3 out-of-the-box lineups 76ers should unveil after busy offseason

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse is known as one of the best coaches in the NBA. Now, thanks to an extremely busy offseason from GM Daryl Morey, he has a whole new bag of toys to play with.

Philly is Joel Embiid's team, and Tyrese Maxey is the Robin to his Batman. Around those two franchise cornerstones, though, much has changed. Paul George, the most impactful free agent on the market, left the Clippers (after almost being traded to Golden State) to ultimately sign a four-year, $212 million deal with the Sixers. Caleb Martin, who has proven himself to be a valuable contributor these past three seasons with the Heat, followed suit. Buddy Hield was dealt to the Warriors to make room for exciting rookie Jared McCain and veteran sharpshooter Eric Gordon. Andre Drummond returned after two years in Chicago. And in the final splash of the summer, French Olympic revelation Guerschon Yabusele left Real Madrid to sign for the veteran's minimum.

Nurse was masterful in guiding the Toronto Raptors to the 2019 NBA title, expertly mixing and matching a lineup that included Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry (who is returning for a second year in Philly), Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Marc Gasol and others to stop the Warriors from completing their three-peat. With exactly two months to go until Opening Night against the Bucks, Nurse now has plenty of time to craft a variety of lineups that will give the rest of the league fits. Here are three ideas to start.

Lineup No. 1: The crunch-time lineup of death

PG: Tyrese Maxey
SG: Kelly Oubre Jr.
SF: Paul George
PF: Caleb Martin
C: Joel Embiid

This is likely to be the Sixers starting lineup, but it's worth noting how drastically different it is from a year ago. Tobias Harris, De'Anthony Melton, Nicolas Batum, Hield, Paul Reed and Mo Bamba are gone after logging close to 8,000 minutes combined. So too are Patrick Beverley, Marcus Morris and Cam Payne thanks to in-season moves last year.

George is 34, but the Sixers are still banking on him being close to his prime. His presence will take a huge scoring burden off of Embiid, who even going into his ninth active NBA season is still dogged by criticism over his conditioning. Together with Maxey, that trio will be able to attack and score from anywhere on the floor. Throw in Oubre and Martin as overqualified glue guys and you have a lineup that will cause problems for any team in the league.

Lineup No. 2: The small-ball speed gang

PG: Tyrese Maxey
SG: Jared McCain
SF: Ricky Council IV
PF: Paul George
C: Guerschon Yabusele

Most NBA fans would be surprised to know that the Sixers ranked 11th in the NBA in pace last year. Embiid has a deserved reputation as a plodder, but Maxey's go-go stye single-handedly dragged Philly close to the top 10.

Embiid is going to need his rest, but the Sixers needn't feel helpless when the former MVP sits. Instead, Nurse can use those minutes as an opportunity to turn up the dial and blitz opposing teams. Maxey will still be there to push the tempo, and having George on the court will allow Nurse's offense to still thrive on the rare occasion that things get slowed down in the half court.

The rest of the time, though, Maxey can take the ball and go, and now he'll have some horses to run with him. McCain was the best transition shooter in college basketball during his one year with Duke, and he'll naturally draw the defense's attention.

That will open things up for Council, an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas that impressed with his raw athleticism whenever he was given minutes in his rookie year, and the hard-charging Yabusele, who displayed a fearlessness in the Paris Olympics that he never got the chance to show in his two years with the Boston Celtics. His poster-worthy dunk on LeBron James in the gold medal game was the highlight of the tournament, and running with this lineup, he'll have the chance for many more.

Lineup No. 3: The old head slowdown lineup

PG: Kyle Lowry
SG: Eric Gordon
SF: Paul George
PF: Caleb Martin
C: Joel Embiid

Maxey finished last season second in the league in minutes per game behind DeMar DeRozan, but even he needs a break sometimes. When he does sit, Nurse can minimize the impact of being without his newly-signed max player by extending possessions and turning the game into a rock fight. Whereas our previous lineup can outrun anybody, this one looks like it would be the most YMCA-ass team of all-time.

Lowry has been through it all, and at this point in his career, he knows all the tricks on offense and defense to still be a valuable presence in the lineup. With Gordon as his backcourt mate, that's 34 years of NBA experience alone.

George isn't the above-the-rim player he used to be, and Martin's game is mostly ground-bound, as well. Between the two of them and Embiid, there will be no shortage of pump fakes, up-and-unders, fouls drawn, and other cagey veteran moves to get points on the board. If Nurse really wants to gum up the works, he can sub Drummond in for Martin to create a two towers look with Embiid, but we don't want to make the eyes of the Wells Fargo Center's spectators bleed.

Being able to shift so suddenly between tempos will make the Sixers incredibly difficult to prepare for. Early in the season, opposing teams won't be ready for such a swift change in pace, and late in the season, after Nurse has tweaked and refined things and all the new pieces have had time to jell, the Sixers will be even deadlier. If their stars stay healthy, this excitingly overhauled roster may be Philly's best chance yet at making a title run.