ESPN’s Shams Charania has reported that the Sixers will be signing Jabari Walker to a two-year standard contract. Walker hasn’t been able to play for Philadelphia since Feb. 3 after playing the maximum 50 games on his two-way contract.
With Cameron Payne returning to the team as well, the Sixers roster will be filled out with 15 players.
Details of this contract haven’t come out just yet, but Derek Bodner of PHLY has been doing some math on when the Sixers can use two prorated minimum contracts while staying under the luxury tax. Doing so now seems to signal that they were able to.
Walker’s promotion will also open a two-way spot for the team to use. Bodner reports former Brooklyn Net and Allentown native Tyrese Martin will fill that slot.
Walker, who played in 45 of those 50 active games will suddenly come as some much needed depth for a Sixers team; Payne and Martin as well. As the last two games before the All-Star break showed, it only took a couple guys getting sick for the team needing to play Kyle Lowry extended minutes.
Walker’s averaged 12 minutes a night putting up 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in that time. He’s given the Sixers some solid hustle off the bench, in the 76th percentile for defensive rebounding rate while having career-highs in block and offensive rebounding rate, per Cleaning the Glass.
Martin, 26, is a combo guard who stands at 6-foot-6. He played his college ball at Rhode Island and UConn before being selected in the second round by the Golden State Warriors in 2022. He was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a draft night deal. He spent two years in the G League before getting a two-way deal with Nets ahead of last season. Brooklyn converted him to standard contract in 2024-25, but recently waived him on Feb. 5 after a busy trade deadline.