Shortly after winning the 2020 NBA Championship, the Los Angeles Lakers lost their big man to the Philadelphia 76ers.
They didn’t win a ring last season, and he’s not Dwight Howard, but history has repeated itself this off-season.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Sixers just signed Mo Bamba, who was recently released by the Purple and Gold.
Free agent C Mo Bamba has agreed on a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, @PrioritySports’ Mark Bartelstein and agent Greer Love tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2023
Bamba didn’t see the floor a lot while in Los Angeles, making just nine appearances (one start) for Darvin Ham’s team.
He averaged less than 10 minutes per game when he did play and was often out with injuries.
Even so, he was reportedly one of the Lakers’ targets for their 14th — and final — roster spot, with Tristan Thompson being the other likely choice.
Bamba was unable to keep his foot on the gas after averaging double digits in points for the first time in his career in the 2021-22 season.
Still, he’s quite young and could give the Sixers a serviceable rebounder and rim protector while Joel Embiid is out with a breather, and given Joel’s history of injuries, he might have an expanded role from time to time, or they could even coexist on the floor in given sets.
Bamba was supposed to be one of the next stars in the league, a shot-blocking and rebounding machine with shooting range, but that never happened.
Even so, he could have a similar role to the one Chris Boucher had with Nick Nurse’s Toronto Raptors, as he boasts a similar skill set and a higher ceiling.
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