about this, haven’t you?” Josh asked, turning to look at Damon. He hadn’t meant to, but Josh looked at Damon, as if seeing him anew.

“Yeah,” Damon admitted, looking a bit sheepish and embarrassed for the first time. “I was just looking and came across them. It’s not like it means anything,” he mumbled, back-tracking, standing up to put his t shirt back on over his lardy belly. “I probably shouldn’t have even told you,” he rambled, rubbing his face, as if flushed. “I have to be up early tomorrow so we should probably call it a night,” he continued, collecting the empty glass bottles.

Josh grabbed his jacket and carried it by his crotch as he stood up. “Yeah, I guess I should head off.” He felt bad. Damon had just admitted something very important to him and now Josh was leaving him feeling embarrassed. He needed to be honest with him, but now Damon wasn’t even making eye contact with him. He stood next to him just lightly brushed Damon’s hand that was carrying the empty bottles of beer. “But, just so you know. I like that. That idea, with the pictures,” he stuttered, finding it hard to express himself. “You… and me.”

Damon looked at him like he had never done before. He wanted to kiss him, they both did. But they couldn’t. That line could not be crossed and they both knew it. It broke his heart, but Josh left, heading down to get a cab home.

Josh stared out of the window, feeling awful on the way back. He’d been with Jake over ten years. How could he be feeling like this about another guy? The cab whizzed past a motel and Josh wouldn’t have even spotted it, had the light of a passing car not shone on the registration plate. It was Jake’s car. He saw two men walking away from it. “Stop!” he cried to cab driver, asking her to wait there whilst he hopped out. He jogged and quickly caught up with the two dark figures as they came to light under the glow of the lamp above their door. It was Jake and Ed, smooching as they turned the lock and went in to their room. Incensed, Josh banged on the door as it closed only to have it immediately reopened by Jake himself.

There were excuses made, lies told, but the truth inevitably tricked out piece by piece from the pair of them as they came home to Josh and Damon. It had been going on for over two years, way before Jake had suggested them all getting together and becoming friends. The idea made Josh feel sick. But he couldn’t deny that things hadn’t been right with Jake for a long time. It made him feel guilty to realise that he was actually a little relieved to have the relationship over with.

It was another month before Josh saw Damon again. The pair just hugged each other as Damon came through the door. They had been through a lot recently. It felt good to have someone who really understood how the other felt.

Damon looked larger. He’d clearly been stress eating. His face looked puffier and his round stomach strained against the fabric of his t shirt. Even his hips and butt looked heftier, which was quite an achievement in only a month. There was a slight musky smell to Damon as Josh hugged him. Big men sweat more, he realised. Josh on the other hand had barely been able to eat a thing in the last few weeks. He’d dropped at least 20lbs, and he knew it.

“You look rough,” Damon sighed, looking him up and down.

Josh chuckled at how blunt Damon could be sometimes. “You look great though,” he countered, to lighten the mood.

“I hit 270lbs this morning,” he beamed. “I’ve been ordering masses of take out on the joint account before Ed closes it. It’s the least the lying, cheating bastard can do!”

Josh smiled. “I wish I had thought of that,” he admitted, looking down at himself.

“Never mind! I’m here now,” Damon smiled, getting out his cell to order them some food in.

Two hours later, the pair of them were slouched on Josh’s sofa, their stomachs bloated with masses of food, having ranted about how much they hated Ed and Jake. They had grumbled and complained until there was not more anger left in either of them. It felt good. It felt healing.

“The thing is,” Damon began. “I hate to admit it. But we weren’t entirely innocent I suppose.” Josh sighed, knowing exactly what Damon meant. “We may never have done anything. But, well, emotionally…”

“Emotionally, yes,” Josh nodded. “…My heart hasn’t been with Jake for quite a long time.” He reached his hand out to hold Damon’s as it lay lazily next to him on the couch. “Not since I met you.”

The two men ignored how full their stomachs were, pushing themselves together to share a tender kiss. As they pulled away, Damon chuckled shyly. “Maybe we could see where this goes?” Josh nodded, smiling and leaning in for another kiss.

Two years later, Josh was holding up the cell phone, taking a picture of Josh with his shirt off. “You know, I think you look ever bigger than that guy at 400lbs?” he nodded, switching the two pictures back and forth for Damon to see as well. “Can you see how your belly sticks out more?”

“Mmm, I think you might be right,” grinned Damon, looking lustfully at Josh as he reached under his massive stomach and picked at his crotch and the boner he had got from looking at himself in the picture. He turned towards Josh, placing his hands either side of Josh’s similarly large stomach and kissing him. “Well, I’d say your belly is bigger than that picture that I thought you’d look like, as well.”

