The Philadelphia 76ers have had a magnificent offseason by all measures. To hold otherwise would be disingenuous. After all, they managed to bring in a couple of All-NBA studs in LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. That being said, they need one more move to wrap up their summer slate, and that involves giving clarity to their backup center position by cutting one of their big men to prevent a lurking skill set overlap.
As of writing, the 76ers have four different big men who will be fighting for minutes off the bench in Dominick Barlow, Adem Bona, Jabari Walker, and Ariel Hukporti. Not all of them tout exactly similar skill sets, although the one thing that binds them together is the fact that none of them are battle-tested options. As such, the front office should seriously consider parting with one of them to pursue a safer big man to deploy to spell Joel Embiid when he hits the bench.
The 76ers should cut one of their backup big men and go after a veteran option instead
The trade market is a bit cloudy at this juncture, but if the 76ers are willing to part with some of their expendable assets, they can afford to discard one of those aforesaid players and seek a better backup for Embiid. After all, if there is one area where the front office should not get all frugal about, it is the center position off the bench.
The overlap in skill set among the big men on the current roster is too significant to gloss over. Barlow, Bona, and Hukporti are spry big men, but they all come in a traditional package. Walker is of the same ilk, albeit with some more presence out in the perimeter but with much less size.
Perhaps the most obvious similarity among those players is the fact that none of them can be tabbed as steady options on the offensive end. They are all specialists and project players in some way, and having multiple of those on the roster runs counter to this team's immediate direction for next season, which is to go try and win a championship.
This goes without saying, but no roster is ever perfect. Still, the 76ers have time to make their offseason as close as possible to being a spotless one, and by addressing their backup big man situation, they will be able to make the lineup as foolproof as it can be ahead of their title bid.
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