Nick Nurse is heading into the 2026-27 season with something every NBA coach wants and not every NBA coach gets: options.
The Sixers’ roster is packed with players who can shift roles, slide up and down the floor, and let Nurse mix and match almost on the fly. Dominick Barlow put it plainly last week when he told PhillyVoice, "I think it's exciting, just knowing that we have the versatility to play a bunch of different lineups and have guys that can play a bunch of different spots," Dominick Barlow told PhillyVoice last week.
"We might go really big depending on who we're playing, or we might go really small. So I think just having variety is definitely a positive thing."
With the summer’s biggest work now behind them, the Sixers can start looking toward training camp and the season. And with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and Joel Embiid all giving Nurse different ways to build a five-man unit, the lineup possibilities are wide open.
One of the cleanest versions puts Embiid and Maxey at the center of everything: Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Dean Wade, Dominick Barlow and Joel Embiid. The point of this group is simple enough.
The Sixers have enough high-usage talent that Nurse can keep multiple scorers on the floor while staggering the stars, but the lineup tool from Basketball Index warns that the projected starting five could run into diminishing returns. That’s where Wade and Barlow matter.
Wade’s defense and low-usage style give the unit balance, while Barlow brings more of the same kind of value without needing the ball. The setup also lets Embiid and Maxey stay locked into the two-man game that has become one of the NBA’s most dangerous recent combinations, with Edgecombe adding another handler and a spot-up threat.
Another intriguing look is built around James and shooting: Tyrese Maxey, Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade, LeBron James and Adem Bona. This group would be designed to score, not necessarily to stop anybody.
James operating with multiple shooters and a roller has long been one of the league’s most dependable offensive formulas, and this version gives him that structure. Maxey would get more chances to work off the ball, Simons would stretch defenses as one of the league’s elite three-point shooters, and Wade would help cover for some of the defensive strain created by a Maxey-Simons-James trio that is not ideal on that end.
Bona’s rim protection and lob threat would also matter if the perimeter defense breaks down.
The Sixers also have reason to think about how they handle Edgecombe’s development. A lineup of VJ Edgecombe, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Dean Wade, Dominick Barlow and Joel Embiid would put the rookie back in a more active ball-handling role.
That matters because Edgecombe was on the ball far more than expected during his 3,000-minute rookie season, and he made big strides. He has the profile of a strong two-way role player at just 21, but the Sixers may still want stretches where he gets to function like a point guard again.
Embiid would still be the anchor, but the lineup would give Edgecombe the chance to keep building on the two-man game he began developing with Embiid last season.
There’s also a version built to cover for the roster’s biggest question mark: backup center. The weak spot right now is the depth behind Embiid, with Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti still unproven.
That opens the door for more flexible frontcourts, including one where Wade, James and Barlow can all spend time at the five, with Jabari Walker also able to fill that role. A group like that would give the Sixers a ton of switchability on the perimeter, while Wade and James help on the glass to make up for Barlow’s rebounding profile.
And then there’s the simplest idea of all: let Jaylen Brown take over. Anfernee Simons, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, Dean Wade and Adem Bona is the kind of lineup built to clear space and hand Brown the keys.
With James in Philadelphia, the Sixers do not need Brown to create every shot the way they did when they acquired him from the Boston Celtics. But his scoring volume still matters, especially when James or Embiid sits.
Brown finished sixth in NBA MVP voting last season after putting up 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, and the Sixers can lean on that kind of self-created offense in bursts. The catch is that Basketball Index was not especially high on the group, which fits the concern that Brown’s turnover-heavy, ball-dominant style can be tricky as the centerpiece of an offense.
Still, in the right stretches, Philadelphia can ask him to carry the load and keep the team afloat.
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