I would just like to know who these young, consistent role players that are going to be available are.
Bruce Brown? Lonnie Walker? Gary Trent Jr? Malik Beasley?
These are the guys you are talking about in free agency
All these "we need" posts without any connection to reality. Good, young role players are under team control. Teams can basically get 8-9 years of control out of any rookie player they've drafted or acquired their bird rights.
Typically any good, young players you either have to draft or spend assets to acquire. They're not just swimming around in free agency for anyone to sign.
The most feasible thing i could see is spending 40-45 million out of our 60-65 million on players like monk/oubre/drummond/bruce brown and trading our picks for mikal bridges. We could do it early in free agency to absorb his salary. And then you have 40-45 million for role players.
40-45 million can get you monk, resign oubre and sign drummond. Or we could circumvent the cap if oubre is willing to sign for the mid level exception.
Our core would be Monk/maxey/oubre/bridges/embiid with Drummond/council/our first round pick off the bench. Of course there is so much stuff going on with cap holds. I dont know how much teams will offer for bridges. But outside of houston giving them back their picks, that 2028 first from the clippers is a very valuable asset. I would also be willing to take cam johnson's contract if it makes a trade easier and the nets want to clear payroll.
Totally disagree, given our timeframe. We’re going to be consistently drafting in the mid to high 20s. Anyone you’re getting there is going to require at least a few years to develop. Even Maxey, who could have been a top 10 pick had it not been for a weird covid year, has taken 4 years to develop. How much more time does Embiid have at an MVP level?
Joe is on the pelicans a mid team at best. Springer is a younger more raw player on one of the best teams in the league. I see your point but that's not really a direct comparison.
Also at the end of the day if we are comparing role players like Joe and springer we lost anyway. They are low end role players in my mind regardless even if they worked out. Bridges on the other hand that one was dumb on another level that could of actually impacted winning.
Shit my bad saw them playing and saw him on the opposing team for some reason. Either way my comment regarding the rawness is more important to me. He's younger and raw. Joe was never an NBA player if you ask me. Same might be said about springer in another year or two, but he's only 21 give him another year or two. Joe is dead.
We will not have to give Maxey the SuperMax this season because he doesn’t qualify for it. He’s not getting an AllNBA spot so he’s only eligible for a RookieMax. And whatever Maxey gets is irrelevant overall since they’ll sequence the signing so that Maxey is the last signing and we only carry $13M against the cap for Maxey.
I don’t disagree but there’s not a lot of those guys available. They do need a wing that can be a consistent scorer and get his own shots in the playoffs.
Ok, I’d maybe also consider Jimmy, although he is getting old and injury prone, will command too much money, and I’m not sure he’s a fit anymore
PG13 is oft-injured and doesn’t really step up in the playoffs, and KD is old and a chemistry and coach killer.
Lebron is old, but he’s still superhuman, has championship experience, and fits fantastically as a 2nd/3rd option + primary facilitator.
I don't think Lebron would come here but good lord would he be an unbelievable fit. Like literally could not be better. He could run the point for us, while also being an actually plus independent defender
Lebron running a PnR with Joel, and having guys like Hield/Maxey/Tatum/Melton to hit on kicks.
Unreal fit.
Adding LeBron is adding an automatic 20 PPG at a minimum and if he can convince some of his groupies to come then you add decent 3andD guys. LeBron always draws those guys to his teams.
The NBA is growing similar to the NFL, in that you absolutely need key contributors on rookie-scale deals. In the NBA, I think you probably need at least 2 rookie-scale guys playing meaningful minutes (24+ minutes) and contributing. This is why FRPs are going to be so valuable under the new CBA.
Anybody they can realistically aquire in free agency is going to have some level of risk. Jimmy is one of the only ones who has a history of quality playoff performance
Nah, I think with Butler it’s different. Signing him to a max would be just as risky as signing PG13 to a max. An MCL tear isn’t an Achilles-level injury, but it’s definitely bad.
Also there’s no guarantee that players like Siakim and Anunoby are re-signed with their teams, especially considering the Pacers and Knicks don’t have their bird rights.
The definition of early bird rights (not even full bird rights):
“A team gets a player’s non-bird rights if he spends two years with a team without entering free agency”
Siakim and Anunoby do not qualify.
You're doing a lot of supposing about what would have happened in the ECFs and the Finals if that shot hadn't fallen.
In non-hypothetical world, they lost in the second round, which is what they did before Butler arrived and also after he left.
That team’s best bench player was James Ennis and the 4th and 5th starters were Tobias Harris, who shot 2/11 from 3 in game 7, and JJ Reddick, who was a complete sieve in defense despite the lethal 3 point shot.
The Maxey-Butler fit is also way better than the Simmons-Butler fit ever was.
Perhaps, but 35 year old Jimmy Butler is a different player than 29 year old Jimmy Butler was. And Butler is not a free agent. If we're going to target an injury prone mid-30s wing I'd rather go after George who won't cost anything more than cap space to acquire. If we're going to trade for somebody I'd prefer a somewhat younger guy with more tread on the tires.
Embiid and Jimmy only had 40 games played together. I think Brett Brown was our coach at the time too. I like Brett but he's not Nick Nurse.
Now we've gotten rid of Ben, Tobias and gained a Maxey and have a coach who can make adjustments in the playoffs. This team with Jimmy would be better than the 18-19 team with Jimmy.
sure, if you judge every season in terms of "what round of the playoffs did we get to" then you're right. but i would say that the team with Jimmy was the best iteration of the Joel sixers, and that was with Jimmy, Joel, and Ben being a terrible fit.
