As the season winds down, the Philadelphia 76ers are being even more incentivized to look forward to the offseason, where numerous changes are anticipated in light of the disasterclass they exhibited in this campaign.
Thanks to the highly anticipated 2025 NBA Draft, the 76ers — assuming their pick lands anywhere in the top six and get to keep the same — should be able to snag a much-needed ceiling-raiser to compensate them for being one of the absolute worst teams in the NBA this season. Fortunately for them, they decided to be a really bad team in one of the better years to do so as this year’s draft class is teeming with talent across all positions.
Drafting alone, however, won’t be nearly enough for Philly to address their gaping holes on the roster. It is imperative for the front office to be uber-creative in free agency as well, especially in account of the financial constraints they will have to deal with come summer time.
The 76ers have to solve this pressing roster issue
Philly’s lack of depth at center and shooting has long been pronounced, but there is another area where the 76ers have to make big upgrades — their dearth of size at forward.
The team’s roster construction has been a huge issue this season. Littered with guards and undersized wings, the 76ers have offered little resistance on defense and on the boards. Philadelphia is dead-last in rebounds per game and has the fourth-worst defensive rating among all 30 teams.
The 76ers only have two, natural forwards in the lineup — Paul George and Guerschon Yabusele. Yet both have not been able to truly boast their size at forward with George showing his age while dealing with injuries all year long and Yabusele being forced to play a position up with the team missing functional depth at center.
Kelly Oubre Jr. and Justin Edwards, who have filled the nominal forward position for the most part, are undersized. To make matters worse, Oubre (as with Yabusele) could very well leave the team in the offseason.
Clearly, the 76ers have no other choice but to pursue legitimate forwards in free agency, even if only for stopgap purposes. The Eastern Conference alone is home to a myriad of All-Star forwards, and the team cannot afford to just try and defend them on a nightly basis with makeshift options.
If the Philadelphia 76ers want to return to the playoffs next season, having size at arguably the most important position in today’s game is a non-negotiable. Otherwise, they could very reprise their lack of defensive acuity next season.