Sixers Reunited With Veteran Big Man for Workout Ahead of Free Agency

The Philadelphia 76ers formed a reunion with Tony Bradley this week.

Nov 3, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Furkan Korkmaz (30) passes the ball past Chicago Bulls center Tony Bradley (13) during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

This week, the Philadelphia 76ers hosted a handful of free agents for a workout ahead of free agency, which will take place next month.

Former Houston Rockets forward Sam Dekker was a part of group reuniting with Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey for a day.

While Dekker’s name stood out, he wasn’t Morey’s only former player to partake in a workout for the Sixers this week. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, the veteran center Tony Bradley was included.

Although Bradley’s time with the Sixers was short, his 20-game run had a big impact on Philadelphia’s trade deadline moves in 2021.

Averaging 14 minutes on the floor, and even picking up eight starts in the absence of Joel Embiid, Bradley averaged a career-high 68 percent from the field. He produced six points per game, and came down with an average of five rebounds.

As the Sixers looked to land a veteran to join their backcourt ahead of the 2021 playoffs, Bradley’s impressive run in the absence of Embiid led the Oklahoma City Thunder to trade for him in exchange for the veteran guard, George Hill.

That trade became the third time Bradley was moved in the same season. Prior to landing in Philadelphia, Bradley was moved to the Detroit Pistons from the Utah Jazz. Detroit flipped Bradley to the Sixers in exchange for the former first-rounder, Zhaire Smith.

Since his time with the Sixers, Bradley had a 22-game run with the OKC Thunder, and appeared in 67 games across two seasons with the Chicago Bulls. After averaging ten minutes in his first season with the Bulls, Bradley’s playing time dwindled further. By February 2023, he was waived by Chicago. Since then, Bradley has been a G League participant.

The Sixers have plans to acquire a star-caliber player this year, but they’ll have to find low-cost veterans to fill out the roster. Bradley could be an affordable depth piece to the center position.