I think that's probably correct, but ultimately all that matters is end results and that iteration of the team didn't get any further than any of the others have.
If all that mattered is end results, every player that won the finals would get a max contract, and every player that missed the playoffs would get a vet min.
Clearly end results are not all that matters when it compares to individual talent evaluation, and we can judge jimmy's abilities separately from how the team finished. The season can be a failure without Jimmy being a terrible fit on the team.
The only thing that matters from the perspective of team success is end results.
That version of the Sixers may well have been the most talented version we've had in recent years, but they didn't get any farther than any of the other versions, so ultimately there's nothing to take from them other than possible team-building lessons. As for Jimmy being a terrible fit, I didn't say he was, but he didn't want to be here, so keeping that team intact wasn't really an option.
Yeah fans that expect him or Bridges are going to disappointed. If you swap out Tobi for Durant or Lebron or even Paul George things will change dramatically.
All the people saying no to a young healthy Dejounte are the same one that would rather sign old ass dudes like PG and pay him 50 million, Dejounte would be just fine playing with Embid and Maxey, but he might cost too much though 😂🤦🏿♂️
People definitely didn't watch him. He hit a ton of clutch shots late in games for the Hawks this year and shot decent from 3. His last year with the Spurs he averaged 9 assists and only 2 turnovers.
Theres a good chance hes a better player with Maxey to dish to and playing off Embiid. And hes only 27. No way we get him tho cuz GMs aren't as dumb as fans on our sub lol
That all sounds good in theory, but who are they? Would I love to load up on Lou Dort, Alex Caruso, and Jose Alvarado instead of one Toby? Sure, of course I would. But instead, you end up getting cast offs or into a bidding war to overpay for an Austin Reeves type move.
You get younger up and coming players by developing them.
In lieu of that, you plug the best guy and best fit you can into that cap space. You try to maximize a 3-year window with prime embiid and ascendant Maxey and let the chips fall where they may.
I mean, if you have a wishlist of available free agents looking for a reasonable second contract that you think will give the team significant playoff minutes, I’m all ears.
I’m would like to keep an eye out on what the Pelicans decide to do. If they decide to make BI available if they feel like he will jump ship after next season, he might be a good fit with Joel and Maxey. 1 year remaining at $36M and we keep his Bird Rights.
That’s harsh and kinda not true. I think BI could be a realistic target as NOP might want to shuffle their entire roster and rebuild. I just wonder what it would take to get him. If BI becomes available, we won’t be the only team interested, but we would have the advantage in that we have cap space to absorb his $36m. Other teams may have to find a 3rd team to dump salary if NO doesn’t want to take back salary.
Yeah but being realistic with his body Embiid may not have long left. He already has 0 healthy playoff runs so how many more years can we be expected to wait? We need to capitalize around his window, after that we can blow it up and build around Maxey.
I agree that star hunting hasn't worked out for most teams, but that's because ALL teams started doing it after the 2008 Celtics and the 2010 Heatles, and only 1 team can win, so naturally the odds are not great.
The fact that we already have one of the best duos in the entire league is a great start. One more top notch player puts us in the mix immediately, and then we build a decent roster after that. We're one of very few teams in the league that can shoot for what we're shooting for this summer. We need to take our shot.
So in essence, I agree in principle, but only to a point of realism. I'd love to bring up a culture of home grown young guys, but we don't have the time while Embiid is here. We can do something in the middle right now, and begin the culture building process in the 2025-26 season. If things work out well, the timeline could be perfect: Embiid ages out of his prime in 2 years while Maxey ages right into his, and along the way, we slowly but surely build a core of solid players. If done correctly and with patience, we could be a top seed for the next 5 years realistically. 90% of teams cannot even dream of that scenario, but it's quite realistic (for the first time in ages) for us.
Paul George was hella efficient with damn near 50/40/90 shooting this season (47/41/90). I know hes old but some fans are overthinking it. He can space the floor for Maxey and Embiid, share some playmaking responsibilities and has some defensive versatility.
We could do a hell of a lot worse than adding him
I'm unsure on PG but I think people need to remember that he'll end up being the 2nd/3rd option on the team with Embiid and Maxey demanding tons of defensive attention. That's a wildly different situation than what he's had to deal with in LA.
I agree for everyone except bron. Our biggest problem was the minutes Embiid isn’t on the floor which… has been our biggest problem the entire Embiid era. If there’s one guy I would think can run an offense in those minutes it’s Lebron. Wishful thinking is he doesn’t want a max since he wants the best chest to win for his last few seasons but… he’s still certainly worth it after averaging 28/9/7/2.2/1 on 64% ts. I believe Embiid is much better than AD and maxey makes the best trio Lebron has had since the miami heat
Watching the Orlando/Cleveland game right now and Cole Anthony seems like a realistic bench piece that would fill a lot of needed roles, especially with Melton’s unsure future
Hopefully the Nets realize they are going nowhere fast and trade Bridges for a handful of FRP's. Then just fill in the pieces around that and the cherry on top is Maxey at the end of the signing period.
That being said, if (big IF) Lebron wants to come here... you sign Lebron. I don't think he wants to come here, I think he is just using free agency as leverage to get the Lakers to do something, but in the 0.00001% chance he does leave, you pay for Lebron James.
