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The Tyrese Maxey Era Has Already Begun for the Sixers
By Sean Barnard
Published:
“I think the biggest thing that I’m trying to accomplish is we need a standard. This is who we are no matter, every single day, no matter who plays, no matter who doesn’t play. When you see the Philadelphia 76ers, this what you see. You’re going to see that team every single night, every single time you turn that TV on, every single time you step foot in whatever arena we’re playing in. This is the team that you’re going to get.”
These were the words offered by Tyrese Maxey at Sixers media day.
Wise beyond his years, the 24-year-old has been through more strange situations and more variable levels of availability from his star teammates than any young player can properly be prepared for. Maxey has echoed the phrase of getting “1% better every day” while transforming from a 19-year-old with a questionable jump shot coming out of college to a true NBA All-Star guard.
The Aging Stars
Joel Embiid and Paul George remain on the Sixers roster and will hope for better health in their second season together. They’re on the books for $100+ million combined over each of the next three seasons, proving to be contracts with a sticker shock that makes any conversation regarding a trade improbable at best. The Sixers also paired the two with a clear vision and the 15 games they played next to Maxey is far too limited of a sample size to make any sort of judgement, although the initial results have not been promising.
What level the pair of stars can play at this year will almost exclusively decide if the Sixers can have any hope of contending in a wide-open Eastern Conference. The clips of Joel Embiid at practice are extremely encouraging, as are the updates of George beginning to be integrated to the team after both underwent offseason knee surgeries.
But there has been a notable, and likely intentional, lack of public commitment to how often they will play and what the expectation should be. The Sixers have already pushed their chips and made the bet on this working, but the organization has taken some active steps in preparing for a worst-case scenario that hopefully does not come to life.
The Next Generation
This process has involved building out the roster with young talent. Jared McCain flashed to be a potential building block piece across his 23 games last year before his season ended with a meniscus tear. McCain also suffered a torn UCL in the thumb of his shooting hand this summer and will miss at least the first handful of games.
Philadelphia had no problem pulling the plug on last season’s disaster in hopes of maximizing their chances of retaining their top-six protected draft pick that was previously traded away in the Al Horford trade. They were rewarded with this by landing the third selection in the NBA Draft and bringing in Baylor product V.J. Edgecombe. There have been expected ups-and-downs for the 20-year-old in summer league and preseason, but he looks to be the leader in the clubhouse to start the season alongside Maxey in the backcourt.
Quentin Grimes will still be on the team for at least this season, and the Sixers will maintain his Birds Rights as an advantage in re-signing him in the offseason if both sides desire. Justin Edwards has had a tough summer league and preseason, but looked the part of a rotation player. Last year’s second-round pick, Adem Bona, has also been one of the breakout stars of training camp and Nick Nurse has already teased the idea of him sharing the floor with Embiid to take some rebounding and shot blocking responsibilities away from the former MVP. They also brought in 25-year-old Trendon Watford, 22-year-old Dominick Barlow, and 23-year-old Jabari Walker to compete for power forward minutes and selected PF/C Johni Broome with the 35th pick in this year’s draft.
With a top-heavy roster, it’s essential to find some diamonds in the rough and Daryl Morey has continued to be active in this quest. He most recently released once-prized prospect Emoni Bates in favor of former first-round pick MarJon Beauchamp as evidence of this.
Maxey is the Glue
In between these two timelines sits Tyrese Maxey. He has proven ready to compete at a high level right now, which includes him dropping 46 points in an elimination playoff game at Madison Square Garden, and surely has not hit his basketball peak as a player yet. All too often last year it felt Maxey was left out there to take on the world by himself with an ever-changing cast of characters lined up alongside of him. The Sixers set an NBA record last year with 52 different starting lineups rolled out across the season.
Out of this frustrating season has emerged a Maxey with a new purpose and more motivation to grow into a leadership role.
“I think, like the end of my fourth year, maybe I just remember Joel kind of pulling me to the side, just telling me, like, my voice is gonna be needed, you know, people just see how hard I work, how much I care about winning, how much I care about the franchise,” Maxey said at media day.
The Kentucky product has walked the walk with this concept, flying out several of his younger teammates throughout the summer for workouts and helping to organize team events when back in Philadelphia. Teams getting together for workouts is not uncommon in the NBA, but a welcomed change to be brought on by a player like Maxey.
While Embiid has been looked at as the face of the franchise for the last decade, leadership has never been regarded as a strength. There have been attempts to pair him with players more regarded as leaders such as Tobias Harris and P.J. Tucker, but there is some truth to it being best for the team when one of your best players is the guy who truly sets the tone. Maxey checks this box from a talent perspective and appears more intentional in his approach to leadership.
Embiid and George will still be instrumental in what heights this Sixers team can reach on the floor. But the responsibilities of keeping this team on track and maintaining the desired standard he seeks to set have shifted to Maxey. The Sixer keys now fall in the hands of the man nicknamed “The Franchise” by Embiid himself.
He may not be the best player on the floor if injury luck is favorable to Embiid and George, but the Tyrese Maxey era has already kicked off.
Sean Barnard has covered the Philadelphia 76ers and general Philly Sports for over six years in a variety of roles and for multiple outlets. Currently works as a Content Writer for DraftKings Network, Sixers/NBA Insider for Philadelphia's Fox Sports the Gambler, and co-host of Sixers & Phillies Digest on Youtube. Forever Trusting the Process.