The Philadelphia Sixers are once again staring down a familiar nightmare: their backup center situation behind Joel Embiid is a mess, a tale as old as time for this franchise. Just when they thought they had it sorted by signing Ariel Hukporti using a slice of their bi-annual exception in free agency, the basketball gods dealt a cruel blow. Hukporti suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in their preseason opener, sending the whole plan crashing down right back to square one.
The Immediate Fallout
Right now, the Sixers are looking at Adem Bona and two-way signee Tacko Fall as their only healthy centers on the roster, aside from Embiid. Think about that for a second. We’re talking about a team with championship aspirations relying on Bona and Fall if Embiid needs a breather. It gets worse: Dominick Barlow, battling a back issue, and Jabari Walker, dealing with a knee injury, could moonlight at center when they’re healthy, but both are already banged up. This dire situation has even forced the Sixers to throw LeBron James and Dean Wade into the small-ball 5 role sometimes. And look, even LeBron himself made it clear that’s a strictly short-term fix. Philly needs answers, and they need them fast.
Crunching the Cap and Trade Options
So, what’s a team to do when their season could hinge on finding a serviceable backup big? The short-term free agency market is tricky for the Sixers. They’re currently sitting about $1.8 million below the first apron, which is a hard cap they absolutely cannot cross this season. Veteran-minimum contracts, even prorating down by roughly $14,000 a day now that the regular season has begun, still cost more than $2 million for now. They could fill their last open roster spot starting on December 3 with a prorated rest-of-season minimum deal, and they’d stay under that apron. But here’s the kicker: that move would leave them less than $15,000 below the first apron, which would make any potential trade deadline maneuvers incredibly complicated. Another option? Sign an undrafted rookie, whose salaries top out at $1.3 million. But let’s be real, a win-now team like the Sixers doesn’t want to rely on an undrafted rookie at such a critical position.
Trade options are also pretty limited until December 15, because teams can’t trade anyone they signed in free agency this offseason until then. That means Dominick Barlow ($3.4 million), Jabari Walker ($2.6 million), and Justin Edwards ($2.4 million) are their main trade chips right now. Once that date passes, things might open up. Some relatively inexpensive centers that could be of varying interest include Thomas Sorber from the OKC Thunder ($4,887,720), Yves Missi from the New Orleans Pelicans ($3,512,760), Jericho Sims from the Milwaukee Bucks ($2,801,346), Charles Bassey from the Golden State Warriors ($2,449,421), and Tony Bradley from the Utah Jazz ($2,449,421).
The Sixers have to figure this out. With the season already underway and injuries piling up, every game matters. They can’t afford to waste Joel Embiid’s prime years because they can’t find a reliable big man off the bench. The clock is ticking, and Philly fans are holding their breath to see what move their front office makes next.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Liberty Ballers.
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