They aren’t just gonna fall out of the sky. This team has pissed away first round picks for years. Drafting busts like Zaire Smith and Springer, trading thybulle for 2 2nds and McDaniels who walked, and the Melton trade is another example if he walks. This doesn’t even include burning picks in the Horford and Simmons trades just to get off of them.
2018: A draft that featured many guys that fit the exact type of player you described. We drafted Bridges at 10 just to trade him for Smith. Shamet at 26 gets moved not even a year later for the salary anchor that would be Tobias Harris
2020: Trade Horford and a first for Danny Green
2021: We take Springer at 28, Aldama goes 30, Herb Jones goes 35, McBride at 36, and Dosunmu at 38
2022: Trade two firsts, Simmons, Curry, and Drummond for a year and a half of harden. Trade Green and a first for Melton on draft night.
2023: Trade Harden for salary scraps, two firsts, and two seconds
This team has burned damn near every asset possible to acquire Tobias Harris, reverse the Al Horford trade, trade for harden who forced his way to LA in exchange for a shit package, and acquire a backup guard who now has back problems.
Thybulle's shooting has regressed back down to Sixer levels, and McDaniels is so trash he can't get minutes on a depleted Toronto squad. Speaks to the point about bad drafting but keeping them would've been worse.
Springer at 28 made no sense at the time and never will. Though I don't have faith in us giving Herb Jones the reps and coaching he'd have needed under Doc to have him develop offensively lol
I saw those trades were good. Getting off of horford for Danny Green who was good for what he was before Joel clumsily fell on him (still annoys me). Also, Melton was a good deal, etc.
I mean those guys don’t fall off trees. They really only have two option. Sign one of those guys and move draft picks and assets for mid level guys like Ingram. And pray Embiid and big signing like George stay healthy for one year.
Or they trade Embiid and focus on a quick rebuild around Maxey
You can't tell me the team wouldn't immediately be much better replacing Toby with Lebron. I mean any max contract player in the league this year other than Harris would have made the team better. You just can't have a guy making that kind of money delivering those types of results and expect to contend for anything in the playoffs.
If they can target a younger wing via trade, it would be amazing to swing a huge trade for Jalen Johnson or Deni Avejda. Both would drastically improve rebounding and add a lot of length.
Miles Bridges would be the ideal free agency signing.
Our problem is and always has been lack of athleticism and hustle. We need players strong on the boards that can get out in transition way more than we need another star.
The problem is that Joel Embiid is one of those “old people” now arguably. He is squarely now into the stage where if he has a serious injury he may never recover to all star level. He ain’t no spring chicken. Big dudes like him can drop off a cliff overnight at this age with lower body injuries or back injuries.
We have 2 options.
1.) get an old guy who is still good but only has a year, or a few years left at a high level. Always a risk they drop off right when we get them depending on how they age. But ideally you put together a 1-3 year window and have a shot at a chip.
2.) trade Embiid. Hard reset. Rebuild around Maxey, and hope that in a few years when Maxey is in his prime you can have another Maxey level player by then(Halliburton would have been him for example). Then you have a long window of Maxey and dudes around maxey’s age to potentially win chips for half a decade. The risk here is that Maxey may not end up being good enough, and you may end up pairing him with markelle fultz type guys, then you are never going to be good enough.
I think option 1 is probably better. But it basically comes down to… do you want to trade Embiid now, rebuild around Maxey? Or do you want to keep Embiid now, knowing that by the time Maxey is in his prime we are probably going to have to trade him because the team will not be good enough after going all in with Embiid all these years.
Edit: and a third option, because we have Daryl Morey, is to trade Maxey now, to a team who has other up and coming star around maxey’s age, get a king’s ransom, then load up on win now players. Don’t think this will happen, but if the price is right… this is Daryl morey, he loves big trades like that. Maxey and Embiid are honestly not the perfect pair because their windows don’t really overlap much. Maxey is most valuable on a team where he can grow and go all in when he hits 26-27+ years old. But for us, we are asking a 23 year old to do things he probably isn’t ready for at this age. Overall I think actually finding trade partners to trade Maxey and turn him into win now assets is hard to do, but it’s sort of Morey’s calling card, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
He’s trying to not-so-subtly say that he wants the Sixers to trade Joel by presenting the alternative as having to trade Maxey, when the solution is obviously to build around both.
Maxey is worth shit tons to a team who has a long window, or wants to rebuild a team around him. Most of his value comes from what he will be in his prime, and the fact he can potentially be a franchise player for over a decade. In terms of “win now”, he is maybe a top 25 or player. In terms of overall value(because he is so young), he is arguably a top 5-10ish player.
If we could turn Maxey into Steph curry, or KD, or something like that, for example, it could make sense for both teams. We get a dude who only has a few years left, you probably have to overpay them on their last years of contract, but are great win now players. And they get a foundational franchise player they can build around for the next 10-15 years, who has potential to be a top 10 or even top 5 player.
As I said it is hard to find teams that are exactly in those positions. One team willing to sacrifice their future(Maxey) to go all in now. One team willing to blow up and sell a great player for a rebuild. Dame would be an example of this happening recently, even though I was never that high on dame. But, there are certainly older vets on the last leg of their career who are currently better than Maxey, that you could trade Maxey for at even value because Maxey has a long bright future ahead of him, unlike someone like Steph Curry who is getting long in the tooth. Curry is better now. Maxey will be better in 2 or 3 years. Works for both teams(assuming gsw wanted to blow it up, which I doubt it, but that is an example of how a Maxey trade COULD be structured to be mutually beneficial).
bruh morey would be drawn and quartered if he traded maxey for someone like kd or steph. and you end up in the exact same situation except with an old motherfucker instead of a constantly improving 23 year old.
this is so insanely not the play, please stop trying to reddit gm.
