Sixers

Pathways to the Sixers Solving the Backup Center Issue

By Sean Barnard

Published: Nov 13th, 2026 · 9:16 AM EST

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The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Despite star-studded additions like LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, the continued development of Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe, and impact role players like Dean Wade and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, one of the biggest critiques of this Sixers roster remains the lack of backup center talent behind Joel Embiid.

Ariel Hukporti’s season-ending Achilles tear heightened this concern. Dominick Barlow has yet to take the floor this season because of a back injury, Adem Bona has missed time with a cervical spine sprain, and Tacko Fall has also dealt with injuries, delaying his debut until last Friday in Cleveland, which amounted to a few garbage time minutes. Jabari Walker has been the biggest bright spot among the available options, but his 6-foot-7 frame limits the traditional rim protection he can provide.

The game-changing runs that opposing teams used to produce when Embiid left the floor, along with the ridiculous plus/minus splits, have not been as evident with the other stars capable of carrying the offensive load. However, the lack of available center options also forces Embiid to shoulder a heavier workload than he should be asked to handle at this stage of his career. Through his first five appearances of the season, Embiid was logging 35.0 minutes per game, above his previous career high. Recent blowout losses to the Celtics and Cavaliers, along with a blowout win over the Bulls, have helped bring that average down to 31.5 minutes per game. But even still, this ranks 54th among all NBA players and seventh among centers. 

There was a pretty clear challenge from new President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey for Embiid to get on the court more frequently this season. While that is great in theory, and Embiid has largely answered the bell to this point, the main goals of getting him to the postseason healthy and winning a championship cannot be lost.

One of the major positives in the early few games was the increased mobility shown by Embiid on the defensive end. The weight he lost in the offseason was obvious, and he was backing up his quotes about wanting to return to the All-NBA caliber of defender he has proven to be in the past. But his movement has not been the same in recent games, and the entire Sixers’ defense has felt its impact. He’s battling a plantar fasciitis issue that is surely a factor in this movement. This isn’t an issue that seems like it will truly go away, but it will require management throughout the year. The unfortunate reality is that there may not be a fully healthy version of Embiid at this stage of his career, but the closer he can get to his peak and remain there, the better.

The pathway to finding ways to get this rest is much murkier. Philadelphia is hard-capped at the first apron, which they trigged in three different ways from their offseason moves. This means they cannot go above the roughly $209 million limit at any point this season. While they intentionally entered the year with an open roster spot, their limited financial flexibility makes adding even a veteran-minimum contract difficult. That equation will become easier as the season progresses and contracts become prorated, but the Sixers still have to operate within their hard-cap restrictions.

However, there are still a few options the Sixers have on the table to improve their short-term outlook at the big-man spot.

Take Another Two-Way Flyer

Two-way contracts are available to players with three or fewer years of NBA service and allow them to play in both the G League and NBA. They can be active for up to 50 NBA regular-season games. The Sixers currently have Fall, Caleb Love and Rayan Rupert occupying these slots.

Standing 7-foot-6, Fall would theoretically be a potential solution to this exact problem. However, he has logged only 4:14 of NBA game action this season, exclusively in garbage time opportunities. The 30-year-old had not appeared in an NBA game since the 2021-22 season before returning this year. There are legitimate concerns about whether his movement is good enough to hold up in today’s NBA, even under the best of circumstances, and it is evident that Nick Nurse does not have much trust in him as an option.

There is reason for optimism about both Love and Rupert as potential NBA players in the long run. But Love is a score-first shooting guard, while Rupert is a toolsy wing with a hopeful profile as a three-and-D player if his shot can fully come together. Unless the Sixers have significant belief in their long-term ceilings, moving on from one of these players in favor of someone who better fits the team’s immediate needs feels like a small price to pay given the expectations for this season.

Two-way contracts do not count against the salary cap in the same way as standard NBA contracts, making this one of the more financially accessible ways for Philadelphia to explore an upgrade. The Sixers could theoretically make a move like this without taking on the same type of salary commitment required for a standard roster addition. Taking a flyer on a productive G League rebounder is at least worth considering. These are far from the cream of the crop names, but the risk-reward calculation makes sense given the team’s current situation.

