The Philadelphia 76ers envisioned a lot of great things when they decided to draft Johni Broome out of Auburn with the 35th pick in this year’s draft. After all, the team badly needed reinforcements at the center position with Joel Embiid still afflicted by injuries, and he was definitely perceived to have an NBA-ready skill set as a big man.
Instead, Broome has found himself playing for the Delaware Blue Coats, the team’s G-League affiliate, almost exclusively. He has seen very little action with the 76ers, having totaled just 39 minutes all season long (which was bolstered by his considerable court time during a blowout loss to the Magic).
Broome has likewise not looked good in his limited action, although no on should really hold that against him given the fact that he has had little to no real experience on an NBA court. It is the fact that the 76ers may have made a huge mistake in drafting him for reasons not totally within his control.
The 76ers made a mistake in drafting Johni Broome
Daryl Morey drafting Broome was not only unconventional on his part, but also probably a tad reactionary. After all, the 76ers greatly suffered from their lack of big man depth last season when Embiid was limited to just 19 games, and the front office was probably anticipating the exit of Guerschon Yabusele.
But in hindsight, that might have been too shortsighted of a choice. The 76ers suddenly have a logjam of players who can play with and behind Embiid in Andre Drummond, Adem Bona, Dominick Barlow, and Jabari Walker, and there is just no way for Broome to crack the rotation anytime soon.
Barlow and Walker, who are both on two-way deals at the moment, will most certainly see their contracts get converted into standard ones given how they have fared so far this season. And moving forward, they could become rotation staples. In fact, Barlow has been a starter for the most part.
Drummond also looks like a very steady option at center given his resurgence. Bona is slowly developing and his defense is leaps and bounds better than Broome’s.
Unless the 76ers see something compelling enough on offense, which is Broome’s supposed bread-and-butter, that would justify playing him despite his rough defense, there is simply no way for him to get real minutes, which is what makes his selection somewhat of a head-scratcher for the franchise.