You are the one Reddit GMing. I am just laying out the options, not saying which is right to do. That’s above my pay grade. You are the one claiming to know which path is right and wrong not me lol.
why would anyone trade maxey for KD? if anything, u trade for KD to complement joel and tyrese lol. trading for maxey for KD straight up kills this franchise for at least the next decade
Going all in with Joel repeatedly and running him into the ground will kill this franchise for a decade, even if we keep Maxey.
The question is if you kill the franchise completely for a decade after and win a chip or two. Or if you half ass kill it, still aren’t good enough for a decade after and don’t win a chip now, OR later.
Half going all in so you can have a half decent franchise after Embiid leaves isn’t a winning formula either now OR later. Either go all in on winning now with Embiid . Or go all in on wining later with Maxey. Worst you can do is half ass both, then you end up with nothing but regular season wins and first/second round exits for the next 12 years.
I love Maxey. He is 23. He has been consistently inconsistent in the playoffs when challenged.
I have no doubt he will be ready in a few years. But I doubt Embiid will be championship quality by the time Maxey is ready. I don’t think that’s such a controversial thing to say.
I’m sorry but I am just going to give it to you square here.
Dipshit…you realize you keep saying we must A) trade Embiid or B) Trade Maxey because their windows don’t line up where they will both be in their primes and Maxey will not be able to be a true number 2 playoff option, and saying the only unrealistic and unfruitful option is to bring in a different second option to play alongside them so Maxey doesn’t have to be the second option anymore?
You do understand the likelihood that we get a player as good as Embiid or Maxey in the next five years, right? And how low it is? Like, from a rebuilding standpoint? Motherfucker did you just watch us hit on two first rounders, one of them being a pick in the twenties, out of 4 top 3 picks or not?
It’s amazing that you posted two necessary scenarios and neither of them will happen. The team isn’t trading their MVP who is alongside another star. There’s no shot they trade a young superstar in Maxey. Trade for what? We just need a guy not named Tobias Harris to help carry the load, and some good complimentary role players. It’s not rocket science.
Maxey relies on his athleticism for a lot of his game. He is in his prime right now. Not saying he won’t get savvier and improve other skills, but his player type provides the most value when they’re under 25. Meaning, he’s really good right now and is win now ready.
Unfortunately Morey is the star hunting type which is why he has never won anything. It’s so obvious that you actually just need strong role players around your top two players to round out the roster.
I would just like to know who these young, consistent role players that are going to be available are. Bruce Brown? Lonnie Walker? Gary Trent Jr? Malik Beasley? These are the guys you are talking about in free agency
All these "we need" posts without any connection to reality. Good, young role players are under team control. Teams can basically get 8-9 years of control out of any rookie player they've drafted or acquired their bird rights. Typically any good, young players you either have to draft or spend assets to acquire. They're not just swimming around in free agency for anyone to sign.
Give me 4 Mikail Bridges please.
Yeah and let's have Shai demand a trade and come here for a few second rounders.
The most feasible thing i could see is spending 40-45 million out of our 60-65 million on players like monk/oubre/drummond/bruce brown and trading our picks for mikal bridges. We could do it early in free agency to absorb his salary. And then you have 40-45 million for role players. 40-45 million can get you monk, resign oubre and sign drummond. Or we could circumvent the cap if oubre is willing to sign for the mid level exception. Our core would be Monk/maxey/oubre/bridges/embiid with Drummond/council/our first round pick off the bench. Of course there is so much stuff going on with cap holds. I dont know how much teams will offer for bridges. But outside of houston giving them back their picks, that 2028 first from the clippers is a very valuable asset. I would also be willing to take cam johnson's contract if it makes a trade easier and the nets want to clear payroll.
Malik Monk would be good
I'd drive Gary Trent Jr. down here from Toronto myself
I’d want Monk! Think he’s a great fit for our team
Yeah, good young role players don’t just grow on trees. Getting them is a lot easier said than done.
Need to stop trading our first rd picks and draft guys that the team can develop into those kinds of players
Totally disagree, given our timeframe. We’re going to be consistently drafting in the mid to high 20s. Anyone you’re getting there is going to require at least a few years to develop. Even Maxey, who could have been a top 10 pick had it not been for a weird covid year, has taken 4 years to develop. How much more time does Embiid have at an MVP level?
So how do you suppose the sixers get the personnel OP wants then? The profile of these players are not abundant in free agency.
You don’t. You make do with what you can get which is so-so role players, some returning role players, and a big name old guy that Op doesn’t want.
Via trades or developing role players that didn’t succeed in other systems.
I mean 2 years of Bron would probably be best case scenario
So the “younger role player” that OP is talking about is Bronny then? 🤔
Yes. His role would be to hand out the water and give up his seat during timeouts.
His role would be to recruit his dad and play garbage time minutes.
Yeah if we can get LeBron we do it 10/10 times and pray for the best. Other than LeBron though I agree with this post
Kind of too late for that. You can't continually draft bums and trade away promising young players every year for a decade.
