Dean Wade (ankle) ruled out vs. New York

Wade will miss a second consecutive game as he continues to recover from a sprained left ankle. As a result, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope may come close to the 26 minutes he played off the bench in Tuesday’s win over the Knicks.

Wade went through an individual workout ahead of Tuesday’s win over the Knicks but was deemed unfit to play. If he can play against his former team on Thursday, that would likely drop Jabari Walker out of the rotation entirely, with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope likely playing less after logging 26 minutes in the opener.

Wade was limited to individual work in Monday’s practice, but he could play in Tuesday’s season opener. If he plays, Jabari Walker may get fewer minutes. However, with Adem Bona (foot) also questionable, Walker may play rotation minutes at center instead of power forward.

Bona missed the entire preseason with a sprained left foot, but he could be available for Tuesday’s season opener. While his availability doesn’t affect fantasy basketball, it will factor into how the 76ers handle the back end of their rotation. Jabari Walker may be asked to play some minutes at center, especially with Dominick Barlow and Ariel Hukportin unavailable.

After spraining his left ankle in Friday’s preseason finale against the Celtics, Wade did not practice on Sunday. He missed team segments of practice on Monday, but the 76ers forward did some individual work. If Wade can’t play, Jabari Walker may get rotation minutes off the bench in Tuesday’s opener against the Knicks.

Wade rolled his left ankle in Friday’s preseason finale against the Celtics, while Barlow is dealing with back soreness. 76ers head coach Nick Nurse said after Friday’s game that Wade’s ankle injury wasn’t a major concern, which could bode well for his availability Tuesday night. Neither Wade nor Barlow is in a position to be players who absolutely need to be rostered in fantasy leagues. However, Philadelphia’s injury-riddled frontcourt frees up minutes at the forward spots.

Jabari Walker has proven that he can play in an NBA rotation and he should have a role on this Philadelphia team. While Dean Wade will likely start when there’s injuries, Walker will still be important in deeper leagues as a consistent producer that will likely get a bump when there are injuries.

Walker’s contract for the upcoming season isn’t fully guaranteed until January 10, so he still has work to do. He looked sharp in Monday’s preseason opener, shooting 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and showing more confidence in his shot than last season. Walker’s role may also grow in importance because of injuries to Philadelphia’s other rotation bigs. Adem Bona (foot) is recovering from a sprain, while Ariel Hukporti suffered a lower-right-leg injury in the first half of Monday’s game. Given starting center Joel Embiid’s injury history, Walker is someone to watch with Bona and Hukporti sidelined.

The 76ers will open their preseason without multiple key players, including Tyrese Maxey, LeBron James and Joel Embiid. With those expected starters unavailable, KCP, Wade and Hukporti will start. The latter may be the one to watch, as he’ll be competing with the currently injured Adem Bona for the right to back up Embiid. There isn’t much to gain from drafting Hukporti in most leagues, but Embiid’s injury history makes it possible that the former Knick will be a relevant streamer at some point during the regular season.

Philadelphia’s reported interest in moving on from Broome has more to do with the pending signing of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope than anything else. Just as the team needed to waive Dalen Terry to have the roster spot needed to make the LeBron James signing official, another roster spot is needed to add KCP. Broome, who was limited to 11 NBA appearances last season and missed time with a knee injury, played well during Summer League. Still, the 76ers have Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti to absorb minutes behind starting center Joel Embiid. In the right situation, Broome could have some streaming value throughout the season. According to Fischer, waiving Jabari Walker is another possibility, but the 76ers hope to hold onto him.