The Philadelphia 76ers have opened the season 4-1 and look every bit like an Eastern Conference heavyweight on paper. They’ve already stacked up wins over the Knicks, Cavaliers and Bucks, and Tyrese Maxey has been rolling at 28.4 points and 4.6 assists per game while Jaylen Brown is adding 20.6 points and 6.6 assists a night. The top-line numbers say everything is fine.
The problem is what happens when the shot goes up.
Philadelphia’s rebounding has been a mess through five games, and it’s the kind of issue that can erase all that good work in a hurry. The Sixers are averaging 42.2 rebounds while allowing 52.4, a minus-10.2 margin that stands out even more because they’re surrendering 13.8 offensive boards per game. That’s a painful place to live for a team that still owns the league’s third-best defensive rating at 103.5.
Chris Hine of The Philadelphia Inquirer pointed to the rebounding issue as the main subject behind closed doors, and the Detroit game showed exactly why it has everyone uneasy. Philadelphia went more than five full minutes without a defensive rebound as the Pistons turned an early deficit into a 20-5 run.
Joel Embiid’s workload only makes the situation more delicate. With his minutes being carefully managed because of right foot plantar fasciitis, the Sixers can’t afford to lean too hard on a frontcourt depth chart that already looks thin. That’s where a smaller, quieter move comes into play.
Instead of chasing a splashy trade, Philadelphia could go after a bruising, 24-year-old center who does his damage on the glass and is on a minimum-level deal. The proposal is straightforward:
Philadelphia 76ers receive Moussa Diabaté.
Charlotte Hornets receive Jabari Walker, a 2029 second-round pick and a 2031 second-round pick.
Diabaté is making $2.5 million and has been productive for Charlotte, posting 9.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks across five games while shooting 69.2% from the field. He’s also playing real rotation minutes, averaging 29.4 per game, so this isn’t a case of chasing a deep-bench specialist.
Walker, meanwhile, has appeared in just three games for Philadelphia and is averaging 2.7 points and 1.3 rebounds. His $2.6 million salary lines up closely enough for the framework to work, even if there’s no indication talks are actually happening.
What makes Diabaté intriguing for the Sixers is simple: this roster doesn’t need another scorer. Between Maxey, Brown, Embiid, LeBron James, VJ Edgecombe, and Anfernee Simons, the offense has enough mouths to feed.
The issue is the unglamorous stuff. Diabaté does that part.
Against Washington on October 26, he put up 11 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks, including 11 offensive boards. A few nights earlier against Brooklyn, he finished with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals. That kind of nonstop activity is exactly the sort of boost Philadelphia’s second unit could use.
He’s not a floor spacer, and he hasn’t attempted a three-pointer this season. Most of his scoring comes right at the rim.
But in a backup role next to creators like Maxey or LeBron, that limitation doesn’t have to hurt you. It can actually simplify things.
The bigger value is what he gives Nick Nurse on nights when Embiid sits. Sunday’s game against Detroit forced Philadelphia into a small-ball setup with LeBron at center.
Adem Bona has shown some defensive promise with 1.2 blocks in 14.6 minutes, but he’s still raw. Ariel Hukporti is out for the season with a torn Achilles, and other depth pieces have also been banged up.
Diabaté would bring 15 to 20 sturdy minutes of rebounding and physicality every night.
Charlotte has reasons to think it over, too. The Hornets are 3-2, so there’s no urgency to dump Diabaté.
But he’s on a minimum contract, the frontcourt is crowded with Naz Reid handling a heavy workload and Ryan Kalkbrenner waiting for developmental minutes, and Diabaté is in the final year of his deal. That gives Charlotte a decision to make.
For the Hornets, turning an expiring reserve into Walker, who averaged 6.2 points and 4.5 rebounds during his Portland days, plus two second-round picks, is a reasonable return. For Philadelphia, it would be a low-risk way to address the exact weakness that keeps showing up on film.
The Sixers have enough firepower to contend. They just can’t keep handing out second-chance points and expect it to hold against better competition. A move for Diabaté would not solve everything, but it would directly attack the one problem that has already started to creep into the season.
In Other News...
Tyrese Maxey Just Spotlighted A Sixers Problem That Still Looms
Tyrese Maxey has become one of the clearest bright spots for the Sixers, giving them reliable scoring from multiple levels and a steady offensive presence when the team needs it most. But even as Maxey keeps elevating his game, Philadelphias bigger issues keep surfacing around him, especially the stretches where the offense bogs down and the supporting cast struggles to provide enough secondary production.
The recent loss to the Pistons was another reminder that Maxey can only carry so much of the load on his own. The Sixers still need cleaner execution and more consistent help around him, and the whole equation remains tied to Joel Embiids availability and level of play, which continues to loom over how far this group can go. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Brown Is Already Battling A Boston Narrative In Philadelphia
Jaylen Brown is already having to swat away old noise in Philadelphia, and it has nothing to do with his play. The former Celtics wing denied Brian Scalabrines claim that he demanded a trade out of Boston, even as Scalabrine later softened the wording and said Brown had not technically asked out but had laid out a list of demands for the Celtics. For the 76ers, the timing matters because Brown has quickly been asked to turn the page and settle into a new role, with the attention following him from one locker room to the next.
So far, Brown has done the part Philadelphia can control, and the on-court fit has given the team something more useful than the chatter. He recently posted a double-double in a win over the Indiana Pacers, a reminder that the conversation around him is not just about what happened in Boston or how it gets framed now. The narrative may keep traveling with him for a while, but the Sixers will care most about whether the production keeps coming once the questions do not. [Read more 🡒]
76ers Win Raises Early Questions About Two Roles Fans Are Watching
The 76ers 114-109 win over the Pacers pushed them to 4-1, and it also gave a clearer look at how much early-season value they can get from the bench. Anfernee Simons supplied 20 points and six 3-pointers in a strong reserve showing, while Tyrese Maxey took over late with 17 points in the fourth quarter to help close out the game.
Even with the victory, there are still a couple of roster spots and rotation roles worth watching closely. Rookie Labaron Philon Jr. did not play, and Dean Wade had a quiet third game of the season, leaving the early feel of those roles very much unsettled as Philadelphia keeps sorting out its depth behind the main scorers. [Read more 🡒]