An under-the-radar Philadelphia 76ers free agent signing is primed for a breakout season, claims an NBA insider.
An under-the-radar Philadelphia 76ers free agent signing is primed for a breakout season, claims an NBA insider.
The 76ers appeared ready to finally break through and at least make an Eastern Conference Finals appearance during the Joel Embiid era at the start of the 2024-25 season. Philadelphia re-signed Embiid and All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey that summer, and brought in a bevy of talented vets, headlined by $211.6 million former nine-time All-Star forward Paul George, to flesh out the roster.
Instead, injury and chemistry issues waylaid the Sixers' best laid plans. The team finished with a paltry 24-48 record, and lucked into the No. 3 pick in this year's 2025 draft. Philadelphia selected Baylor guard V.J. Edgecombe with that pick, and is hoping to integrate him and a finally healthy Jared McCain into a healthier iteration of its roster, with a few changes around the periphery.
One of the club's better signings last year (George is starting to look like one of the worst) was power forward Guerschon Yabusele, who was riding high after an impressive stint abroad that culminated in a silver medal for Team France men's basketball during the 2024 Olympics.
Yabusele priced himself out of Philadelphia's comfort zone (and probably didn't enjoy all the losing) when he inked a two-season, $11.3 million deal with the New York Knicks.
New York, much like Philadelphia did last year, appears primed to take that proverbial leap — although all its best players are in their primes, none have the lingering injury issues that plague Embiid and George, and the Knicks have already enjoyed more sustained recent success, having just made the Eastern Conference Finals this past spring.
Now, Dan Favale of Bleacher Report claims that the team's Yabusele replacement, the cheaper Trendon Watford could be a major piece for the club.
As Shams Charania of ESPN reports, Watford was signed to a two-year deal worth less than half of Yabusele's new Knicks contract.
Free agent forward Trendon Watford has agreed to a two-year, $5.3 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell ESPN. Watford is set to play a potential key role in the 76ers rotation. pic.twitter.com/PH0ttFVfCO
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2025
Favale observes that Watford doesn't have the offensive game of Yabusele, but represents a solid value signing for a club saddled with expensive veteran contracts.
"Claiming the Philadelphia 76ers won't miss Yabusele's offense goes too far," Favale writes. "He has more directionality to his closeout attacks. But Trendon Watford is an excellent replacement—especially at less than half the cost."
Watford could benefit from a Philadelphia team that's looking to win this year, after toiling on several rebuilding Brooklyn squads.
"Playing for a team that shouldn't suck will do wonders for the 24-year-old's overall profile," Favale adds. "His grab-and-go chops are fun as hell, and he's an understated foul-drawer. He deserves a medal for shooting north of 50 percent on drives for last year's Brooklyn Nets."
Favale opines that Watford's long range marksmanship and ability to defend both power forwards and centers should endear him to the Philly faithful. He's a career 34.9 percent shooter from distance on 1.2 triple tries a night (in just 17.6 minutes), but he'll be wide open a lot with opposing defenses keyed in on Maxey, Embiid and George most of the time.
In 44 games for Brooklyn last season, the 6-foot-9 LSU product averaged a career-most 10.2 points on .469/.330/.762 shooting splits, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 0.6 steals a night.
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Category: Basketball
