CAMDEN, N.J. -- New stars and new pieces mean that the Philadelphia 76ers need to make some subtle changes to their offense. Coach Nick Nurse knows and understands that there will need to be some changes and it will start with his resident star big man.
With the additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, two stars who like to operate in the mid-post, that means Joel Embiid will need to find new spots on the floor to work out of. James, Brown, and Embiid all can't sit in the same space so that means Nurse and Co. are working on finding a way to make it all work. While Embiid will have his moment in the middle, there will be times when Philadelphia needs to move him around a bit.
"I think that we are trying to move him around the floor a little
more frequently, right?" Nurse acknowledged. "I think that so far, so good. It's up to us to figure out some movement patterns or sets, if you want to call them that, movement patterns where he ends up in different places. And you're right, we're going to have to because we're going to need to open up the middle, the nail, the top, for some other guys, too."
Embiid is still a dominant force when he's healthy. He averaged 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in the 38 games he played in 2025-26. Make no mistake, despite the presence of James and Brown, it would be in the best interest of the Sixers if they made sure Embiid was still heavily involved in this offensive attack. He is a great passer, he can still score at a high level, and he has to be one of the stars of this team's universe.
However, throughout camp, it helps to put Embiid in different spots and have the Sixers figure all of that out.
"I think it's a really important step for our team," Nurse added. "I said this a lot last year too, the variety. If he's spaced someplace, if he's posting, if he's at the top, then he's spaced someplace. He's posting. I think that's going to be better than four at the top and all that, right? So I think that's what we're hoping to get to."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Nick Nurse hints at new offensive role for Joel Embiid as Sixers move
