Should the Sixers Draft a Backup Center With the 16th Pick?

The Danny's extended off-season dive into the Sixers' options with their first-round pick continues this week with a look at potential Paul reed replacements (sorry AU).

The playoffs couldn’t have gone much worse for Paul Reed. 

On top of the Sixers getting outscored by 44 points in the 43 combined minutes he played against the Knicks, BBall Paul quite literally lost millions of dollars due to his team’s first-round exit. Back in July of 2023, Reed signed a three-year, $23.6 million dollar deal with the Utah Jazz as a restricted free agent, which the Sixers then matched soon after. In an extremely on-brand move from Utah’s CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge, Reed had only locked up the first $7,723,00 of his deal, with the stipulation that his deal would become non-guaranteed if the team he played for failed to make it past the first round of the 2023-24 NBA playoffs. 

Thus, projecting the four-year center out of DePaul to still be on the Sixers’ roster by the opening day of next season is a much more shaky proposition than it was just months earlier.  Unless he’s still on the team by Jan. 10, 2025, Reed can be released by the Sixers without the team needing to pay off his salary or take any kind of hit against their salary cap.

Despite playing very well as a reserve in the prior two postseasons, BBall Paul was unable in the Knicks’ series to solve the Sixers’ never ending problem or self-destructing whenever Joel Embiid isn’t on the court. The team now has an opportunity to open up even more cap space should Reed be released, and it’s becoming increasingly likely that there’s a new backup center in Philadelphia next year. 

NBA draft experts certainly seem to think so, as Jonathan Wasserman projected the Sixers to select Indiana center Kel’el Ware with the 16th overall pick in back-to-back Bleacher Report mock drafts the past two weeks, while Tankathon has the Sixers taking Duke center Kyle Filipowski, and Baylor center Yves Missi is almost always slotted to a team picking in the mid-teens. (There’s still a high probability that Daryl Morey moves the pick, but until the deal is called in, no one will have any idea what the full trade would look like, and thus, operating as if the Sixers are making that draft pick at the No. 16 is a more than worthwhile exercise). 

Here’s a look at those three potential backup centers, and whether or not it would make sense for the Sixers to take any one of them in this year’s NBA draft: 

Kel’el Ware — Indiana, Center

2023-24 Stats: 15.9 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.9 BLK, 0.6 STL, 42.5 3PT%, 62.1 TS%, 

Measurements: 6-foot-11.75, 230 pounds, 7-foot-4.5 wingspan, 20.1 years-old

The pitch for Ware is pretty simple — he’s an utterly gigantic human being who can somewhat shoot and somewhat move. It’s really hard to find guys like that, even at the highest levels of basketball. It’s why true seven-footers with any level of mobility are never out of a job in the NBA. 

Even if it’s on an inconsistent basis, guys like Ware make plays that most people can’t even physically fathom. 

Ware had a disappointing freshman season at Oregon in ‘23, but post-transfer emerged as Indiana’s best player this past season, racking up 15 double doubles in 30 games, and anchoring the Hoosiers’ defense with his rim protection. Though his technique and awareness are far from perfect, it’s hard to teach length, and Ware often forced opponents into awkward misses around the basket with his near 7-foot-5 wingspan, or straight-up volleyball spiked the layups into oblivion. 

Though Ware has impressive flashes of straight-line speed when running the floor and is far from being flat-footed, NBA teams will almost exclusively use him in drop coverage when defending pick and rolls. He might be capable of playing a “high drop” near the level of the screen, and even him late switching onto a guard should be tenable in a few settings, but standard deep drop is where his weaknesses (footwork, positional feel) are less likely to be exposed. 

One of the few games where Indiana tried having Ware hedge above the screens or show at the level resulted in Northwestern shredding him play after play. 

While Ware’s defensive projection is straightforward, his offensive game is nothing short of bizarre. The 42.5% clip from three immediately jumps off the page, but he only attempted 40 triples the entire season, and most college defenses did not defend him like a stretch big. He certainly has shooting touch and a solid form up top, though his base on his jumper can only be described as “extremely wide.” I’m usually against shot-form shaming, but needing to spread the legs this far apart on a three-point attempt usually limits the versatility and volume a player’s jumper (unless they’re an upper-echelon skilled shooter like Jared McCain). 

Ware is a reliable lob finisher, and against severely undersized opponents, he could be an absolute bully inside. He’s a huge fan of hook shots and fadeaway jumpers over his left shoulder when posting up inside, though again, he was much more eager to demand the ball inside when he had a clear advantage. On the rare occasions where IU faced a team who could match Ware’s height, he’d go through prolonged stretches where he faded in-and-out of the offense, rarely touching the ball and not doing much to try and get it. 

