Report: Ryan Broekhoff agrees to new deal with Sixers

The Philadelphia 76ers first picked up Ryan Broekhoff for the remainder of the 2019-20 season as they got ready to go to the NBA’s Orlando bubble. They needed shooting, and Broekhoff fit the bill as a cheap option for extra depth. Unfortunately, he was never able to join the Sixers, as his wife who is high risk for COVID-19 tested positive. Seeing as they have a young son as well, Broekhoff understandably decided it was best to be with his family instead.

Now, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported, Broekhoff will be joining the Sixers for next season after agreeing to a new deal.

Update: Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported that Broekhoff’s contract is non-guaranteed.

Broekhoff has only appeared in 59 games and played just 633 minutes through his first two seasons in the NBA, but the 30-year-old has at least continued to show that he can shoot. He’s shot 40.3 percent from three on 144 total attempts, demonstrating his fairly quick release and some ability to shoot off movement. For someone at the bottom of the Sixers’ rotation, who likely won’t be receiving many minutes unless there are injuries or starters/key role players need rest, it’s always good to have extra shooting.

However, Broekhoff doesn’t address any of the team’s primary remaining weaknesses. Clearly the Sixers couldn’t have added a high-level perimeter creator with their taxpayer MLE (worth $5.7 million) or a minimum deal, but they could have focused on other areas besides a forward who’s pretty much only on the floor for shooting.

Even with the addition of a dynamic guard like rookie Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers could still use another experienced point guard for some extra playmaking and ball handling. They’re also fairly short on solid wing defense once you get to the bench (besides Matisse Thybulle), and they don’t have a stretch 5 to provide a different look at center and serve as a floor-spacer next to Ben Simmons.

The Sixers now have 14 players on their roster, with far better offensive balance and shooting than last season. I’d expect the top five players listed below will be the new starting lineup (the bench players are listed in no particular order):

1. Ben Simmons
2. Seth Curry
3. Danny Green
4. Tobias Harris
5. Joel Embiid
6. Shake Milton
7. Matisse Thybulle
8. Furkan Korkmaz
9. Tyrese Maxey
10. Dwight Howard
11. Mike Scott
12. Tony Bradley
13. Ryan Broekhoff
14. Terrance Ferguson

It’s always seemed logical that rookie sharpshooter Isaiah Joe will get the 15th spot on the roster, with rookie big man Paul Reed likely being given a two-way contract.

While Broekhoff’s place at the end of the bench may not be very significant, it always helps to even out every spot on the roster as best as possible and acquire different skillsets. Moving forward, it’s worth keeping an eye on whether the Sixers consider using some of their backups — such as Scott and/or Ferguson with a second-round pick, for instance — to trade for a new player who could better address some of their second-unit weaknesses.

Daryl Morey has also kept the taxpayer MLE (or most of it, if some is used to sign Joe), so he’ll at least have some extra spending at his disposal for the buyout market which can help the Sixers outbid teams left with no more than minimum contracts.