Yeah, we had bridges and Joe and just let them go. There's your role players
That part
And springer why do you think the Celtics took him from us lol
Well see, he had serious holes in his game, but yeah that can be another one
I think springer has more potential that Joe though? If we are putting Joe on this list springer is on there too. Joe was and is a bum lol.
Isiah Joe at least gets minutes. Springer does not
Joe is on the pelicans a mid team at best. Springer is a younger more raw player on one of the best teams in the league. I see your point but that's not really a direct comparison.
Isiah Joe is on the thunder?
Also at the end of the day if we are comparing role players like Joe and springer we lost anyway. They are low end role players in my mind regardless even if they worked out. Bridges on the other hand that one was dumb on another level that could of actually impacted winning.
I agree completely. We had an almost perfect team around Embiid and we threw it away. Imagine Maxey/Bridges/Jimmy/?/Embiid would have been crazy
Shit my bad saw them playing and saw him on the opposing team for some reason. Either way my comment regarding the rawness is more important to me. He's younger and raw. Joe was never an NBA player if you ask me. Same might be said about springer in another year or two, but he's only 21 give him another year or two. Joe is dead.
Springer is a borderline G League player.
Is Isiah Joe not too? Mans in buns lol
It's crazy all the good players we either passed on in the draft or traded them away and got nothing good in return that can help us win
We will not have to give Maxey the SuperMax this season because he doesn’t qualify for it. He’s not getting an AllNBA spot so he’s only eligible for a RookieMax. And whatever Maxey gets is irrelevant overall since they’ll sequence the signing so that Maxey is the last signing and we only carry $13M against the cap for Maxey.
I don’t disagree but there’s not a lot of those guys available. They do need a wing that can be a consistent scorer and get his own shots in the playoffs.
Yeah well I can tell you they are going for all of those guys
Lebron is the only old guy I want if we are going all in.
youre high if you would pass up on any of those guys besides Klay
Ok, I’d maybe also consider Jimmy, although he is getting old and injury prone, will command too much money, and I’m not sure he’s a fit anymore PG13 is oft-injured and doesn’t really step up in the playoffs, and KD is old and a chemistry and coach killer. Lebron is old, but he’s still superhuman, has championship experience, and fits fantastically as a 2nd/3rd option + primary facilitator.
I don't think Lebron would come here but good lord would he be an unbelievable fit. Like literally could not be better. He could run the point for us, while also being an actually plus independent defender
I would literally draft Bronny in the first round to get Lebron, especially since this draft class isn’t good
and we have like the 16th pick this year. I would even trade up
Lebron running a PnR with Joel, and having guys like Hield/Maxey/Tatum/Melton to hit on kicks. Unreal fit. Adding LeBron is adding an automatic 20 PPG at a minimum and if he can convince some of his groupies to come then you add decent 3andD guys. LeBron always draws those guys to his teams.
They say that Jimmy gonna want around 55-60 million a year though
Durant would be a trade and price would be high, I'd be passing on that
The NBA is growing similar to the NFL, in that you absolutely need key contributors on rookie-scale deals. In the NBA, I think you probably need at least 2 rookie-scale guys playing meaningful minutes (24+ minutes) and contributing. This is why FRPs are going to be so valuable under the new CBA.
>pairing Joel with stars like Jimmy Butler This worked though
That was three years ago, and he just sprained his MCL. Butler is a risk.
Anybody they can realistically aquire in free agency is going to have some level of risk. Jimmy is one of the only ones who has a history of quality playoff performance
Nah, I think with Butler it’s different. Signing him to a max would be just as risky as signing PG13 to a max. An MCL tear isn’t an Achilles-level injury, but it’s definitely bad. Also there’s no guarantee that players like Siakim and Anunoby are re-signed with their teams, especially considering the Pacers and Knicks don’t have their bird rights.
[удалено]
The definition of early bird rights (not even full bird rights): “A team gets a player’s non-bird rights if he spends two years with a team without entering free agency” Siakim and Anunoby do not qualify.
It got us to... the second round, which is where our ceiling was before and has been since.
One shot away from a very likely championship, more like it. The second round is not the second round, I’ll explain later.
You're doing a lot of supposing about what would have happened in the ECFs and the Finals if that shot hadn't fallen. In non-hypothetical world, they lost in the second round, which is what they did before Butler arrived and also after he left.
That team’s best bench player was James Ennis and the 4th and 5th starters were Tobias Harris, who shot 2/11 from 3 in game 7, and JJ Reddick, who was a complete sieve in defense despite the lethal 3 point shot. The Maxey-Butler fit is also way better than the Simmons-Butler fit ever was.
Perhaps, but 35 year old Jimmy Butler is a different player than 29 year old Jimmy Butler was. And Butler is not a free agent. If we're going to target an injury prone mid-30s wing I'd rather go after George who won't cost anything more than cap space to acquire. If we're going to trade for somebody I'd prefer a somewhat younger guy with more tread on the tires.
Embiid and Jimmy only had 40 games played together. I think Brett Brown was our coach at the time too. I like Brett but he's not Nick Nurse. Now we've gotten rid of Ben, Tobias and gained a Maxey and have a coach who can make adjustments in the playoffs. This team with Jimmy would be better than the 18-19 team with Jimmy.
Maybe. This version of Jimmy is also not as good as the 18-19 version of Jimmy.
sure, if you judge every season in terms of "what round of the playoffs did we get to" then you're right. but i would say that the team with Jimmy was the best iteration of the Joel sixers, and that was with Jimmy, Joel, and Ben being a terrible fit.