“I should damn well hope so…” Josh smiled, pulling down his underwear to stand there naked in front of Damon, before unbuttoning the pants they had bought especially for Damon’s comparison picture. “I’ve done nothing but stuff myself to keep up with you, fat boy!” Josh teased him.

Damon’s hands explored Josh’s huge body but Josh smiled and pulled them down, turning away from him. Damon grinned at having Josh tease him by turning him on and then walking off, but still swooned, watching Josh’s big, fat, jiggly butt as he walked anyway.

“I wanted to show you something first,” he went on, a huge smile, barely containing his excitement. He beckoned Damon over to him and then passed him his cell phone that he had just picked up. There was a picture of a much heavier man. Josh watched Damon’s face as he studied it before he spoke to him. ‘I found that guy the other day. He’s not far off 500lbs. See how similarly he carries his weight to you…”

“He’s immense!” marvelled Damon, looking at the picture.

“Yeah, you will be too,” smiled Josh.

#gainer stories #gainer fiction #gainerstory #gayfeedee #gay feedee #gayfeeder

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flauntpage · 6 years

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Sixers Draft Prospects: Mikal Bridges, Miles Bridges, Jevon Carter

I wanted to roll out a preview series for the NBA draft but didn’t think it made sense to do 30 different stories for 30 different players.

Nor would it make sense to preview Luka Doncic or Mo Bamba or DeAndre Ayton or any of the top-five types who certainly won’t be on the board when the Sixers pick at 10, 26, 38, 39, 56, or 60.

So I thought it might be better to go two or three guys at a time, maybe look at a couple who could be available in the first round, then throw in a second-round sleeper type who might be a “value pick” later in the draft, as Mike Mayock would say.

Following that format, let’s start it off with the clubhouse leader and sentimental favorite:

Mikal Bridges (Villanova)

I wrote a bit about the Villanova guard/forward back in April.

There’s a lot to like. The Great Valley alum is a two-time national champion, a proven winner who has been a key component for an elite program.

He’s 6’7″, a versatile athlete with a 7’2″ wingspan. Bridges really is an excellent defender, a Robert Covington type on the wing who does a lot of different things defensively in that Swiss-army knife fashion that Brett Brown and the Sixers value highly. The main difference between Covington and Bridges is probably size, as Covington has about two inches and 5-10 pounds on the soon-to-be NBA rookie. You saw Cov switch onto both shooting guards and power forwards last season but some scouts wonder if Bridges has the frame to be able to slide down on a 6’10” 4-man. On the flip side, he might operate a little better in 1v1 situations and keep quicker guys in front of him at the point of attack more effectively than Cov does.

In the clip below, he easily switches two dribble hand-offs then blocks the shot when the opponent tries to drive the rim:

That’s exactly what Brown is looking for from his perimeter defenders.

It’s similar on a play like this, where he just fluidly steps over a screen, slides with a center, cuts off a drive, then slides back to the arc again:

It’s just really smooth stuff, and it was fun to watch when he was on his game.

Offensively, Bridges shot an excellent 51.4% this season and hit three pointers at a 43.5% mark, though his overall FG% was actually down a bit from the season prior, where he went 54.9% overall but only hit at 39.5% from three. He took on a much bigger role in the Villanova offense this season, which isn’t what he’ll be required to do in the NBA. He’ll be a ‘three and D’ guy, asked to defend and catch and shoot and knock down some open looks, which will definitely come in a high-tempo Sixers type of offense.

He would get plenty looks like this if he played alongside T.J. McConnell:

Point guard under the rim, Bridges slides on the perimeter and knocks down the open look. He’ll get those kick outs from Simmons driving or McConnell mashing, very similar to the type of catch and shoots Covington gets.

As far as weaknesses, he’s not really the tightest dribbler out there. Some of his drives are loose and he would just use his greater athleticism to punk lesser college players. He won’t be able to cheat that in the NBA. And he doesn’t put up a ton of assists, but I’m not sure you’d expect him to. I don’t think his shot diversity is very expansive and he’s not going to dribble and pull-up at a high percentage, but again, you won’t need him to. His NBA role is going to be 3 and D with a high ceiling to evolve into a more well-rounded player.

Miles Bridges (Michigan State)

The other Bridges is a 6’6″ tweener from Michigan State. He’s not really a shooting guard but he’s not really a small forward either.

The good thing is that it doesn’t really matter in the modern day NBA, where positionless basketball is the norm. Look no further than the Golden State Warriors, or your Sixers, who feature a 7’2″ three-point shooting center and 6’10” point guard with limited range.

