Philadelphia 76ers: Ranking every player on the 2018-19 roster post-trade deadline
9. Jonah Bolden
Jonah entered the 2018-19 season as an intriguing young piece. Despite an uneven summer league performance, Bolden looked primed to be gunning for significant minutes as the backup to Joel Embiid.
After playing sparingly throughout a good chunk of the start of the season, Bolden started to earn a majority of the backup center minutes. He had a very solid stretch of games in mid-January before the arrival of Boban Marjanovic pushed him back to the end of the bench. Following four straight DNPs, his playing time has been revived of late in the wake of injuries to Joel and Boban.
Bolden’s game has gradually improved over the course of the year. He’s a very active body on defense and has proven to be a solid interior defender. He is still foul prone and his instincts are a work-in-progress, but that’s to be expected from a rookie big.
Offensively, he has shown some promise. His three-point shooting has been progressing and he has the potential to be an effective roll-man. He’s not necessarily a threat in halfcourt sets yet but he can really get out and going in transition.
Looking ahead, expect Jonah to still get a decent amount of minutes off the bench. Though it appears as though Boban has firmly entrenched himself into the backup center, the Sixers could still turn to Bolden due to Boban’s limited skillset. His athleticism and motor could certainly help this team push the pace while letting Joel get much-needed rest.