The 76ers made their frontcourt move Saturday, converting center Tacko Fall to a two-way contract at the same time Joel Embiid was drawing a line around how Philadelphia wants to operate.
The team’s roster decision points to a need for help up front. ESPN described the Sixers as needing frontcourt help, and the conversion came after injuries thinned that part of the roster. But Embiid’s message after the preseason finale was about something else entirely: he does not want the team’s stars framed as players who must give way for one another.
“I’m against the concept of sacrificing,” Embiid said.
He added: “I don’t think anybody has to take a back seat.”
That is the tension sitting at the center of Philadelphia’s preseason. The Sixers are adding size and depth where they need it, but their best players are being asked to fit together without the usual language of hierarchy and sacrifice. Embiid said the approach should be simpler than that.
“I think the way I explained it was you do what you do best, and we’re going to support you,” he said.
The roster move itself is a reminder of how practical the frontcourt situation has become. Fall has not played in an NBA game since the 2021-22 season, and this will be his fourth season in the league. He most recently played for the Ningbo Rockets of the Chinese Basketball Association. Before that, he spent his first two NBA seasons in Boston, where he played alongside Jaylen Brown, now a Sixers forward.
Philadelphia’s preseason ended Friday with a 125-120 overtime loss to the Celtics, but the game also offered a glimpse of the offensive shape the Sixers hope to carry into the regular season. Embiid led the way with 27 points on 7-of-13 shooting, plus eight rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes. Tyrese Maxey added 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting with six assists, and the two were described as dazzling in the third quarter as the starters looked sharp.
Embiid had one of the night’s biggest highlights when he threw down an emphatic dunk in the third quarter. Afterward, he said, “I thought I would never dunk again.”
That line landed with some weight because it came in the same game where he looked comfortable enough to produce like a centerpiece and explosive enough to punctuate it with a highlight. It also came with the regular season opener looming Tuesday night against the Knicks, when Philadelphia will start getting a clearer answer on how its star-heavy group and its frontcourt depth fit together.
For now, the Sixers have made both parts of the equation visible. They added Fall for size, and Embiid made clear he does not want the team’s stars to be defined by what they give up.