Johni Broome ultimately didn't get to be part of the NBA's next superteam, the 2026-27 Philadelphia 76ers. Per ESPN's Shams Charania on Tuesday, "The Philadelphia 76ers are trading C/F Johni Broome and a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for cash considerations, sources tell ESPN. The deal allows the 76ers to stay under both first and second aprons while signing LeBron James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope."
There were rumblings that Broome could be waived, so it's a positive for Auburn Tigers fans to see one of the program's all-time big men retain enough trade value to be sent away in a deal. Even if the Sixers had to attach a future second-round pick to get off of Broome's salary.
Broome won't be one of the big men playing with LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, and Tyrese Maxey, with the potential to be in big lineups alongside Joel Embiid. Worse yet, former Alabama Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon will get the chance to run with those stars.
Still, instead of battling Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti for backup minutes at the 5, since Dean Wade will likely eat up plenty of minutes at the 4 behind LeBron, Broome enters a potentially ideal situation in Inglewood.
There's context to that statement. But it could all work out.
Johni Broome would have a better LA situation with a proper Kawhi trade
Broome would be in a much better spot in the event the Clippers completed their Kawhi Leonard trade with the Toronto Raptors. The deal wouldn't only be the best thing for Leonard's career, since it would reunite him with the team he won a title with during his lone season in Toronto, but it'd give Broome a rebuilding situation to get chances in.
Of course, the Kawhi trade is being held up by a suspect third-party contract he had with Aspiration, which Google Gemini describes as a "sustainability-focused financial technology company that sold green consumer banking products, carbon offsets, and tree-planting services." The thought was that Steve Balmer used the now-defunct for-profit corp to circumvent the salary cap and pay Leonard under the table. It's pretty obvious something was shady there, but the NBA may not be willing to risk the Leonard homecoming angle with any punishments. There is a faint possibility that the trade would be voided if the NBA found any wrongdoing and actually did something about it.
If/when that deal is completed, LA would land Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap, and second-round picks in 2030 and 2033. Ingram is an underrated distributor, and with Darius Garland already in the backcourt, Broome would benefit from playing alongside two rapidly improving table-setters as a roll man or pick-and-pop threat.
Broome was essentially a salary dump, but he doesn't need to fade away on the West Coast. If anything, he could have the kind of pro emergence his former Auburn frontcourt teammate Dylan Cardwell has had on the Sacramento Kings if the Clippers aren't trying to acquire vets to play in front of their youth if/when the Kawhi trade is completed.
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