The Philadelphia 76ers are now in the mode of adding talent via the buyout market. I’ve already written about three point guards the Sixers should target in the buyout market. However, the point guard isn’t the only position of need on this roster.
Despite having Joel Embiid who should be the frontrunner for MVP on the roster, the depth behind has become questionable. The main reason why is due to Andre Drummond being part of the James Harden trade that sent one of Embiid’s best backups to the Brooklyn Nets.
Now the team has only two Paul Reed, Charles Bassey, and Paul Millsap to rely on. Reed and Bassey are two unproven big men and in the two games since the trade Reed has gotten the nod at backup duties. Millsap has yet to make his debut, but he’s well past his prime at 36 years old and the former power forward now center struggled in Brooklyn this year.
There’s a lot of question at the backup center spot now so adding a backup center should be a top priority for the 76ers front office. The three players listed in this article are either buyout candidates or have already been bought out.
3 potential buyout centers to target: Cody Zeller
Once a long-time starter for the Charlotte Hornets, Cody Zeller was waived by the Portland Trail Blazers around the trade deadline. This season, Zeller struggled with health at times, but he still averaged 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in just 13.1 minutes per game.
Zeller is a solid pick-and-roll big man on offense while he’s solid enough defensively. Despite not looking like it, Zeller is in the prime of his career in terms of his age as he’s 29 years old. He’s already in his ninth season so he’s had plenty of regular season experience.
For his career, he’s averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds. On paper, Zeller looks like a very good fit for the 76ers as they could certainly have him on a veteran’s minimum contract. However, there are two red flags with Zeller.
Zeller hasn’t had a good track record with health. There have only been two seasons in which Zeller has played more than 70 games in a single season. This season he’s only played 27 games this season. The other issue is his lack of playoff experience. He’s only played in 11 postseason games and the whole point of the Philadelphia 76ers adding another center is for the postseason experience.