Sixers forward Jabari Walker did not know his June trip to Morocco, organised by the National Basketball Players Association, would foreshadow his future roster. Among the players he spent time with on the trip were Jaylen Brown, then of the Boston Celtics, and unsigned centre Tacko Fall. Brown was traded to Philadelphia in July, and Fall later signed an Exhibit 10 contract.
The bond has carried into the Sixers' locker room, where Walker's new spot sits two seats between those of Brown and Fall. Walker, who shot 3-for-5 from three-point range in Monday's preseason opener, has drawn praise from Brown for his rebounding and shot-making. Brown said Walker has done what the coaches have asked since training camp.
Fall, a 7-foot-6, 299-pound centre from Senegal, is competing for a two-way deal. A hip injury suffered early in camp will keep him out for at least two weeks. He and Brown go back years, including a two-year stint together with the Celtics that included 26 of Fall's 37 career appearances. Fall told PhillyVoice that Brown is one of his daughter's godfathers. "We're very similar in the way our minds work," Fall said.
