CAMDEN, N.J. -- The Philadelphia 76ers have an issue at the moment after losing Ariel Hukporti to a ruptured Achilles in the preseason opener on Monday. The backup center spot to Joel Embiid is a bit in flux at the moment with Hukporti out for the season and Adem Bona dealing with an injury at the moment. Even Dominick Barlow is dealing with a back issue.
Therefore, coach Nick Nurse will have to get creative with those backup center minutes. There's Jabari Walker, of course, but Nurse has other options he can turn to as well and he plans to look at every avenue.
"I mean Dean (Wade) would be another candidate," said Nurse. "I guess you can call him a small 5. He's pretty good sized. I think LeBron (James) is another candidate. I think he's played
some small-ball 5 as well. It's like four or five guys. So, I think that we'll probably go with that crew unless something else emerges."
The idea of James playing the center spot is interesting. He certainly has the size and toughness to do so, but he is also 41 going on 42 in December. AS the season continues, Nurse and his staff will have to figure out the backup 5 spot, but there are options in-house to handle it until they can make a move.
Due to CBA rules and because they are hard-capped at the first apron, the Sixers cannot make an addition to the roster until Dec. 4. That is when they'll be able to add somebody and bolster any weak spots on the roster.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Nick Nurse talks backup big man spot for Sixers after preseason injury
