Sixers mailbag: What’s next after James Harden trade?
A bundle of Sixers questions and answers following the anticlimactic end of the James Harden saga.
For whatever reason, the Philadelphia 76ers were unable to land James Harden, who will instead join Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn. It could be that Daryl Morey was too stringent with his assets. It could be that Houston, led by a petty billionaire who couldn’t see past his own ego, was reluctant to gift Morey with its prized possession. Either way, the Sixers are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The natural question is, what’s next? The Sixers are now firmly behind Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference hierarchy, with real questions about the future of Joel Embiid and whether his prime can be maximized in Philadelphia.
It seemed apt to hit the Twitterverse and conduct a mailbag to see what questions you, the readers, were asking. From trade hypotheticals to friendly fire from our Celtics sister site, there’s plenty to talk about.
Sixers mailbag: How do you see Tyrese Maxey’s ceiling?
I have done my best this season to offer a balanced and reasoned perspective on Tyrese Maxey, who has provided fans with a lot of joy to start the season. He has received significant hype lately — perhaps too much. Expectations may be creeping too high. That said, Maxey’s upside is tantalizing.
With quick-twitch athleticism, feather-soft touch, and vastly improved decision-making skills, Maxey looks the part of a bonafide NBA point guard. He can run the offense, create for teammates, and get to his spots with ease. Even with a shaky 3-point shot, defenses have had trouble keeping him out of the lane. He collapses the defense in a way few Sixer guards have been able to in the Embiid era.
Maxey famously dropped 39 points on Denver when the Sixers were down to seven players. While Maxey will probably never again be Philadelphia’s only offensive creator as he was in that game, he does fill a role no one else on the team can. Even Shake Milton lacks Maxey’s burst and in-between game. The Sixers should have no qualms about continuing to ramp up Maxey’s playing time, even as the roster returns to full health.
The ceiling for Maxey is difficult to pin down. On one hand, he’s a confident volume scorer who could develop into a real playmaking engine. On the other hand, he’s still an erratic defender who, at 6-foot-2, is prone to mismatches. He will also need to iron out his 3-point shot — or at least let it fly with more confidence — to maximize his speed.
There’s a good chance Maxey is a starter within the next season or two. While I wouldn’t bank on it this season — Danny Green has been better than his reputation suggests, and Maxey still needs to grow into his responsibilities — Maxey and Shake and both trending towards bigger roles and bright futures.
On the last episode of The Sixer Sense Podcast, my co-host Lucas Johnson claimed Maxey had All-Star potential. Is that aiming high? Sure. Is it possible? Sure.