Sixers 2021 NBA mock draft: Charles Bassey can be backup to Joel Embiid

A new mock draft has the Philadelphia 76ers selecting Charles Bassey with the 28th overall pick.

The Philadelphia 76ers have a lot of questions to answer and issues to address in the 2021 offseason. While one is what to do with Ben Simmons, another is figuring out the bench situation.

The team had veteran Dwight Howard off their bench in the 2020-21 season and he filled the backup role behind Joel Embiid quite nicely, but he is a free agency heading into the offseason. There is no guarantee he will be back with the Sixers on opening night in October, so Philadelphia might have to address that upcoming issue.

Now, the Sixers could definitely trade this pick in order to bring in a veteran who can help them right away, but a mock draft performed by CBS Sports has Philadelphia selecting Western Kentucky big man Charles Bassey at 28:

Philly needs to find an answer at its backup center spot. I can think of no better way to complement the NBA’s most dominant interior force in Joel Embiid than with one of college’s most physically imposing bigs in Charles Bassey. Coming off a knee injury, Bassey destroyed Conference USA last season and he has made significant strides as a rebounder and shot-blocker. He might struggle defending in space but there’s immense value for a big who can do what he does.

Bassey averaged 17.6 points 11.6 rebounds and a robust 3.1 blocks as a junior with the Hilltoppers, and he can be a guy who can shore up the backup big man spot behind Embiid. If the Sixers decide to make this selection, they could look into the backup big man spot or they can try and add a ruthless scorer off their bench such as Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland for example.

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