Doc Rivers Reveals Plans for Joel Embiid’s Backup

Will Montrezl Harrell or Paul Reed become Joel Embiid's backup this season? Doc Rivers and the big man weigh in.

The 2022-2023 NBA season will be another year the Philadelphia 76ers have made changes behind their star center, Joel Embiid. Two seasons ago, the Sixers’ new front office brought in Dwight Howard to serve as Embiid’s backup for one year.

After Howard packed up and moved back to Los Angeles, Daryl Morey and Doc Rivers convinced the former Detroit Pistons All-Star Andre Drummond to join the team. Drummond held it down behind Embiid for 49 games, but the Brooklyn Nets requested the big man in the trade that sent the ten-time All-Star guard James Harden to Philadelphia.

Following Drummond’s departure, the Sixers toyed around with lineups involving Paul Reed, Paul Millsap, and DeAndre Jordan. Reed arguably had the best run out of all of them, considering he took on the backup minutes during the 2022 playoff run. 

But the Sixers weren’t convinced he was the long-term solution just yet. Therefore, Philadelphia signed the veteran big Montrezl Harrell just weeks before training camp in Charleston.

Both Reed and Harrell picked up plenty of time in the preseason. And both bigs stood out on both sides whenever they took the floor. One would think since Harrell is a seasoned veteran with a notable Sixth Man of the Year accolade to his name, he would win over the spot to become Embiid’s backup by default. 

Doc Rivers said since the beginning of camp that Reed and Harrell weren’t in a position battle as they’ll be working together this year by rotating in the backup center spot. Following training camp and four preseason games, the Sixers' head coach continues to push the narrative.

“That’ll be fluid,” said Rivers regarding the backup center position. "There will be times where one will play, there will be times where both will play. One will play the four at times with Joel, so it’s good to have them both.”

Both Reed and Harrell are suited to play power forward, but the former has been consistently viewed as a hybrid between both positions throughout the offseason. While Rivers isn’t hesitant to play Harrell at the four, he’s made it clear he prefers Harrell at the backup five spot.

Either way, they are both on pace to collect minutes behind Embiid this season. And whatever Rivers decides, the big man is totally fine with it, as he’s just focused on doing his own job.

“That’s on coach to figure that out,” said Embiid. “I think we got a lot of talent, and they got tough decisions to make. I’m not a coach, but we got a lot of talent. We got a lot of guys that can play, so we just gotta get everybody on the same page.”

Harrell’s experience — especially playing under Doc Rivers — certainly makes him the logical candidate to have to pick up consistent minutes behind Embiid right away. But Rivers continues to stick to the idea of having the two backup bigs rotate minutes and positions moving forward. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.