Breaking down Sixers’ roster and key questions still to answer with offseason dust settled

Breaking down Sixers’ roster and key questions still to answer with offseason dust settled originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Last summer’s look at the Sixers’ depth chart was full of enormous asterisks. James Harden remained on the team, PJ Tucker was in line for another opening-night start, and everything was subject to dramatic change.

A year later, the Sixers have 13 players under contract and an agreement with Guerschon Yabusele. Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in July that the team planned to enter the season with one roster spot open below the 15-player maximum. There’s no need to load any projection with caveats and contingencies.

So, with Day 1 of training camp scheduled for Oct. 1 in the Bahamas, let’s run through a tentative initial depth chart and highlight a few intriguing questions about the 2024-25 Sixers:

Starters

Tyrese Maxey — Kelly Oubre Jr. — Paul George — Caleb Martin — Joel Embiid

Three holdovers here from the Sixers’ playoff starting unit last year in Maxey, Oubre and Embiid. Though Sixers head coach Nick Nurse loves Kyle Lowry’s still-effective resistance against larger players, Oubre, George and Martin sure sounds like a versatile trio defensively.

Bench guards 

Kyle Lowry — Eric Gordon — Reggie Jackson — Jared McCain — Jeff Dowtin Jr. (two-way contract)

With 38-year-old Lowry, 35-year-old Gordon and 34-year-old Jackson, the Sixers aren’t short on second-unit guard experience. Whatever his precise role, Lowry should be helpful in acclimating new Sixers to Nurse’s system.

Bench wings and forwards 

Guerschon Yabusele—Ricky Council IV — KJ Martin — Justin Edwards (two-way contract) — David Jones (two-way contract)

Yabusele, Council and Martin may very well compete internally for rotation minutes at training camp and during the preseason.

Bench big men

Andre Drummond — Adem Bona

A rebound-hungry veteran and a shot-blocking rookie behind Embiid.

Where should the Sixers be strongest? 

Basketball’s not solely about scoring, but we’ll note that Maxey, Embiid and George combined for 83.2 points per game in the…

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Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-08-26 00:45:33

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