Sixers add Trendon Watford on night 1 of NBA free agency

The Sixers didn’t wait long to make a move. On the opening night of NBA free agency, the Sixers agreed to a two-year, $5.3 million deal with 24-year-old forward Trendon Watford, per multiple reports.

Trendon Watford is a 6-foot-8 ball-handling forward with a massive 7-foot-2 wingspan. He’s coming to Philly on a two-year, $5.3 million deal and averaged 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists across 20.8 mins per game with the Nets last year

Not a bad pickup for a team that got bullied on the glass and needed more size all year.

Sixers add Trendon Watford on night 1 of NBA Free Agency

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Watford, who went undrafted out of LSU in 2021, has split his first four NBA seasons between Portland and Brooklyn.

Last year with the Nets, he averaged 10.2 points, 3.6 boards, and 2.6 assists, while shooting a respectable 33% from deep on limited volume.

He’s not a sniper, but he can pass, handle, and switch defensively — all tools that could help a Sixers bench in desperate need of functional depth.

The positional versatility is a bonus.

According to Cleaning the Glass, Trendon Watford played:

• 11% of his minutes at small forward
• 73% at power forward
• 16% at center

Trendon Watford 2024-25 Season Highlights:

The Sixers were often undersized and outmuscled last season. With Watford, they get a young, cheap option who can give them flexibility across multiple lineups.

It sure helps that Tyrese Maxey loves the guy.

After his Christmas Day explosion against the Celtics last season, Maxey gave a hilarious shoutout to Watford, saying the two are close and that Watford had been talking trash before the game.

“Watford’s always messing with me in Brooklyn like, ‘Yeah, you’ve played (well), done all these nice things in the playoffs and in the Garden, but can you play (well) on Christmas when you want to be with your family?’ He calls me all the time messing with me.”

Watford clearly has some personality, and chemistry with the franchise cornerstone doesn’t hurt. Plenty of roster construction left to be done, but at least now they’ve got a 6’8 Swiss Army knife to help balance the roster.

Solid start to the offseason.

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