The Philadelphia 76ers are still struggling mightily without Joel Embiid. While it is not unusual for any team to fare worse without its best player, the odd part about this is that this team has yet to find an answer that can get them at least neutral results. This has been the state of affairs for the franchise since the late 2010s, and up to now, they seem to be clueless on how to tackle the problem.
Currently, the 76ers have no one in their pipeline who can make life easier for them without the former Most Valuable Player, even by just a tad. Adem Bona is probably the player who has the highest ceiling among their backup big men, but the sophomore has not really instilled a lot of confidence yet for the front office as to his feasibility long-term.
There is no replacing Embiid, who is a top-five player in the NBA when he is fully healthy. However, the 76ers do not really need someone who can replicate what he is capable of doing. They simply need someone who can keep them competent on both ends at center. So far, that has remained an elusive undertaking for the franchise.
The 76ers still do not have someone who can step in for Joel Embiid
As good as Bona has been in his own right, the 76ers probably do not envision him as someone who can end up becoming their full-time starting center in the future. After all, he is a second-round selection who fills a particular niche –– the likes of which do not necessarily warrant a prominent and permanent footing moving forward.
The soon-to-be 23-year-old is your prototypical young center who can provide vertical spacing and rim protection. Those are valuable traits to have for a big man at this point in time where jumbo-sized players have returned to the mainstream, but his game is too limited for the 76ers to treat him as a viable fill-in for Embiid on a constant basis.
The 76ers will keep being uber-conservative with Embiid moving forward –– and that is really the only way they can preserve his body and keep their chances of winning games higher than the inverse of that. That makes it imperative for the front office to ferret around the market and go through their scouting reports to find their big man for the future. Hopefully, they can find a real solution sooner than later.