Ariel Hukporti’s injury issues may have left the Philadelphia 76ers thin at center, but that doesn’t mean they need to second-guess what happened with Johni Broome.
Broome, the team’s 2025 second-round pick, has already landed in a new spot for now. After the 76ers traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers months ago, the Clippers waived the second-year center, and Broome is now trying to get back on track with the Milwaukee Bucks. Philadelphia can’t get him back even if it wanted to, but the bigger question hangs around anyway: did the Sixers move on too soon?
The answer, at least from the way this has played out so far, looks like no.
Broome never gave the Sixers much reason to hold onto him. His rookie year didn’t produce a lot of promise, and while second-round picks usually have a hard road on a playoff team, the organization also didn’t seem to get a glowing read from the Delaware Blue Coats during his time with the G League club.
That alone doesn’t close the book on Broome. He could still develop into a player the Sixers end up regretting losing. But there are stronger reasons for Philadelphia to be comfortable with the decision it made.
The first is the move that came with it. The Sixers dealt Broome to create the financial room needed to bring in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and that was the kind of choice front offices make with the roster and payroll in mind.
The alternatives were to trade or waive Broome, or move on from Jabari Walker. Broome was the one who got squeezed out so KCP could arrive, and the early training camp reports suggest Caldwell-Pope has already been a strong addition on the court and in the locker room.
There’s also the Walker angle, which could have been the easier path on paper. He’s the only player on a standard contract with a small guarantee. But after watching him in scrimmage and preseason play, that call is looking pretty good for Mike Gansey and the front office too.
Walker backed that up Monday night when the Sixers opened their preseason against the New York Knicks. He finished 4-for-9 from the field, hit three of five from three-point range, and scored 11 points.
He also grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double, while adding one assist and one steal. It’s still early, but he has looked much more impactful so far this season.
So yes, the Sixers do have center concerns. Adem Bona, Ariel Hukporti, and Tacko Fall are all dealing with setbacks early on.
But that doesn’t make the Broome trade a mistake. It just means Philadelphia has another issue to sort through.
In Other News...
Joel Embiid Got Pulled Into A Strange LeBron Rumor Fast
The 76ers preseason opener briefly turned into an odd side story when broadcaster Mike Breen said he had heard Joel Embiid was a few minutes late to a recent practice and was confronted by LeBron James. It was the kind of stray detail that can take on a life of its own in October, especially when it involves one of the leagues biggest names and a Philadelphia star already under a bright spotlight as the team starts laying groundwork for the season ahead.
LeBron James later shut the report down on social media, saying Embiid had not been late. So the rumor did not linger long, but it still added a strange wrinkle to a night meant to be about the 76ers getting back into game mode. Philadelphia now moves on to the rest of its preseason schedule and, eventually, the start of the 2026-27 regular season with the usual attention on Embiid and everything that follows him. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers May Have A Low-Risk Answer To Their New Frontcourt Problem
The Clippers decision to waive two-way center Jamarion Sharp has put a familiar kind of low-cost big man on the market at exactly the moment the Sixers need one. Philadelphia has an open two-way roster spot, and with Ariel Hukporti injured, frontcourt depth has become a more immediate concern than it was just a few days ago.
Sharp brings a profile the Sixers could find appealing: a 7-foot-5 developmental center with strong defensive numbers in the G League and the sort of rim protection that can at least help stabilize minutes in a pinch. The question now is whether Philadelphia sees enough upside to use that two-way slot on another project, or whether it keeps looking for a more ready-made answer to its frontcourt problem. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Love Is Giving The 76ers A Roster Problem They'd Love
Caleb Love arrived in Philadelphia on a two-way deal, but he has already started making that arrangement feel temporary. After a solid rookie season with the Portland Trail Blazers, where he carved out a real rotation role, Love has carried that momentum into camp and looked like a player who belongs in a bigger conversation. In a recent preseason game, he put up 15 points and added contributions across the board, giving the Sixers another guard option with some two-way versatility.
For a team that is always balancing immediate expectations with long-term roster flexibility, that kind of production creates a good problem. Love has shown enough early to make the Sixers think about whether his role should grow if this keeps up, and whether a standard NBA contract might become the natural next step. For now, Philadelphia gets to keep evaluating, but the early returns are making it harder to treat him like just another depth piece. [Read more 🡒]