Sixers: 3 players team can replace in 2021 NBA Draft

3 players the Sixers can replace in 2021 NBA Draft: Dwight Howard

The Sixers could use a good backup center, and to be entirely frank, Dwight Howard is not a good backup center. He is passable in the regular season, and his sheer dominance on the glass buys him some leeway, but he was unplayable in the postseason, and Doc Rivers’ insistence on playing him was a detriment.

It would be totally fine to re-sign Howard as a situational third-string center who can provide some fouls and toughness, but I do not trust Doc Rivers to deploy Howard situationally. It may be better to let him walk, and to seek out new options entirely. Perhaps, you guessed it, in the NBA Draft.

While it would probably be better to target a wing or guard with the 28th pick, there are big men worth considering. North Carolina’s Day’Ron Sharpe has all the hallmarks of an effective backup center, and is commonly mocked in the late first round.

That said, a lot of center talent outside the lottery tends to fall in the second round conversation. Charles Bassey of Western Kentucky, for example, is a former five-star recruit who could feasibly fall to 50. Other names to watch are Filip Petrusev, Luka Garza, Jericho Sims, and Neemias Queta.