Get Healthy

Bona has his flaws even when fully healthy, but he is the clearest option on the roster to fill the backup center role. It was a mixed bag of results through his first nine games, but Bona brings endless energy and a level of rim protection that no one else on the roster possesses. The UCLA product posted averages of 2.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks across 14.2 minutes per game before his injury. There will still be frustrating stretches with Bona’s unnecessary fouls and poor hands, but the flashes are real.

Barlow has become a bit of a forgotten man to start the year. But he is an example of the success story that can come from a two-way contract, starting last season on that type of deal before earning a starting spot right from the opening game. He has been sidelined with a back issue and has yet to take the floor this year. However, Barlow has been spotted going through shootaround and participating in basketball activities. He is not an ideal center either at 6-foot-9 and with a relatively slight frame, but his versatility and energy would provide another useful option.

Neither player is a one-stop solution to the Sixers’ limited options, but simply getting functional bodies back would be a major positive. Having Bona available as a traditional backup center and Barlow as another versatile frontcourt option will give Nurse more flexibility with his rotations and help reduce the burden on Embiid in a way the options don’t currently offer.

Make a Trade

The only other pathway for the Sixers to add talent at the big-man spot is through the trade market. Given the limited assets they have to work with, it makes sense to keep their powder dry and ensure no better opportunities emerge later in the season. But the calculus has shifted based on how the year has unfolded. The sense of urgency has increased, and the internal conversations about Embiid’s health likely play a role in that.

However, you must give to get in any negotiations, and teams certainly will not be lining up to help the Sixers given their current high-profile rosters. The two most likely candidates on the roster are Justin Edwards and Labaron Philon Jr. Edwards carries a cap hit of approximately $2.4 million, while Philon Jr.’s rookie deal is valued at approximately $3.6 million for this season.

Edwards once appeared to be on a clear path toward becoming an impactful three-and-D rotation player and has shown some real flashes in a Sixers uniform. But he has played just 14 total minutes this season and has not established himself as part of the inner circle of trust in Nurse’s rotation. There are still teams that may talk themselves into the upside of a former highly regarded recruit finding a larger role in a new situation. Swapping him for a player who provides more positional value makes sense as a possibility for Philadelphia.

It’s a more complicated conversation when it comes to Philon Jr. The Alabama product has shown some impressive flashes in his limited opportunities and is less than a year removed from being the engine of a college offense in which he posted averages of 22.0 points and 5.0 assists while shooting 39.9% from beyond the three-point arc. There is a case that Philon Jr. already has one of the best handles on the entire Sixers roster. Moving on from a talented, cost-controlled rookie for a short-term backup-center solution is not an advisable move in most circumstances.

Given the salary-matching requirements for NBA trades, there are only so many realistic names available in these types of swaps. Jericho Sims (MIL), Jalen Smith (CHI), Yves Missi (NOP), Dylan Cardwell (SAC), Tony Bradley (UTA), Nick Richards (MIA), Thomas Sorber (OKC), Moussa Cisse (DAL) and Charles Bassey (GSW) are names that make some sense to varying degrees.

Full Outlook

The reality here is the Sixers need to take their blows to some extent for the time being. More options will continue to pop up as more players are available to be traded after the December 15th deadline when players who signed this past offseason are eligible to be dealt, and the buyout market begins to materialize.

Philadelphia did receive some financial flexibility after being approved for a disabled player exception following Hukporti’s season-ending injury. The exception is worth approximately half of his salary, or $1.7 million. However, this does not reduce the Sixers’ team salary or provide $1.7 million in direct cap relief. Instead, it gives Philadelphia another mechanism to acquire a replacement player, subject to its first-apron hard cap and the other restrictions that apply to the roster.

The more time that passes, the easier the financial equation becomes to balance, and the more options could appear as the rest of the league’s hierarchy establishes itself. In the grand scheme of things, surviving the non-Embiid minutes is not as daunting a task as it once was with other players capable of carrying the offensive load. But for this to become the championship-caliber team the Sixers aspire to be, how they address the backup center position will be a storyline worth monitoring throughout the season.