The Philadelphia 76ers looked to keep Joel Embiid as fresh as possible during the regular season and looked to bolster the team’s cushion at center behind the superstar this summer. They did so by signing Andre Drummond in free agency and drafting Adem Bona, who fell to them in the second round.
However, given Embiid’s grueling injury record, many have called for the 76ers to sign another big-name player. They haven’t done so yet, but they actually targeted a big-name free agent player not too long ago to serve as additional insurance.
However, he is now out of the game following this latest development.
The 76ers were supposed to be looking for Free agent Killian Tillie earlier this month. Although he went undrafted in 2020, the 26-year-old began his career as a backup in Memphis, though a back injury caused him to miss significant time and ultimately knocked him off the roster.
Tillie last played in the NBA in 2022, but he was reportedly considering a return to the NBA, with both the 76ers and Warriors expressing interest. However, it appears that is now a virtual impossibility as he has just signed a one-year contract play in Spain with Unicaja Malaga.
While this is by no means detrimental to the 76ers given that there are still other options on the market, Tillie would have still been an acceptable addition as an emergency big man. Philly needs all the help they can get to bolster their center rotation and ease the load on the 2023 MVP.
Hopefully Embiid can finally string together a solid season. Plus, the 76ers really need Drummond to deliver, especially given his reputation as a top backup center in the NBA. A quick calibration from Bona would also be icing on the cake (and a necessity to replace Embiid whenever he misses games).
Next. not staying. 5 players who might not last the entire 2024-25 season with the 76ers.
