It's no secret that the Philadelphia 76ers are dealing with some thin depth when it comes to the center spot.
Beyond Joel Embiid's injury concerns, the Sixers have just two true centers under standard contracts on the roster: Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti. Factor in the injury that Bona is currently recovering from, and the Sixers have just one center who's guaranteed to make the final roster beyond Joel Embiid, on the court at the start of training camp.
Considering the Sixers have an open two-way slot, it's a great opportunity for them to add another big man without having to make any additional roster moves. Tacko Fall could be that guy, but it turns out that the Sixers are wasting their time on that experiment.
During the second day of training camp, Fall suffered a hip injury. The Sixers announced that he would be re-evaluated after practice. An MRI revealed that Fall is dealing with a hip strain, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. He is out for at least two weeks.
The plan for Tacko Fall
I can't get in the head of Nick Nurse, but I can hear him out and get the feeling that the Sixers weren't totally confident in Fall's ability to separate himself and steal the final two-way slot. And if I'm right, then why were they wasting time here?
When asked about the plan for Fall following the second day of training camp, Nurse simply said that they are just looking at the veteran center. "Just look at him and see what happens," Nurse told reporters. "I wouldn't..." the head coach said before redirecting his sentence.
You wouldn't what? Guarantee Fall a spot on the roster? Well, we already knew that, considering he signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Sixers. More often than not, those guys end up waived and on the NBA G League team, if not moving overseas.
Nurse wasn't ruling out the possibility of Fall winning a two-way slot, but he surely isn't giving a tip on who might be in the lead right now. "He would be in the same category as five or six of the other guys. We still have a two-way spot that’s open. There’s some guys fighting for that possibly. He would be one of those guys," Nurse said.
Maybe the 76ers added Fall for size--using him as a body for camp before dumping him off to Delaware. If that's the case, then hopefully they have eyes on another player across the league.
The 30-year-old entered the NBA in 2019. His size made him a viral sensation when he was a member of the Boston Celtics, but none of that helped him carve out a real role there. Fall played in just 26 games for the Celtics across two seasons. Then he played in 11 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2021-2022. Since then, he's been out of the NBA.
The 76ers have revived former Celtics players before (hello, Guerschon Yabusele), but they won't hit on that every time. The third two-way slot should certainly be a center, but the Fall project is feeling like a long shot for success.
Hopefully, the Sixers have a plan B in mind.
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