The Philadelphia 76ers have already moved to address a problem that’s hard to ignore this early in the season: the center rotation is thin, and it’s getting thinner.
Joel Embiid has been available so far, with the usual exception of back-to-backs, but the depth behind him has looked shaky. That pushed the front office to take the first formal step toward a fix by applying for the disabled player exception after Ariel Hukporti’s season-ending injury in the preseason.
Hukporti was brought in on a one-year deal to help stabilize the middle after winning a championship with the Knicks last season. Instead, his Philly debut went sideways almost immediately. Just five minutes into his first preseason appearance for the 76ers, he suffered a non-contact Achilles injury that ended his year before the regular season even got going.
That leaves Philadelphia sorting through a limited group of bigs, and most of them are either injured or dealing with limitations of their own. Even if the 76ers are granted the exception, which is worth $1.7 million, the job won’t be finished there. The team would still have to create room by trading or waiving a player before it can use the exception.
Still, that’s a meaningful opening for a front office trying to patch a long-running issue. The 76ers didn’t seem likely to be in this position entering the season, since the roster does include multiple centers on paper. But injuries and the inexperience of that group have kept the problem alive.
The open market doesn’t offer much help either. There aren’t many experienced big men available, so the most practical path may be to take a chance on a younger player and hope development can fill the gap.
Philadelphia can’t afford to let the issue sit. With Embiid carrying the load at center, the 76ers need more stability there, and they need it now. They’re trying to build an ambitious but realistic push for the title, and another breakdown in the middle would be a costly way for that plan to go off track.
In Other News...
Sixers Could Catch Pacers At The Perfect Time Wednesday
Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe are expected back in the 76ers lineup Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers, giving Philadelphia a major boost after both sat out the previous game with injuries. Even with those reinforcements, the Sixers are still working around several absences of their own, including Dominick Barlow, Tacko Fall and Jabari Walker, so the rotation is not exactly at full strength yet.
Still, the timing could matter. Indiana arrives with its own injury concerns, and the Pacers have several players on the report, including some key names who are either out or in question for the matchup. For a Sixers team trying to stabilize itself, this is the kind of spot where getting Embiid back can change the feel of the night quickly, even if the full picture on the other side is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Adem Bona Just Put Real Pressure On The Sixers Backup Center Race
A recent run of minutes gave Adem Bona the kind of opportunity the 76ers have been waiting to see him seize. In 25 minutes, he finished with six points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, a line that underscored why the coaching staff had already envisioned him as part of the center rotation. With injuries thinning the big-man group and Andre Drummond gone, the pathway behind Joel Embiid has opened wider than expected.
Bonas case is built less on scoring than on the traits Philadelphia needs most when Embiid sits: activity, rim protection and work on the glass. The competition for backup center minutes is still shaped by who is available, but Bona has clearly put himself in position to be the primary option off the bench. For a team trying to preserve Embiid while staying solid in the frontcourt, that is no small development. [Read more 🡒]
Why The Nets Wanted No Part Of Jaylen Brown
Before Jaylen Brown ever got to Philadelphia, the Nets apparently had a chance to bring him to Brooklyn and passed. According to league insider Brian Lewis, Boston floated Brown in trade talks, but Brooklyn declined in large part because of his close relationship with Kyrie Irving, a connection the organization apparently did not want to revisit after the turbulence of Irvings run there.
For the Sixers, the backstory is part of the larger appeal of landing a player who has settled in and produced right away. Brown is performing well this season, and while the Brooklyn angle is mostly a what-if now, it helps explain why his arrival in Philadelphia mattered beyond the normal trade chatter. The Nets may have had their reasons for staying away, but the Sixers are the ones benefiting from what they saw as a clean fit. [Read more 🡒]