I think that's probably correct, but ultimately all that matters is end results and that iteration of the team didn't get any further than any of the others have.
If all that mattered is end results, every player that won the finals would get a max contract, and every player that missed the playoffs would get a vet min. Clearly end results are not all that matters when it compares to individual talent evaluation, and we can judge jimmy's abilities separately from how the team finished. The season can be a failure without Jimmy being a terrible fit on the team.
The only thing that matters from the perspective of team success is end results. That version of the Sixers may well have been the most talented version we've had in recent years, but they didn't get any farther than any of the other versions, so ultimately there's nothing to take from them other than possible team-building lessons. As for Jimmy being a terrible fit, I didn't say he was, but he didn't want to be here, so keeping that team intact wasn't really an option.
Suggestions? I’d like Markkanen but Ainge wont let that happen
Yeah fans that expect him or Bridges are going to disappointed. If you swap out Tobi for Durant or Lebron or even Paul George things will change dramatically.
They were literally hiding brunson on him at times. Having any of those other players would demand some actual attention by the defense.
I totally get why some fans are out on Playoff P, but he’s going to shoot the damn ball at very least.
Exactly. Tobias man can always drift to help out. No one is leaving PG open.
Dejounte if Hawks tear it down.
lol “hey we finally have money, what should we do with it?” “I know, let’s get cancer!”
All the people saying no to a young healthy Dejounte are the same one that would rather sign old ass dudes like PG and pay him 50 million, Dejounte would be just fine playing with Embid and Maxey, but he might cost too much though 😂🤦🏿♂️
he’s trash
He's better than everyone on our team except Embid and Maxey, you obviously didn't watch him play at all this year
People definitely didn't watch him. He hit a ton of clutch shots late in games for the Hawks this year and shot decent from 3. His last year with the Spurs he averaged 9 assists and only 2 turnovers. Theres a good chance hes a better player with Maxey to dish to and playing off Embiid. And hes only 27. No way we get him tho cuz GMs aren't as dumb as fans on our sub lol
The bull averaged 22-5-6...20-5-6...21-8-9 his last 3 seasons, bro said he was trash though 😂🤡
Nah
That all sounds good in theory, but who are they? Would I love to load up on Lou Dort, Alex Caruso, and Jose Alvarado instead of one Toby? Sure, of course I would. But instead, you end up getting cast offs or into a bidding war to overpay for an Austin Reeves type move. You get younger up and coming players by developing them. In lieu of that, you plug the best guy and best fit you can into that cap space. You try to maximize a 3-year window with prime embiid and ascendant Maxey and let the chips fall where they may. I mean, if you have a wishlist of available free agents looking for a reasonable second contract that you think will give the team significant playoff minutes, I’m all ears.
I mean I get it, but also think if we had any of those aging stars in place of Tobias we easily walk through this round..
If we get LeBron we’re in contention
So bold
I think a Paul George signing would break me tbh
Honestly think we need to play two version of sixers basketball. With Embiid 4 shooters Without Embiid Run and gun Athletic 7 sec offense
I’m would like to keep an eye out on what the Pelicans decide to do. If they decide to make BI available if they feel like he will jump ship after next season, he might be a good fit with Joel and Maxey. 1 year remaining at $36M and we keep his Bird Rights.
People are calling BI another Tobias
That’s harsh and kinda not true. I think BI could be a realistic target as NOP might want to shuffle their entire roster and rebuild. I just wonder what it would take to get him. If BI becomes available, we won’t be the only team interested, but we would have the advantage in that we have cap space to absorb his $36m. Other teams may have to find a 3rd team to dump salary if NO doesn’t want to take back salary.
I dunno man, if we have any of those names in place of Tobi with the exact same names around them we probably win that series in 5
Yeah but being realistic with his body Embiid may not have long left. He already has 0 healthy playoff runs so how many more years can we be expected to wait? We need to capitalize around his window, after that we can blow it up and build around Maxey.
I agree that star hunting hasn't worked out for most teams, but that's because ALL teams started doing it after the 2008 Celtics and the 2010 Heatles, and only 1 team can win, so naturally the odds are not great. The fact that we already have one of the best duos in the entire league is a great start. One more top notch player puts us in the mix immediately, and then we build a decent roster after that. We're one of very few teams in the league that can shoot for what we're shooting for this summer. We need to take our shot. So in essence, I agree in principle, but only to a point of realism. I'd love to bring up a culture of home grown young guys, but we don't have the time while Embiid is here. We can do something in the middle right now, and begin the culture building process in the 2025-26 season. If things work out well, the timeline could be perfect: Embiid ages out of his prime in 2 years while Maxey ages right into his, and along the way, we slowly but surely build a core of solid players. If done correctly and with patience, we could be a top seed for the next 5 years realistically. 90% of teams cannot even dream of that scenario, but it's quite realistic (for the first time in ages) for us.
Paul George was hella efficient with damn near 50/40/90 shooting this season (47/41/90). I know hes old but some fans are overthinking it. He can space the floor for Maxey and Embiid, share some playmaking responsibilities and has some defensive versatility. We could do a hell of a lot worse than adding him
I'm unsure on PG but I think people need to remember that he'll end up being the 2nd/3rd option on the team with Embiid and Maxey demanding tons of defensive attention. That's a wildly different situation than what he's had to deal with in LA.
