Shocking transformation could fix a recurring issue still haunting the 76ers

Over the summer, the Philadelphia 76ers never really managed to lure in someone experienced to replace then-free agent forward Guerschon Yabusele, who eventually walked away from the team for nothing after the front office reportedly lowballed him heavily in free agency. To make matters worse, he left for the Knicks, one of the team’s biggest rivals in the East.

Now, the front office deserves some credit for bringing in some new faces like Trendon Watford and Jabari Walker, who did not prompt them to break the bank, but both of those players have never been consistent rotation players for teams looking to win. Put simply, the 76ers will most certainly feel Yabusele’s absence in the upcoming season, and it could backfire on occasion.

Thanks to this fact, Nick Nurse and his coaching staff will have no other choice but to play small-ball lineups almost exclusively. That means that players will need to play a position up on a nightly basis which, while ideal in certain contexts, would drain them faster, especially when going against more physically imposing opponents on defense.

But unbeknownst to many, the 76ers might have actually already have an in-house fix for their lack of actual power forwards, and while a bit marginal, it could spell the difference between getting outmuscled each night and holding down the fort enough for useful resistance.

The 76ers will greatly benefit from these players putting on more weight

The 76ers recently released the official player measurements for their training camp roster, and as one fan noted here, some players (mostly forwards) put on more weight over the summer.

Paul George, Kelly Oubre, Justin Edwards, and Trendon Watford — all of the team’s forwards who ara projected to be in the regular rotation — had some notable weight changes. And that definitely bodes well for the team as they seek to find a stable, nominal power forward in the lineup.

Sure, putting on weight is not an end-all, be-all, but it definitely helps the team offer more resistance on the defensive end and in gang rebounding. Those are two areas which were particularly lacking from the 76ers last season.

In addition, this will only make it more feasible for these players to play a position up. For example, Oubre and Edwards were better off latching onto perimeter players, but now, they could be trotted out more frequently against opposing forwards, even in brief spurts, without entirely conceding that area.

Hopefully, these changes will make the 76ers more equipped to handle the difficult tasks on defense in the looming campaign, injury forbidding.