What Johni Broome Brings to the Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers have traded cash to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Johni Broome and a 2027 second round pick.
Johni Broome is a 24-year-old 6’10” center. In his latest college season, Broome averaged 18.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 2.1 blocks. A very well-rounded statline of scoring, rebounding, and defense. He even shot 28% from three and received NBA comparisons to Wendell Carter Jr.
Fast forward to the 2025 NBA draft, Broome was selected by the Sixers with the 35th pick. He received no real opportunity to play any rotational minutes for the main roster and was instead delegated to the g-league. Broome dominated the g-league as a rookie by posting a statline of 22.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.4 blocks. These averages are very similar to his recent college season and shows he is able to dominate at any level he’s been up against so far.
This is why taking a chance on a young center that has dominated the field on both ends is a very low risk, high reward move. Broome is set to be given a chance against NBA competition, and considering his history, he is yet to struggle against his opponents.
It will be very interesting to see if Broome can translate this play to the main roster. There are genuine concerns about his skillset which may result in him getting very limited opportunities for the Clippers as well. At 6-foot-10, he is slightly undersized at the center position. This could be more forgiving if he had a reliable shot, however, he shot 28% from deep in college and 31% from deep in the g-league, respectively. These types of shooting splits allow NBA rosters to let you shoot so working on his shot should be a priority heading into his second NBA season. It is still possible, however, to be a productive undersized center at the NBA level that cannot shoot. Jarrett Allen is the epitome of this. Allen stands at 6-foot-9 (don’t let the afro fool you) and is a pure inside center.
Broome is also very unathletic for his position. When watching him play, it appears his body weight is slowing him down. Personally, it looks similar to watching Julius Randle run around the court. At the draft combine, he posted a 24.5-inch standing vertical and a 28-inch maximum vertical. Regardless, his defensive numbers seem to hold up as he is a high IQ defender. He appears to be similar to Draymond Green in a sense where he won’t kill you with his shooting or athleticism but his ability to showcase an all around skillset, especially a high IQ defense, will be very valuable at the NBA level.
The Clippers are at a point post-Zubac trade where they are looking for a center of the future to replace him. Considering Brook Lopez is the 5th oldest player in the league, he is not written in long-term for the direction of this new Clippers roster. Isaiah Jackson, despite being a reliable backup center, does not have a high enough ceiling to eventually fill in the void that trading Zubac has created. Yanic Konan-Niederhauser is considered the best bet for the Clippers. However, due to limited rotational minutes in his rookie season up until injury, there isn’t enough sample size to gauge what he will be for this team long-term, meaning the Clippers need to continue searching. The team also signed 7-foot-5 center Jamarion Sharp to a two-way contract in hopes of giving him an opportunity to see if they struck gold. Finally, the Clippers obtained Johni Broome to give another promising young player a shot at becoming the next franchise center.