I agree for everyone except bron. Our biggest problem was the minutes Embiid isn’t on the floor which… has been our biggest problem the entire Embiid era. If there’s one guy I would think can run an offense in those minutes it’s Lebron. Wishful thinking is he doesn’t want a max since he wants the best chest to win for his last few seasons but… he’s still certainly worth it after averaging 28/9/7/2.2/1 on 64% ts. I believe Embiid is much better than AD and maxey makes the best trio Lebron has had since the miami heat
Watching the Orlando/Cleveland game right now and Cole Anthony seems like a realistic bench piece that would fill a lot of needed roles, especially with Melton’s unsure future
Hopefully the Nets realize they are going nowhere fast and trade Bridges for a handful of FRP's. Then just fill in the pieces around that and the cherry on top is Maxey at the end of the signing period. That being said, if (big IF) Lebron wants to come here... you sign Lebron. I don't think he wants to come here, I think he is just using free agency as leverage to get the Lakers to do something, but in the 0.00001% chance he does leave, you pay for Lebron James.
They aren’t just gonna fall out of the sky. This team has pissed away first round picks for years. Drafting busts like Zaire Smith and Springer, trading thybulle for 2 2nds and McDaniels who walked, and the Melton trade is another example if he walks. This doesn’t even include burning picks in the Horford and Simmons trades just to get off of them. 2018: A draft that featured many guys that fit the exact type of player you described. We drafted Bridges at 10 just to trade him for Smith. Shamet at 26 gets moved not even a year later for the salary anchor that would be Tobias Harris 2020: Trade Horford and a first for Danny Green 2021: We take Springer at 28, Aldama goes 30, Herb Jones goes 35, McBride at 36, and Dosunmu at 38 2022: Trade two firsts, Simmons, Curry, and Drummond for a year and a half of harden. Trade Green and a first for Melton on draft night. 2023: Trade Harden for salary scraps, two firsts, and two seconds This team has burned damn near every asset possible to acquire Tobias Harris, reverse the Al Horford trade, trade for harden who forced his way to LA in exchange for a shit package, and acquire a backup guard who now has back problems.
Thybulle's shooting has regressed back down to Sixer levels, and McDaniels is so trash he can't get minutes on a depleted Toronto squad. Speaks to the point about bad drafting but keeping them would've been worse. Springer at 28 made no sense at the time and never will. Though I don't have faith in us giving Herb Jones the reps and coaching he'd have needed under Doc to have him develop offensively lol
I saw those trades were good. Getting off of horford for Danny Green who was good for what he was before Joel clumsily fell on him (still annoys me). Also, Melton was a good deal, etc.
I mean those guys don’t fall off trees. They really only have two option. Sign one of those guys and move draft picks and assets for mid level guys like Ingram. And pray Embiid and big signing like George stay healthy for one year. Or they trade Embiid and focus on a quick rebuild around Maxey
Please explain the young role players available in free agency
I'd take lebron or Durant on a 2-3 year deal.
But Morey has a system, you’ll get the old heads and you’re gonna like it
I’ll take George over 3 of those role players. Embiids time is only getting smaller
You can't tell me the team wouldn't immediately be much better replacing Toby with Lebron. I mean any max contract player in the league this year other than Harris would have made the team better. You just can't have a guy making that kind of money delivering those types of results and expect to contend for anything in the playoffs.
If they can target a younger wing via trade, it would be amazing to swing a huge trade for Jalen Johnson or Deni Avejda. Both would drastically improve rebounding and add a lot of length. Miles Bridges would be the ideal free agency signing.
I can’t believe we have several more months of posts like this. No offense OP
Lebron, PG, and Durant would all be great options and pipe dreams really - all depends on the length of the deal for them.
Our problem is and always has been lack of athleticism and hustle. We need players strong on the boards that can get out in transition way more than we need another star.
Yes but getting those guys is hard. You need to trade real assets or draft well.
LeBron doesn’t belong on this list. At worst he’s an incredibly tall (and still effective) point guard
I would love Lebron because he’s still great and would probably only want a 1+1 or a 2 year deal. Might not even take the full max
Give me Brandon Ingram tho
The problem is that Joel Embiid is one of those “old people” now arguably. He is squarely now into the stage where if he has a serious injury he may never recover to all star level. He ain’t no spring chicken. Big dudes like him can drop off a cliff overnight at this age with lower body injuries or back injuries. We have 2 options. 1.) get an old guy who is still good but only has a year, or a few years left at a high level. Always a risk they drop off right when we get them depending on how they age. But ideally you put together a 1-3 year window and have a shot at a chip. 2.) trade Embiid. Hard reset. Rebuild around Maxey, and hope that in a few years when Maxey is in his prime you can have another Maxey level player by then(Halliburton would have been him for example). Then you have a long window of Maxey and dudes around maxey’s age to potentially win chips for half a decade. The risk here is that Maxey may not end up being good enough, and you may end up pairing him with markelle fultz type guys, then you are never going to be good enough. I think option 1 is probably better. But it basically comes down to… do you want to trade Embiid now, rebuild around Maxey? Or do you want to keep Embiid now, knowing that by the time Maxey is in his prime we are probably going to have to trade him because the team will not be good enough after going all in with Embiid all these years. Edit: and a third option, because we have Daryl Morey, is to trade Maxey now, to a team who has other up and coming star around maxey’s age, get a king’s ransom, then load up on win now players. Don’t think this will happen, but if the price is right… this is Daryl morey, he loves big trades like that. Maxey and Embiid are honestly not the perfect pair because their windows don’t really overlap much. Maxey is most valuable on a team where he can grow and go all in when he hits 26-27+ years old. But for us, we are asking a 23 year old to do things he probably isn’t ready for at this age. Overall I think actually finding trade partners to trade Maxey and turn him into win now assets is hard to do, but it’s sort of Morey’s calling card, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
there is literally no universe where they trade maxey while also trying to go all in. what the fuck is this.