He oscillates wildly between looking like a seven-footer coordinated enough to bring the sky hook back, versus being the classic center who is too weak and too ungraceful to handle any kind of physicality inside. 

Though he’s certainly a different flavor of the archetype, Ware brings a lot of the same things to the table that Mo Bamba did, and it’s why coaches like Nick Nurse will trust him. He has the true size needed to bother NBA offensive players, a three-point stroke just good enough that he can make defenses pay for leaving him open, and enough passing vision that the ball doesn’t completely die when it hits his hands. The mention of Bamba’s name could understandably scare off most Sixers fans given his level of play this season, but truth be told, “better shooting, more mobile Mo Bamba” would be a pretty quality backup center in the NBA. Better Bamba is a fairly reasonable outcome for Ware. 

If the Sixers take a center at No. 16, the goal is for that player to be a reserve. Playing solely in backup center minutes, Ware’s weaknesses — such as lack of feel on in space, his left hand finishing, and his poor handle — don’t matter nearly as much. The Sixers don’t need a diamond in the rough with this pick, they just need someone who can be a quality backup center, and there’s plenty of reason to believe Ware can be just that.

Yves Missi — Baylor, Center

2023-24 Stats: 10.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 0.4 APG, 1.5 BLK, 0.6 STL, 62.2 TS%

Measurements: 6-foot-10, 229.4 pounds, 7-foot-2 wingspan, 20.0 years-old

If Ware fits into the Bamba archetype, then Missi offers a new rendition of the Bball Paul model, though his basketball origin story sounds more like an Embiid redux. He moved from Yaoundé, Cameroon, to the United States in 2021, about the same time as when he first started playing basketball, as he was much more of a soccer player to that point in his life. He then got very tall, kept his quick soccer feet – and thus, an incredible draft prospect was born. 

Missi isn’t a true seven-footer, but he compensates with his long wingspan and incredible movement skills. Though his footwork and discipline are still a work in progress, he’s a coverage-versatile big, capable of playing drop, blitzing, or switching against all ball screen actions. 

He explodes vertically off the floor, reaching a very high apex when jumping to contest shots – and more importantly, he’s an extremely quick leaper. Missi requires little load time before launching himself up into the air for a thunderous block. Bigs who can oscillate between swatting shots in drop coverage and containing guards on a switch don’t just grow on trees.

That’s not to say Missi is a flawless defensive prospect. If he was, he’d undoubtedly be going in the top five of this draft class. As is the case with many skinny centers who still have room to put on muscle, Missi gets moved inside by bowling ball post-up options, who can turn him to the inside rather easily. Still, the number of methodical post-ups Missi will have to see from back-you-down, low-center-of-gravity specialists is pretty minimal. It just means he’ll struggle with the post-up monsters like Nikola Jokic, and will occasionally get buried inside by someone like Ivica Zubac. It’s an extremely common problem for skinny rim protectors like Missi and far from a red flag. 

Missi is somewhat raw on the offensive end of the floor. Posting up with his back to the basket, he can often lose balance or badly miss the shot he’s attempting, and he did not attempt a single three all season. 

However, despite being a total zero with his jumper, Missi was able to contribute to five-out spacing in the Baylor offense by operating as a dribble-handoff hub at the top of the key. He has an incredible motor to constantly screen and re-screen at the top of the key no matter how many of his guards call for a pick. It’s rare to find bigs who are comfortable dribbling into handoffs on the perimeter to set up teammates, but it’s actually what Missi accels most at. His handle is the most underrated aspect of his game. Missi has some impressive dribbling skill for an otherwise underdeveloped offensive prospect. It also makes him an intriguing pick and roll partner with Tyrese Maxey, who saw doubles and blitzes throughout the season, yet couldn’t trust Reed and Bamba to pay him off in the short roll. Missi has ways to go as a passer, but can certainly use any runway Maxey gives him to drive at the rim and detonate.  

And of course, Missi loves using that leaping ability to put an unsuspecting defender on a poster should they get in his path. 

Missi understands that he’s at his most dangerous when he rolls hard to the rim after setting a screen, or just slips the screen entirely to get downhill before the defense is set. His ability to dive at the rim possession after possession keeps pressure on the defense to account for him at all times, and would be a great fit in the DHO heavy offense that Nick Nurse instilled for the Sixers this past season. 

Though for every Missi roll that ends in a dunk, every jab crossover that ends in an impressive finish, there’s a play where he tries to go at the defense and fails in pretty jarring fashion. He does not have the physical strength to move defenders with his shoulders, nor does he have the polish to slow down and shoot over defenders after attacking them at one speed. His tape is littered with awkward misses that leave you wanting more. 

