The Philadelphia 76ers may have former top draft pick Ben Simmons ready for their NBA season opener, but Joel Embiid's status is still up in the air.
Drafted with the first pick in 2016, Simmons suffered a fractured fifth metatarsal which forced him to miss the entire campaign as he had to wait to make his highly-anticipated Sixers debut.
The 21-year-old, however, is now fit and healthy ahead of Philadelphia's opening game of the season at the Washington Wizards on October 18.
With the addition of Markelle Fultz in the draft and J.J. Redick in free agency, the 76ers will have many more weapons than they have had in recent years. But head coach Brett Brown still plans to deploy Simmons as a point guard.
"There is a vision-line at 6-10 that he has that T.J. [McConnell] doesn't have," Brown told reporters the 76ers' luncheon on Wednesday.
"And so seeing things from that vision-line and then having the intellect to see things a little bit quicker than others is a powerful combination as a passer."
Having Simmons, Fultz, Redick and Embiid on the court at the same time is a dream come true for the 76ers.
But it is a scenario they will have to wait on as Embiid recovers from surgery to repair his torn meniscus in March.
Philadelphia have no timetable for the oft-injured big man.
"To be able to specifically tell you what I'm about to get out of him next week, I'm not able to do that now," Brown said.
"But in regards to playing five-on-five basketball and when that can actually happen, right now we can't give you a direct answer."