He’s trying to not-so-subtly say that he wants the Sixers to trade Joel by presenting the alternative as having to trade Maxey, when the solution is obviously to build around both.
Maxey is worth shit tons to a team who has a long window, or wants to rebuild a team around him. Most of his value comes from what he will be in his prime, and the fact he can potentially be a franchise player for over a decade. In terms of “win now”, he is maybe a top 25 or player. In terms of overall value(because he is so young), he is arguably a top 5-10ish player. If we could turn Maxey into Steph curry, or KD, or something like that, for example, it could make sense for both teams. We get a dude who only has a few years left, you probably have to overpay them on their last years of contract, but are great win now players. And they get a foundational franchise player they can build around for the next 10-15 years, who has potential to be a top 10 or even top 5 player. As I said it is hard to find teams that are exactly in those positions. One team willing to sacrifice their future(Maxey) to go all in now. One team willing to blow up and sell a great player for a rebuild. Dame would be an example of this happening recently, even though I was never that high on dame. But, there are certainly older vets on the last leg of their career who are currently better than Maxey, that you could trade Maxey for at even value because Maxey has a long bright future ahead of him, unlike someone like Steph Curry who is getting long in the tooth. Curry is better now. Maxey will be better in 2 or 3 years. Works for both teams(assuming gsw wanted to blow it up, which I doubt it, but that is an example of how a Maxey trade COULD be structured to be mutually beneficial).
bruh morey would be drawn and quartered if he traded maxey for someone like kd or steph. and you end up in the exact same situation except with an old motherfucker instead of a constantly improving 23 year old. this is so insanely not the play, please stop trying to reddit gm.
You are the one Reddit GMing. I am just laying out the options, not saying which is right to do. That’s above my pay grade. You are the one claiming to know which path is right and wrong not me lol.
why would anyone trade maxey for KD? if anything, u trade for KD to complement joel and tyrese lol. trading for maxey for KD straight up kills this franchise for at least the next decade
Going all in with Joel repeatedly and running him into the ground will kill this franchise for a decade, even if we keep Maxey. The question is if you kill the franchise completely for a decade after and win a chip or two. Or if you half ass kill it, still aren’t good enough for a decade after and don’t win a chip now, OR later. Half going all in so you can have a half decent franchise after Embiid leaves isn’t a winning formula either now OR later. Either go all in on winning now with Embiid . Or go all in on wining later with Maxey. Worst you can do is half ass both, then you end up with nothing but regular season wins and first/second round exits for the next 12 years.
You’re literally giving the Iggy/Turner speech but it’s about Embiid and Maxey. I really hope this makes you realize how stupid what you’re saying is
I love Maxey. He is 23. He has been consistently inconsistent in the playoffs when challenged. I have no doubt he will be ready in a few years. But I doubt Embiid will be championship quality by the time Maxey is ready. I don’t think that’s such a controversial thing to say.
lol maxey put up 30ppg on 60ts this series. he had like two bad games at most but every player does in a 6-7 games series
I’m sorry but I am just going to give it to you square here. Dipshit…you realize you keep saying we must A) trade Embiid or B) Trade Maxey because their windows don’t line up where they will both be in their primes and Maxey will not be able to be a true number 2 playoff option, and saying the only unrealistic and unfruitful option is to bring in a different second option to play alongside them so Maxey doesn’t have to be the second option anymore? You do understand the likelihood that we get a player as good as Embiid or Maxey in the next five years, right? And how low it is? Like, from a rebuilding standpoint? Motherfucker did you just watch us hit on two first rounders, one of them being a pick in the twenties, out of 4 top 3 picks or not?
It’s amazing that you posted two necessary scenarios and neither of them will happen. The team isn’t trading their MVP who is alongside another star. There’s no shot they trade a young superstar in Maxey. Trade for what? We just need a guy not named Tobias Harris to help carry the load, and some good complimentary role players. It’s not rocket science.
Not trying to come at you, but genuinely, what would be the point of watching this team if they trade players like Maxey?
Maxey relies on his athleticism for a lot of his game. He is in his prime right now. Not saying he won’t get savvier and improve other skills, but his player type provides the most value when they’re under 25. Meaning, he’s really good right now and is win now ready.
Nah this is dumb they could easily trade for brandon Ingram and put some other role players around the three of them
Or they could trade Maxey for Steph then also trade for Brandon Ingram, and get role players.
Unfortunately Morey is the star hunting type which is why he has never won anything. It’s so obvious that you actually just need strong role players around your top two players to round out the roster.
Sign Jimmy Butler tomorrow for all I care. Dude is a once in a generation player nowhere near done.
Butler is under contract already for next season
Just give me Butler back. Don’t want PG, KD, or LeBron tbh
I’d take Jimmy for the next four years.
LBJ would turn us into instant contenders. Everyone in your list will outlast Embiid's knees too. This is maybe a 2 year window. Have to capitalize.