Joel Embiid’s injury management, Paul George’s integration and more: A question facing each Sixers player entering 2024-25

Following an excellent offseason, a much-anticipated 76ers training camp will begin Oct. 1.

The team pulled off the NBA’s flashiest free-agency move, adding perennial All-Star wing Paul George to the already-dangerous tandem of 2023 league MVP Joel Embiid and reigning most improved player Tyrese Maxey. Coach Nick Nurse’s staff is entering its second season. Barring injuries — a significant caveat with Embiid and George — the Sixers have the top-end talent, depth, and coaching to be considered among the inner circle of championship contenders.

Still, each new season comes with questions. Here is one for every player on the roster.

Embiid has been candid in past seasons about believing durability (a.k.a. availability) was the only thing keeping him from winning MVP. He played in 68 games in 2021-22, and 66 the following season, culminating in his winning the sport’s top individual honor. He also led the NBA in scoring both of those seasons, then was on a historic tear to start 2023-24 before meniscus surgery sidelined him for two months and hindered his stretch run.

Now, Embiid’s top priority is getting to the playoffs healthy — and staying that way. So will the Sixers load-manage his regular season, given he is still coming off that procedure as well as playing in the Olympics? The team’s medical staff typically maps out the entire season, identifying back-to-back sets or other particularly strenuous times when Embiid would benefit from rest.

Adding George means the Sixers will presumably possess the offensive punch to shoulder periodic Embiid absences. Nurse is also familiar with load-managing a superstar, as he did during Kawhi Leonard’s championship-winning season with the Toronto Raptors.

Yet it would be unfair to call this Sixers regular season completely meaningless. Embiid is also tasked with developing on-court chemistry with George and several other new players. Just look at George’s previous team, the Los Angeles Clippers, who constantly struggled to gain traction because of injury after injury.

There’s not much one can do about bad-luck injuries stemming from being inadvertently clocked in the face, or getting a thumb tangled in a jersey, or a side of the face unexpectedly going numb. But properly navigating these 82 games is paramount to Embiid’s operating at maximum power in the spring.

After all the free-agency fanfare, the on-court work now officially begins for George in his new basketball home.

George is used to collaborating with fellow superstars, from the MVP-era Russell Westbrook with the Oklahoma City Thunder, to Leonard and James Harden with the Los Angeles Clippers. George’s versatility and efficiency — he shot 47.1% from the field and 41.3% from three-point range last season while averaging 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists — should also help him slide in alongside the electric Embiid-Maxey pairing.

» READ MORE: The Sixers had no choice but to commit to Joel Embiid. He has no choice but to live up to his end.

Still, it is reasonable to expect it will take some time for all three players to jell: for George to identify his ideal spots to operate with the ball in his hands and for Nurse’s staff to experiment schematically.

How much time, exactly? To be determined. And that could go a long way in determining the Sixers’ seeding, and playoff path at a competitive top of the East.

The 23-year-old took another significant leap last season, becoming a first-time All-Star and winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award after averaging 25.9 points per game. He also averaged 6.2 assists, demonstrating he could handle lead-guard duties and creating a near-seamless transition out of the Harden saga. Maxey’s production (and patience) were rewarded this summer with a max contract, cementing his status as one of the league’s most exciting young players.

The bad news? The Sixers still struggled when Maxey was the sure-fire top offensive option while Embiid was sidelined, tumbling from third place in the Eastern Conference standings to seventh. The good news? Unless something has gone particularly awry, there should not be many times Maxey plays without Embiid and George.

As the primary ballhandler, Maxey must help George thrive while continuing to take his opportunities to attack the basket and launch from behind the arc. After Nurse publicly (and repeatedly) proclaimed that he wanted Maxey to take 20 shots per game last season, it will be interesting to learn how much that number has been altered with another All-Star now on the team. Steadily improving as a defender is also a constant quest for the 6-foot-2 Maxey.

Oubre was one of the best values in the NBA last season, averaging 15.4 points and five rebounds as a late signing on a veteran-minimum contract. He is now back on a more lucrative two-year deal.

Oubre was an athletic slasher and committed defender while guarding New York Knicks MVP contender Jalen Brunson during the playoffs. But Oubre’s three-point shooting took a dip, to 31.1% on 4.8 attempts per game, an element Oubre said he planned to work on during the offseason.

» READ MORE: Get to know Paul George, other new Sixers through the reporters who covered them

Oubre’s shooting has always been on the streaky side. But assuming he remains in the starting lineup, he should have plenty of open looks with opposing defenses keying in on the three superstars. That also means there is no excuse to launch any ill-advised bombs.

Perhaps the Sixers’ shrewdest move was landing Martin, the versatile forward who signed for less than the Miami Heat’s original offer.

Martin is the quintessential role player, who moves without the ball and is a reliable outside shooter — particularly while connecting on well over 40% of his three-pointers during the last two playoff appearances. His toughness is also an admirable intangible quality, which makes him a quality rebounder and defender.

Still, at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, he is undersize at power forward. Can he hold up there for an entire season? Or is this a position the Sixers aim to upgrade before the February trade deadline? It’s also worth noting that, for now, the 6-8 George is also an option to periodically match up against bigger players on both ends.

Drummond’s return to Philly was another sharp complementary move for a team desperate to withstand the minutes Embiid is off the floor. Just ask Embiid himself, who has called Drummond the best backup center he’s ever had.