Much like Bamba and Sixers centers before him were treated as safer options over Reed, Ware is probably the safer pick than Missi, though the line there is pretty thin. However, Missi’s upside is by far the highest of any center the Sixers could take at 16, his handle and mobility are that good. He’s still new to basketball, yet was already capable of being one of the best players on one of the best college teams in the country, and showed great learning progression with each passing game. 

There’s a feasible world where the Sixers take Missi, and within three years, he’s one of the best backup centers in the entire NBA, a player who’d be capable of starting for all of the teams without a Joel Embiid in front of him. 

Kyle Filipowski — Duke, Center

2023-24 Stats: 16.4 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.5 BLK, 1.1 STL, 34.8 3PT%, 57.3 TS%

Measurements: 6-foot-10.75, 229.8 pounds, 6-foot-10.5 wingspan, 20.6 years-old

If you only remember one thing about Filipowski, remember this —the dude absolutely loves to try a spin move no matter the situation. From day one in the NBA, he’ll compete with Julius Randle and Pascal Siakam for the title of the league’s preeminent Beyblader. 

Of the three centers discussed in this article, Filipowski has the most refined offensive game, which is unsurprising given he’s the oldest of the trio and already played two high quality seasons at Duke. He’s not a high-flying lob finisher like the other two, but has a polished handle, a great feel for passes, and a workable jumper. Should he catch the ball on the perimeter in an NBA game, defenses will be forced to close out and guard him at all times, as he’s extremely comfortable either letting it fly or putting the rock on the floor. 

The playmaking is by far the most enticing part of his game. Similar to how it’s hard to find bigs who can move like Missi, it’s hard to find centers that can pass like Filipowski. 

Though his raw average of 1.5 blocks per game looks good on paper, Filipowski is a far weaker rim protector than both Ware and Missi. He’s the only one with a negative wingspan, and though he’s not an incapable leaper, he’s not an impressive one either. He makes up for his lack of twitchy athleticism with good strength, physicality, and awareness, often timing his contests and rotations very well. It’s why a good number of his blocks come from off-ball rotations rather than on-ball recoveries – though it’s worth noting a large number of his blocks came against the Blue Devils’ weaker non-conference opponents. 

It’s hard to have complete faith in a prospect when one of their major concerns is whether they can hang athletically at the next level. Asking Filipowski to serve as a defensive anchor for reserve units in the NBA might be too big of a stretch, and even though he’s an extremely talented offensive player, he’s not so dominant a scorer and passer that it completely nullifies any defensive concerns one might have. 

Draft Breakdown: Jared McCain and Devin Carter — Two Potential Sixers First-Round Picks

However, whereas Missi and Ware would never share the court with Embiid in serious minutes, it’s not hard to envision Filipowski stepping in as a 4 in spot minutes and pairing well with the Sixers’ MVP. I hate making this comp because it’s just “big white guy = big white guy”, but thinking of him in the mold of a Kelly Olynyk is worthwhile (granted, Olynyk was much better at Gonzaga and is probably the absolute ceiling outcome for Filipowski).  He might get burned defensively by any wing he has to keep up with, but the job of every Philly defender gets easier once Embiid is behind them to clean up their mistakes. 

Filipowski’s ability to operate everywhere from pick and pops to short rolls, from isolations to attacking closeouts, could allow him to play next to Embiid without ruining the team’s spacing or ball movement. It’s not a guaranteed perfect fit, but it’s a definite possibility. 

Should the Sixers move on from Paul Reed and pick a new backup at 16? 

Freaking out over 43 minutes — no matter how awful they were — is a bit reactionary. By-and-large, Bball Paul is still the best non-Drummond backup center Embiid has had with him in Philadelphia to this point. 

Of course, bringing up Andre Drummond raises the point that maybe this is a problem better solved in free agency, where a “you know what you’re getting” factor exists. But that’ll both cost the Sixers more of their precious cap space and invite the risk that the Sixers get beat out for the best backup 5 options by other teams. 

Ultimately, if Morey decides not to move off the pick, it’s probably better if the Sixers first look at perimeter prospects like a McCain or a Devin Carter before they consider solving any backup center issues. The absolute peak value of a center pick for a team that already employs Embiid is a backup who plays 15 minutes a game, while the guard/wing they could take at No. 16 at least has a path to becoming a starter, if not more. 

But should all those coveted perimeter prospects be gone by 16, and the Sixers become dead-set on moving off Reed’s non-guaranteed contract, don’t be surprised to see one of Ware, Filipowski or Missi — my personal favorite of the three — end up in a Philly uniform next season.

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Daniel Olinger is a writer for the Rights To Ricky Sanchez, and author of “The Danny” column, even though he refuses to be called that in person. He can be followed on X @dan_olinger.

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