By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
With a little more than a month to go until the NBA preseason begins, the Philadelphia 76ers still have a lot of roster decisions to make, especially with their surplus of big men. In addition to Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, Philadelphia also has Jerami Grant, Richaun Holmes and now Dario Saric on the roster, making for an extremely crowded front court. Ben Simmons is likely going to see time at the four as well.
Head coach Brett Brown will likely mix and match a handful of different combinations during the preseason and regular season, but it's still up in the air as to who actually makes the roster come October 26, when they open their 2016-17 campaign against Oklahoma City at home.
Let's take a look at each position and who might be the odd man out come Opening Night:
Guards: As it stands, the Sixers have Gerald Henderson, Jerryd Bayless, Sergio Rodriguez, Nik Stauskas, T.J. McConnell and Hollis Thompson. Henderson, Bayless and Rodriguez are virtual locks to make the roster. That leaves Stauskas, McConnell and Thompson as unknowns. With the signings of Henderson and Bayless, Hollis Thompson could very well be the odd man out, but he is a better shooter than Stauskas, someone the Sixers are likely to give another chance to due to his three-point shooting ability. I don't really see a scenario here where McConnell doesn't make the roster, though he may be inactive. He looked good in Summer League and Brett Brown regards him highly. If push comes to shove, Thompson is the likely inactive out of this group come the end of October.
Forwards: This is where things start getting crowded. Jerami Grant, Robert Covington, Richaun Holmes, Carl Landry, Dario Saric, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Ben Simmons made up the forwards right now and none of them is an automatic cut. Saric, Simmons and Covington are gong to make it, leaving Grant, Holmes, Landry and Cabarrot. During Summer League play, Richaun Holmes looked phenomenal on both ends of the floor, making nice cuts to the basket for an easy two while also displaying some fantastic rim presence on defense. Landry, the veteran of the group, was a solid bench asset for the team last season and with such a young roster still, he seems likely make the 12-man unless the Sixers believe that Bayless, Henderson and Rodriguez can provide enough veteran leadership. Grant's versatility to play the three and four while also being able to guard players effectively at those spots puts him on the roster as well. It just seems unlikely that a guy like Grant wouldn't make the team.
Sixers first round pick out of France, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, is somewhat of a toss-up. In the Summer League, he showed potential with the catch-and-shoot three, but his frame is still a little small, which is concerning at the NBA level. I don't think the Sixers lose anything by starting Cabarrot in the D-League, a resource Bryan Colangelo said he plans to take advantage of more during the upcoming season. If the Sixers are focused on developing their roster, Holmes should be active on Opening Night. The energy and raw tools he brings is too much of a potential asset to let sit on the bench. That would leave out Luwawu, who would benefit from extended minutes in the D-League, and Landry, who would be an inactive. Grant, Covington, Saric and Simmons are locked in.
Centers: The log jam of big men continues at center, with Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid. Until Embiid proves to be healthy and shows the ability to play consistent minutes in the NBA, both Noel and Okafor should stick around. Although it's been rumored that Noel is open to a trade, the Sixers would be silly to deal him until the Embiid situation is figured out. Okafor provides the big body post presence that the team needs, but will need to improve on his defense to grow in his second NBA season. Noel has a gift when it comes to protecting the rim, but his inability to score may prove to be his downfall this season, especially with Richaun Holmes showing a lot in Summer League and Jerami Grant also in the blocking shots mix. Unless a trade is made, all three of these guys will be on the Opening Night roster, but it will be interesting to see how long all three of them will remain in Philadelphia once the season kicks off in October.
So with all of that being said, here's the Sixers Opening Night roster projection:
Guards: Jerryd Bayless, Gerald Henderson, Sergio Rodriguez, Nik Stauskas
Forwards: Robert Covington, Jerami Grant, Richaun Holmes, Dario Saric, Ben Simmons
Centers: Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor
Inactives: Carl Landry, T.J. McConnell, Hollis Thompson
The Philadephia 76ers open their 2016-17 season against the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 26 at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN.