Though no longer an All-Star as he was in 2016 and 2018, Drummond is still an elite rebounder (nine in 17.1 minutes per game last season) and starting-caliber force on both ends of the floor. Yet in his previous Sixers stint, Drummond was prone to some head-scratching moments with the ball in his hands. That continued during his two-year stint with the Chicago Bulls.

Is Nurse able to rein some of that in? Projected backup point guard Kyle Lowry, who is unafraid to speak his mind and will be handling the ball for many of Drummond’s minutes, could also help here.

Lowry was a late addition off last February’s buyout market, bringing him to his hometown NBA team and reuniting him with Nurse. This summer, Lowry opted to return on a veteran’s minimum deal.

At 38, Lowry is almost certainly beyond his All-Star days. But he was a productive starter alongside Maxey last season, and remains incredibly respected for his acumen, championship pedigree, and grittiness. He quickly developed a rapport with Embiid and Maxey, as evidenced by their postgame locker-room discussions. He was also teammates with Martin in Miami.

Still, it is likely easier for any leader to make his impact while with a team from the beginning of camp, instead of jumping in two-thirds of the way through a season. The Sixers should get the full Lowry Effect in 2024-25.

Yabusele was a late addition to the Sixers’ free-agency class, following an impressive Olympic run with France.

This marks his second NBA shot, after he was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 2017 but averaged only 6.6 minutes in 74 games over two seasons before going back overseas. He improved his shooting (44.5% from long range with Real Madrid last season) and said he feels more comfortable with his on-court awareness.

» READ MORE: Guerschon Yabusele joining Sixers after breakout performance for France in Paris Olympics

But how will that stack up nightly against NBA competition?

With a 6-8, 265-pound frame, Yabusele does offer more size than Martin at power forward, and said he is also open to playing some small-ball center. Yet Martin still brings significantly more experience — and success — at the NBA level.

Gordon is the latest former Houston Rocket from Daryl Morey’s tenure there to join the team president with the Sixers. And he is expected to fill a familiar role — a sharpshooter to complement the stars.

That did not exactly work out last season, when the 35-year old-Gordon joined a Phoenix Suns team headlined by Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal. Gordon averaged 11 points in 68 regular-season games, and shot 37.8% on 5.8 three-point attempts per game. But that percentage dipped considerably following the All-Star break, and he periodically missed games.

Joining the Sixers offers Gordon an opportunity to prove he can still be a veteran contributor on a championship contender.

Jackson is another veteran addition, after he was traded from the Denver Nuggets to the Charlotte Hornets in a salary-dump move and then waived.

Last season, he flashed his offensive pop as a fill-in starter for the injured Jamal Murray, but his minutes diminished during the playoffs. He fell completely out of the rotation during Denver’s 2023 championship run.

With Maxey and Lowry taking up the point-guard minutes in Philly, how many would be left for Jackson? Is he comfortable playing some off the ball? Does he still have that instant-offense quality that could prove valuable at random points in the regular-season doldrums?

The Sixers held on to their first-round pick, drafting the sharpshooting McCain out of Duke. In the second round, they took Bona, a defense-first big man.

McCain’s deep range, in particular, is an immediately translatable skill. Yet with such a veteran-laden, win-now team, how much can he or Bona realistically expect to play? Even Maxey struggled to crack the rotation during his rookie season in 2020-21.

Still, this is an environment where these rookies should be able to absorb plenty from the stars and longtime role players. They will also be working with a renowned player-development staff, helmed by assistant coach Rico Hines.

Council was one of last season’s feel-good stories, going from undrafted rookie to earning a standard NBA contract. His high-flying athleticism and rugged playing style also immediately endeared him to fans.

Now, he has more stability heading into Year 2. He said he is comfortable with his shot form, the biggest critique of his game coming out of Arkansas. He has watched a lot of film to ensure he is in the correct spot on the floor, at the correct time.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid’s contract extension is the latest example of Sixers’ newfound stability

He also does not give off the impression of a player who will lose his internal motivation. But how does he channel that on this team, when minutes could still be spotty?

Martin was the beneficiary of a cap-space quirk that allowed him to return to the Sixers on a two-year, $16 million deal. Yet that has led to outsiders essentially calling him a human trade chip, which can be an awkward existence for the human involved.

How he handles that mentally will be key for a player who boasts impressive athleticism and versatility but still needs skill polishing at 23. He also has already experienced situational instability, after he was traded twice in a matter of months last year — first from the Rockets to the Clippers in the summer, then from the Clippers to the Sixers in the Harden blockbuster.

But from a front-office perspective, Martin’s contract is a valuable tool in any effort to upgrade the team during the season.

These are the Sixers’ two-way players entering camp. Dowtin, a point guard, returns after joining the Sixers late last season. Edwards is the former Imhotep star and five-star recruit who went undrafted following an inconsistent season at Kentucky. Quinones, who spent the last two seasons in the Golden State Warriors organization, is a late addition after agreeing to a deal this week.

None of these players is expected to be a heavy contributor in 2024-25. But there will inevitably be regular-season stretches, such as when injuries strike or veterans rest to keep bodies fresh, when they will be called upon to step up.

And Council (and Dowtin, for that matter) is proof that strong play in those instances can be rewarded with legitimate NBA money.