The Sixers have a deal with last month's 41st overall pick Adem Bona, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports that the center out of UCLA has agreed to a four-year contract worth $8 million.
It was reported at the beginning of this month that Bona was likely set to receive a standard NBA contract and be part of the Sixers' 15-man roster. Now, we know that not only will he be on the team, but it will be for up to four years.
Bona, who will not turn 22 years old until the end of the 2024-25 regular season, possesses immense potential due to outstanding length, supreme athletic tools and a motor that just never stops.
For now, Bona slots in as the Sixers' third-string center behind Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond. While Drummond is under contract for 2024-25 and has a player option for the following season, the Sixers hope that Bona can become their backup center of the future thanks to his aforementioned gifts.
The Sixers' roster now stands at a dozen players, with three spots remaining. Whether or not the team uses one of those spots to add another five remains to be seen, but Bona is somewhat raw -- with issues limiting his fouls and finding any sort of offensive utility on the offensive end of the floor, aside from catching alley-oop passes, standing out as his key weaknesses at the moment.
As the Sixers enter an era with three max contracts on the books for the foreseeable future with Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey all under contract, it will be imperative to add and maintain cost-effective pieces around them. If Bona can become a viable backup center during the lifetime of this deal, it will be a boon for the team.
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