Bucks Sign Former 76ers Big Man to Bolster Depth in Preseason

The Milwaukee Bucks are already the third NBA team for forward Johni Broome, and they are hoping this is the stop that finally works out.

The Bucks announced on Tuesday that they signed Broome and waived center John Butler Jr., and Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported that Broome's deal is non-guaranteed, which means the former Auburn star has the rest of the preseason to earn his place.

The Philadelphia 76ers took Broome with the 35th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but he barely got a chance as a rookie.

He played in only 11 games and 55 total minutes for Philadelphia and spent most of the year with the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League, where he averaged 21.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 26 starts.

That run ended early when he had surgery in late February to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Philadelphia traded Broome to the Los Angeles Clippers in July, and they waived him on Sept. 24 before he ever played a game for them.

The Bucks signed him less than two weeks later, and the team's announcement pointed to what he did in college, where he made the 2024-25 consensus All-America first team at Auburn and finished with 1,594 career rebounds, the 17th-most in NCAA history.

Broome has talked about the G League before, and he was open about it with the Philadelphia Inquirer during his rookie season in November 2025.

"Wherever I'm at, I'm going to try to compete and get my work in," Broome said. "If they want me to go down to the G League and play, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give it my all."

The signing does not look tied to an injury, since the Bucks have not reported one before Wednesday's game at Oklahoma City.

Milwaukee already has center Myles Turner, center Kel'el Ware and forward Jericho Sims up front, plus center Jake Stephens, so Broome is starting near the bottom of the list.

Ware had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the preseason loss to Minnesota on Monday and looks like a big part of the future, but I like a team in Milwaukee's spot taking chances on young players who rebound and play hard.

Milwaukee has an open two-way spot, and a few good weeks could be enough for Broome to grab it.

What I want to see is whether he can stay on the floor at this level.

His G League numbers were strong, but he made just 4 of his 24 shots in the NBA last season, and that has to get better before head coach Taylor Jenkins trusts him with real minutes.

Two players are already expected to be cut before the opener, so the door is open for him to stick around.

The Bucks play at Charlotte on Sunday and host Chicago on Oct. 14 before the regular season starts on Oct. 21 in Washington.

They also visit Philadelphia on Oct. 24, which would be a fun reunion for Broome if he is still around.