The Philadelphia 76ers struck gold when they signed Guerschon Yabusele late last offseason to a one-year, $2.1 million contract. Yabusele’s production far exceeded expectations as he averaged 11.0 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 38.0% from 3-point range. However, the French native signed with the rival New York Knicks this offseason.
Losing Yabusele leaves the Sixers without a true starting caliber power forward. The organization revamped their depth at the position by signing Trendon Watford and Jabari Walker in addition to selecting Johni Broome in the second round of the draft. One of the key storylines heading into this season will be who steps up out of that group to claim the starting spot at power forward.
Out of that group, Watford possesses the best combination of current production and potential. He signed a two-year, $5.3 million contract with the Sixers this offseason. The 24-year old is coming off a career-best season with the Brooklyn Nets where he averaged 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 20.8 minutes per contest. At 6-foot-8 and 237 pounds, Watford has at times struggled to defend other power forwards.
While he is at best a serviceable defender, Watford has developed into a useful role player offensively. Despite not being the best athlete, he has managed to become a crafty finisher around the basket. Watford is shooting 70.4% on shots at the rim for his career. He has the touch and balance to succeed attacking around the rim, particularly through the use of his floater. Watford has also flashed an ability to stretch the floor, tallying multiple seasons of shooting better than 39.0% from 3-point range. However, his outside shooting floundered under an increase in volume last season, falling to 33.0% from deep on 2.0 attempts per contest.
The passing ability Watford provides from someone his size is what makes him an intriguing and versatile player for the Sixers. He has the court vision, passing chops and ball handling to potentially be a secondary playmaker. Watford’s passing and success scoring at the rim give him the versatility to operate the pick-and-roll as both the driver or the one handling the ball. For a team that sorely lacked any semblance of secondary shot creation, Watford’s addition to the roster should open up more options offensively.
While Watford provides more of a finesse offensive skillset, Walker brings a different style of play to the table. Despite being just 6-foot-7, Walker manages to play with power and physicality. He is a versatile defender with the strength to battle inside and the foot speed to step out and defend on the perimeter. Walker, a 2022 second-round pick, is also a strong rebounder. He averaged double-digit rebounds per 36 minutes in each of the past two seasons. His best season came with the Portland Trail Blazers back in 2023-24 when he averaged 8.9 points and 7.1 rebounds in 23.6 minutes per game.
The biggest questions about Walker center around whether he can make a big enough impact offensively to warrant playing consistent minutes. On that front, Walker took some major strides forward last season. He shot under 30 percent from beyond the arc on low volume through the first two seasons of his career. However, his 3-point shooting jumped last year to 38.9%. If that increase in efficiency can be sustained, there is an easy path to Walker having a role in Philadelphia.
The Sixers also added Broome via a second-round pick in the draft. Some might question Broome’s ability to play minutes at power forward. He does not have the foot speed to step out and defend opposing power forwards on the perimeter. However, the Auburn grad does have the tools to be a strong interior defender. He was a highly productive player in college, particularly as a rebounder. Broome averaged 9.5 rebounds per game over the course of his five-year collegiate career.
Similarly to Walker, the path for Broome playing any minutes at power forward centers around his questionable outside shooting ability. He was unable to effectively stretch the floor while in college, shooting just 30.2% from beyond the arc. However, he shot the ball well in summer league action, knocking down 38.9% of his attempts from 3-point range.
back to back threes for @JohniBroome 👌 pic.twitter.com/yMAKaiPdqP
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) July 12, 2025
If Broome can develop into a more capable outside shooter, he should have a path to playing some minutes as a stretch four. However, he is best equipped to play around the basket where he can make good use of his size, toughness and rebounding ability. Even in the best case scenario for Broome’s development, he is only going to be a minor part of the Sixers’ rotation at power forward.
Philadelphia did not have many assets to use this offseason. As a result, they added multiple low-cost role players at the power forward position in the hopes one of them can step into a larger role. Watford is the most likely to get the first crack at the starting job due to his offensive versatility. Walker, if he can consistently space the floor, has a chance at earning consistent minutes. Broome could receive some time playing forward minutes, especially if he improves his outside shooting. The Sixers also could look to play some small-ball lineups that have veterans Paul George or Kelly Oubre Jr. at power forward.
Will the organization’s plan to replace Yabusele at power forward pan out this season? A rotation including Watford, Walker and others could prove to be an effective patchwork solution. However, there is also significant risk none of these players are capable of scaling up into a 25-plus minute per night role. In the end, the Sixers made a solid attempt at using the minimal assets they had to salvage the power forward position. It is not glamorous in any sense, but this patchwork could prove to be successful for this coming season.