Every Tuesday, I pick three reader-submitted questions to dive into in our weekly Sixers mailbag. But lately, the number of interesting questions asked has been quite surprising considering the time of year we are in.
When that happens, the only option is to write a bonus mailbag:
*From @cgiff.bsky.social:*Do you think there’s a world where this team can crack .500 without Joel Embiid in the starting lineup, and with some (unreliable) version of Paul George?
The Embiid-less Sixers should not struggle as significantly as they did last year – Tyrese Maxey should be noticeably better than he was then, it is hard to imagine George having a less-productive season than his first in Philadelphia, and the supporting cast otherwise figures to be better, from full seasons of Quentin Grimes and Jared McCain to development from younger pieces like Justin Edwards and Adem Bona.
With that being said, being a .500-caliber team without Embiid is not just something the Sixers fell far short of last season, it is something the organization has only done once in the last half-decade:
Season Sixers record without Embiid
2020-21 10-11
2021-22 6-8
2022-23 11-5
2023-24 16-27
2024-25 16-47
The Sixers are not a completely hopeless team when Embiid is out in terms of personnel; Maxey is a star, George is still good and players like Grimes, McCain and even Kelly Oubre Jr. are capable of going on a scoring binge on any given night. But they have too many pitfalls, even in a barren Eastern Conference, for anyone to have the expectation that they are a .500 team without Embiid.
Embiid's offense carries much more weight than his defense in a vacuum, but his value as a defender might be harder for the Sixers to replace because they just do not have the manpower. Bona has a real chance to be a quality backup center next year; Andre Drummond was once just that but looked like a player who was over the hill last season.Those players will have to do enormous amounts of work defensively to keep the Sixers from bottoming out on that end of the floor. Bona is incredibly active and mobile with tremendous shot-blocking ability, but still has issues with fouling and discipline. Drummond's mobility was so shaky last year that just about any spaced-out offense could exploit him at will. He has never been much of a rim protector, either.
And then there is still the offense, which the Sixers prefer to revolve around Embiid. Without him, Maxey goes from his idealized role as a secondary scorer around Embiid to an overtasked primary option. George's diminished on-ball explosion will be at greater risk of being exposed without Embiid. Periodic explosions from Grimes and McCain go from luxuries to necessities.
The Sixers won about a quarter of their games without Embiid last year. Outperforming a .253 winning percentage should not be a challenge. Doubling it seems unlikely.
MORE: Is there a pivot if Grimes accepts qualifying offer?
*From @jaxhatessports:*Curious if you have any thoughts on what lineups might look like on back-to-back days? I’d imagine we’ll see more three-guard rotations but also maybe more Justin Edwards?
I have written a bit already about how the Sixers' rotation might vary depending on the availability of Embiid and George, with the most depth on it here. Whenever the Grimes situation reaches some sort of resolution and there is complete clarity on what the Sixers' roster will look like entering the 2025-26 campaign, I will have plenty of material on how head coach Nick Nurse's rotation will look in various scenarios.
There are a few players in line to benefit from Embiid and George's lack of consistent health. For Embiid, the obvious names are Bona and Drummond, and perhaps rookie Johni Broome can work his way into the mix at some point during the season. It gets more interesting with George, who has always been a small forward or wing nominally but within the context of the current Sixers roster is set to be a vital presence at power forward.
If George is unavailable, the Sixers are already grasping for straws as they try to piece together 48 minutes at the four. Edwards definitely will have to slide up to that spot on multiple occasions during each game if George is out. Nurse could even try Oubre at the four if the opposing team is going small.
But Nurse will need to be able to bank on at least one true power forward to play a noticeable number of minutes there. Trendon Watford is the clear leader in the clubhouse, but two-way signee Jabari Walker can be a serious consideration as well. If both of those players pop, having a lesser reliance on super-small-ball lineups would not hurt.
The games without George in particular feel like the ones to be more aggressive using three-guard lineups, and Grimes figures to be the most important component of those. Maxey, McCain and VJ Edgecombe will often be far too small of a trio to survive defensively unless Nurse can get them at the top of a wacky zone that causes enough confusion to work. The Sixers have a better chance pulling it off with any combination of those two guards and Grimes playing up at small forward, even if that is far from his natural spot.
MORE: Everything you need to know about Sixers' 2025-26 schedule
*From @2317Nba38306:*With Oubre being an expiring on a rather reasonable but cheap salary, and given the backlog of guards/wings, what are some reasonable trade targets for Oubre if they were to make a move?
If the Sixers are still focused on short-term contention by the time trade talks accelerate this winter, moving Oubre on his $8.3 million expiring salary would only make sense if Edwards' development continues to impress to the point that Oubre is truly expendable.
Whether or not the Dallas Mavericks ever become interested in trading P.J. Washington remains to be seen. If the Sixers have a strong year and Washington is available, he is a perfect fit and a player the Sixers should be willing to trade for knowing he is about to be due for a new contract. For now, though, that seems unrealistic. Some other options if the Sixers want to use Oubre to plug their hole at the four:
• Royce O'Neale is small for a power forward based on his listed measurements but has never had a problem holding up there. If the Phoenix Suns are not competitive this season and want to get younger and/or shed long-term salary, a deal sending O'Neale to the Sixers for Oubre and any other player on the Sixers roster aside from Broome works financially.
• If the Indiana Pacers grow willing to sell off more pieces from the team that came one win away from a title, Obi Toppin is a perfect offensive fit for the Sixers as a stretch four with the ability to put the ball on the floor and be a lethal weapon in transition. The Sixers would need to trade Oubre, Drummond and any other player on their roster for the money to work there.
• Oubre is better than Georges Niang, but not by so much that it is entirely implausible to suggest that flipping him to bring Niang back into the fold would not make the Sixers better come February. Niang was just salary dumped to the Utah Jazz, and they appear comfortable waiting until the middle of the season to try to flip him. A one-for-one swap works financially.