The Philadelphia 76ers will be dealing with a lot of crucial roster calls this coming summer, and topping their offseason whiteboard is free agency. The team currently houses a bunch of players who could hit the open market this offseason, and one possible player who might end up being available for taking is Trendon Watford, whom Nick Nurse and the coaching staff lost trust in as the season progressed.
Watford was a serviceable backup forward for the 76ers this season, wearing multiple hats and displaying his all-around skill set and sheer positional versatility all year long. However, it became clear that he was not going to sniff the floor much for the team when it is at full strength, and his struggles in crucial areas simply did not help his case for more playing time. As such, with his deal including a team option for 2026-27, it appears far more likely that he is headed to an early exit.
Initially lauded as one of the better under-the-radar gets during last year’s free agency bonanza, Watford started his individual campaign strong, even racking up a memorable triple-double early in the season. Unfortunately, he peaked so early that the 76ers eventually moved away from him when it mattered the most.
The 76ers are far more likely to decline Trendon Watford’s team option for next season
Depth at the forward positions is something the 76ers have been craving for quite some time now, and while Watford brings a lot to the table, it is the one thing he cannot do that holds him back and justifies the team not giving him ample opportunities on the hardwood.
Watford was a respectable three-point shooter in his first four seasons in the league, draining them at a 34.9 percent clip. However, that part of his game completely abandoned him this season. He canned just 20 percent of his triples, and even more concerning is the fact that he barely took threes, averaging just 0.9 attempts despite playing more than 16 minutes a night.
Given how their frontcourt is constructed, the 76ers have very little use for players who are essentially negligible from beyond the arc. As everyone saw in the playoffs, those two-big lineups they deployed in the regular season are simply not tenable to tap into during the postseason where the stakes are much higher.
Now, with Philly also needing to balance out the roster and add more reinforcements to their backcourt, they will have to trim the fat in the frontcourt. And at this juncture, Trendon Watford is an early candidate to get cut.
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