The Philadelphia 76ers manage to stay in the headlines and tabloids like no other franchise. Unfortunately, it is rarely for good reasons. While conference rivals like the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics stay relevant through playoff success and swift offseason moves that upgrade their rosters, the Sixers take a different approach. They are excessively dramatic.
The Sixers are a Real Housewives series. They are talented, entertaining, and have plenty of fans and viewers. The Celtics, Bucks, and Heat though are your primetime dramas: The White Lotus, Succession, and Law and Order. They win awards, and their fandom is driven by success, not masochism.
The 2023 offseason has been another example of these franchise's identities. The Celtics have brought in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis for Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon, and Robert Williams.
The Milwaukee Bucks acquired Damian Lillard for Holiday, who was then moved to the Celtics via the Blazers. Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo are arguably the best duo in the league right now and they and the Celtics are the clear Eastern Conference favorites.
The Sixers, are in their second standoff with a star player in three years. James Harden - who was the resolution to the Ben Simmons standoff just over a year ago - opted into the last year of his contract and requested a trade at the beginning of the off-season. The Clippers are the one interested party, but reportedly refuse to give up Terrance Mann in the deal.
(Switching to first-person briefly: I honestly think Daryl Morey does not want Mann that badly. But I think on like his first call with Lawrence Frank he was told, unprompted, that Mann was untouchable. He was so aghast by Frank making the 27-year-old role player untouchable that he decided to heavily pursue acquiring him on principle. Okay, that's it for my conspiracy theories.)
This means Harden is still a Sixer, and the Sixers are stuck in the mud so badly that not even Paul Reed can help get them out. Harden did report to camp after skipping media day, and was reportedly professional and engaged when present, but has not played in a pre-season game and did skip one recently.
This is the summer of Simmons all over again for Sixers fans, and many are wondering why they should be optimistic at all about the season. The answer is simple: Tyrese Maxey.
The 22-year-old Kentucky alum has done nothing but improve, dramatically, season after season since the Sixers selected him with the 21st overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft. With the Sixers unaware of Harden's whereabouts and absences, they'll be handing the keys of the offense to Maxey this season. Here's why Maxey deserves the opportunity to replace Harden.
3. Maxey is the Sixers only option and their only hope
Let's be honest, while Maxey deserves this opportunity the Sixers don't have another choice. What are they going to do? Make Tobias Harris the point guard? De'Anthony Melton? Jaden Springer looks to have made improvements over the past couple of seasons but isn't ready to run an NBA offense.
Maxey is the only solution to the Harden-sized hole it looks like the Sixers will have on the court to start the season. Maxey is coming off a career-high 20.3 points per game and shot 43 percent from deep last season on over 6 attempts per game. His assist numbers dropped to 3.5 per game but that was likely driven by playing a full season with Harden.
During the 2021-22 season, which Simmons sat out for, Maxey averaged 4.3 assists per game which was a career-high. His turnovers per game have been practically identical between the two seasons as well.
Maxey hasn't had to take on heavy playmaking responsibilities since his sophomore season in the league but when he did, he performed well. A quick look at the rest of the roster makes it obvious that he's the best choice, and the Sixers only chance. He's risen to the occasion before though, and has only gotten better since then.
2. The Sixers are unlikely to get a Harden-level playmaker in return
Say what you will about James Harden, lord knows Sixers fans have, but he led the league in assists per game last season at 10.7. For as flawed as he is both on the court and off of it, he's one of the best passers in the league. Yet his value doesn't reflect that as he enters his mid-30s, has lost a step, and closed the 2023 playoffs with two stinker performances in Game 6 and 7 against the Boston Celtics.
Since Harden's value is so low, the potential return in a trade for him is unlikely to bring back a playmaker of his caliber even if the Sixers get a return that they use to flip for another star player in the future. The names that have been floated for the Sixers to potentially pursue are Zach Lavine, O.G. Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and other very talented players who are not point guards.
Maxey taking over as the team's key organizer and playmaker is not going to be the temporary band-aid it was two years ago. It is likely a part of any long-term plans for the Sixers to be successful. He is not the team's point guard for now, he is the team's point guard now. Accepting that reality is all the more reason the youngster needs full trust and support in replacing Harden because he's likely going to be doing it permanently this time.
1. Tyrese Maxey has improved every season in the league. Why wouldn't he again?
Tyrese Maxey was a fun little player when the Sixers first drafted him, and the closest thing the NBA has ever had to Sonic the Hedgehog in uniform. He's a ball of energy, with blinding speed, a pearly-white smile, and an incredible pair of dimples to go with it. He was too fast for opponents but also too fast for himself at times. His flaws faded quickly, though.
During Maxey's rookie season, he averaged 8 points per game, 2 assists, and shot 30 percent from three. He started only eight games and almost all of those starts were forced by COVID-related absences. He had some big moments though, including 16 points off the bench in a Game 6 road win against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals that forced Game 7.
Maxey carried that momentum into his sophomore season where his averages improved exponentially to 17.5 points per game, 4.3 assists per game, and 43 percent shooting from deep on over four attempts per game. He started 74 of the 75 games he played in. Once again, the Sixers lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, this time to the Miami Heat.
His third season in the league was a similar story. His stats improved once again and he established himself as one of the best three-point shooters in the league, and the Sixers once again came up short in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
While the Sixers continue to fail at the same hurdle season after season, Maxey's growth has always shined through this darkness. Perhaps for this season, the fans and the front office should spend more time on harnessing and growing his beaming energy, and less on star power elsewhere. He has earned that much.