With Quentin Grimes’ looming contract negotiations limiting the Philadelphia 76ers’ flexibility, they’ve been searching for ways to improve within the margins. Philadelphia's power forward area needs improvement, and it's been taking flyers on relatively unproven prospects to fill in the gap. In its latest attempt to do so, Alex Reese was waived this afternoon to make way for Dominick Barlow, who was signed on a two-way contract, as Shams Charania of ESPN reported.
Barlow’s two-way deal is official. https://t.co/MyQjTtbcv8
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) July 9, 2025
Barlow's NBA tenure so far
At six feet nine inches and 221 pounds, Barlow is a 22-year-old power forward who is set to enter his fourth season in the NBA. Originally, he was signed to a two-way deal by the San Antonio Spurs as an undrafted free agent after the 2022 draft. He spent two seasons with the Spurs amidst their tank where he couldn’t carve out much of a role – playing a total of 61 contests.
On July 30th, 2024, the Atlanta Hawks inked him to a two-way contract and converted him to a standardized deal for the rest of the season in March. Barlow participated in 35 games where he averaged 10.7 minutes of playing time. However, he played in five contests for Atlanta’s G-League affiliate – the College Park Skyhawks. Barlow posted 21.8 points per game on 55.8% shooting from the field, 8.4 rebounds per game, and 1.2 steals per game.
Maybe Barlow can show the 76ers something
While his NBA sample size is limited, he’s shown glimpses of being a disruptive help-side and pick-and-roll defender with his length and instincts. Keep in mind his advanced stats are a bit inflated due to low NBA usage, but he recorded two blocks per 100 possessions last season, which ranks in the 90th percentile.
Offensively, Barlow has a solid touch as a post scorer and quality passing vision in terms of drawing double teams and spotting back-door cutters. Although he notched 1.4 assists and steals per game in the G-League this past season, the upside is there – just a matter of reps. Not to mention, he shot 61.6% from two-pointers with the Hawks. The only real drawback is his inability to space the floor and sporadic unwillingness to let it fly from downtown. Barlow is a career 25% shooter from beyond the arc.
Signing with the 76ers is a homecoming for Barlow, who is a New Jersey native and went to Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School, which is located in Philadelphia. They’ve now filled all of their two-way slots with Barlow, Hunter Sallis, and Jabari Walker. Philadelphia seems to be throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks in terms of signing low-cost power forwards. This is the right approach and adding forwards with upside is never a bad idea.