Like Mikal, this Bridges is a two-way wing with athleticism, it just comes in a different form. Miles is about 6’6″, 230 pounds and it comes with a ton of explosiveness. Jae Crowder has a similar build, as did Shawn Marion. I’ve heard comparisons of all sorts, that Bridges is a more athletic P.J. Tucker, he’s Tobias Harris or Draymond Green or what Josh Smith could have/should have been.

He averaged 17/7/3 this past season at MSU on these shooting numbers:

Mikal is the better pure shooter of the two and played three years of college ball, but Miles is younger and a little stockier and really does a nice job of getting to the rim. His highlight-reel is littered with two-footed takeoffs, some nice moves against defensive mismatches, and some thirsty rebounding for a wing who mostly played as a 4 in college:

Looking through the “weaknesses” half of that video, it seems like Bridges settles for some bad shots and takes some tough jumpers when he doesn’t have to. There are some of those aforementioned mismatches where he could use his athleticism to work smaller players, but I saw some unnecessary three pointers and a lack of ability to push into the post or beat down smaller guys. He has some decent vision but can get wild with passes and turn the ball over. It doesn’t look like he has much of a mid-range game, which is fine, because it’s the same thing as Mikal – he’s really not going to be asked to do that at the next level.

Defensively, he does a lot of great things on the perimeter. It’s weird, he sort of reminds me a bit of Justin Anderson, just the way he’s built and the fact that he’s left handed. He moves his feet, slides, switches, and contests a lot of shots.

This video is in French, but you don’t need to speak the language to appreciate it. Just click play and let it roll:

Combing through draft reports and social media and looking for comparisons between the two players, it feels to me like people see Miles Bridges as the more explosive player with room to improve offensively, while Mikal Bridges has the higher floor right now. I’d honestly say that both have a relatively high ceiling, but I think there are fewer question marks with with the translation of Mikal’s game to the NBA level. Specific to Philly, If Mikal is getting the Covington/Otto Porter/Tony Snell comparisons, that feels like it’s more compatible with what the Sixers are doing. Miles going #9 to New York would be interesting with David Fizdale running the show up there this year.

Bottom line, I don’t think you can go wrong with either Bridges if they’re available at #10 overall.

Jevon Carter (West Virginia)

Here’s the thing; Jevon isn’t first-round talent and the Sixers are set at point guard with Ben Simmons, T.J. McConnell, and whatever Markelle Fultz becomes. So why would I waste time talking about him?

Well, having watched Carter for four years at West Virginia, he really is the prototypical Brett Brown and Philly type of guy. He plays ferocious perimeter defense and regularly locked horns with the best Big 12 scorers, guys like Trae Young and Devonte’ Graham.

The thing with WVU players is that they come out of college with a typically narrow skill set because of Bob Huggins’ highly-specialized system. Full court press doesn’t translate to the NBA, right? Nobody presses in the NBA. Similarly, you could be the best 1-3-1 rim protector in America, but no NBA team is playing 1-3-1 zone. And because Huggins’ system is defense-first with a deep rotation, the development of polished offensive players really is not a thing in Morgantown, not since the last wave of John Beilein recruits came through.

Still, the Sixers value defense first, so Carter comes into the NBA as an incredibly experienced 1v1 guy, one of the best in the country. That’s the base. Then you can work with 17.3 points per game on 42.2% shooting a 39.3 mark from three:

Those raw numbers are probably good enough to develop a second-unit shooting guard. One of Marco Belinelli’s issues was that he couldn’t defend a lick in the postseason. And there’s no guarantee that he comes back, right? So who scores points for the second team? Does Anderson or Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot take a step forward? Furkan Korkmaz? If you have T.J. McConnell running the second team point, with Carter at the two and one of the Bridges at the 3 in a smallish type of look (or Covington if he loses his starting job), then I think you could do much, much worse. That backcourt combination of McConnell/Carter is defensively ferocious and infinitely coachable.

I think Fran Fraschilla is pretty on-point with this write-up, which compares Carter to Patrick Beverly and notes that his ball-handling skills need work and that he is not necessarily an explosive offensive player:

Jevon Carter: Coaching staff will love this guy’s energy/attitude. Started to “rise” in win vs. Missouri. “Rose” higher on Jan.6th vs.Oklahoma. Looks like he’s still “rising.” pic.twitter.com/NdcyVhZ8eG

— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) May 22, 2018

I’ve seen Carter all over the place in different mocks, one that had him as high as 32. Most people see him as a late second-rounder. I don’t know if he’d be there at 56, but players have completely fallen off the draft board plenty of times before.

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