Paul Reed Making Solid Case to Back Up Joel Embiid

As Paul Reed continues to thrive, he's making a case to become a backup for Joel Embiid.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ front office didn’t leave too many question marks on the roster once the trade and free agency markets opened up over the summer. As Doc Rivers considered this past summer to be a “targeted” offseason in terms of player acquisitions, the Sixers got precisely what they needed after bringing on De’Anthony Melton, PJ Tucker, and Danuel House.

The only area of concern months before training camp was the backup center spot behind Joel Embiid. Last season, the Sixers started the year with Andre Drummond, who was beginning to look like the most reliable backup of Embiid’s career.

But when the Brooklyn Nets demanded the veteran big man as a piece in the trade that netted the Sixers James Harden, Daryl Morey couldn’t let Drummond be the reason why the 76ers couldn’t land the ten-time All-Star.

Following the short-lived Drummond era in Philly, the Sixers attempted to roll with Paul Millsap, who came over with Harden. The former All-Star proved to the Sixers that there wasn’t much gas left in the tank. The Sixers attempted to patch up Millsap’s struggles with the free agent acquisition of DeAndre Jordan. The former Los Angeles Laker was in the same boat as the veteran he replaced.

Rivers had a hard time trusting the former second-round pick Paul Reed, but he had no choice but to utilize the young big when the playoffs rolled around. Fortunately for the Sixers, their former draft pick did a job well done and earned the trust of Rivers.

With that being said, Reed and Charles Bassey being the only prospects behind Embiid, still raised a question mark behind Embiid ahead of training camp. Therefore, the Sixers went out and signed the former Sixth Man of the Year, Montrezl Harrell.

While it’s widely believed that Harrell will win the backup center spot by default, considering he’s proven and played his best basketball for Doc Rivers on the Los Angeles Clippers, it seems Reed is keeping himself relevant with his head coach as he’s garnered reps not only behind Embiid in practice but at power forward as well, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Sixers coach Doc Rivers said he will use a combination of Reed, Harrell and P.J. Tucker to back up Embiid throughout the season. But so far, Reed has been getting the reps at that position while also playing power forward. “I was a little shocked,” he said of being the backup center. “But at the same time, I still want to stay humble, you know? I don’t want to get too bigheaded, you know? “I want to keep doing what I’m supposed to be doing so I can keep earning more trust and keep getting more minutes.”

It was clear when the Sixers signed PJ Tucker he would be a small-ball five option in addition to his starting role as the team’s power forward. While it was assumed Harrell would take up most of the minutes behind Embiid regardless, Paul Reed’s consistent growth is making it hard for the Sixers to stash him away on the bench.

Monday night’s preseason opener against the Brooklyn Nets was a good example of how this offseason’s been going for Reed. As Embiid got the night off following a week-long training camp, Reed got the nod to start over Harrell for the Sixers.

In 20 minutes of action, Reed scored three of his four field goal attempts and went 4-4 from the free throw line to collect ten points. He also had five total rebounds, along with three steals and a blocked shot on the defensive end. Best of all? He kept his fouling in check, with three fouls in 20 minutes.

While Harrell had himself a solid night before he fouled out in 11 minutes, Reed’s performance was a good stepping stone towards winning a role in the primary rotation. While he might not garner consistent minutes in every game, Reed is on pace to play more than he ever did with the Sixers in his third NBA season. 

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