Ranking the Sixers’ young core against every NBA team
The Sixers‘ young core has been the talk of the summer, for reasons good and bad. Tyrese Maxey and Paul Reed set Vegas on fire, dominating the Summer League. Ben Simmons, on the other hand, is the biggest trade chip on the market aside from Damian Lillard, who the Sixers desperately want to trade him for.
As Philadelphia prepares for life beyond Simmons, the other members of its young core — Maxey, Reed, Matisse Thybulle — will all gain more importance, assuming each is around when the trade gavel inevitably comes down.
Few teams have been more successful late in the draft than the Sixers, and it has left them with a fine gaggle of spry, young players around Joel Embiid (who only recently aged out of this article). We are about to determine just how well the Sixers’ youth movement stacks up with other NBA franchises.
Let’s rank the Sixers against every young core in the NBA — players 25 and under.
The rules are that simple — 25 and under. The rankings will be based on a combination of immediate productivity and long-term upside. In general, it’s which young core you would most want to build a team around.
It has long been my opinion that top-end talent is more important than depth, especially in this conversation. You can only find so many minutes for 10 useful young players (not that it’s bad to have 10 useful young players), while one elite superstar can lift you to a title. In the end, it’s a matter of taste.
Let’s get underway.
30. team. 34. . . . Portland Trail Blazers
Ranking the every NBA young core — 30. Portland Trail Blazers
- Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, Derrick Jones Jr., Harry Giles III, Trendon Watford, CJ Elleby, Greg Brown
The Blazers have not done nearly enough to build around Damian Lillard, nor have they prepared very well for a future without him. It’s a bit of a sticky situation unless he agrees to stay long term, which feels less and less likely by the hour.
20. . . . Los Angeles Lakers. 29. team
Ranking every NBA young core — 29. Los Angeles Lakers
- Talen Horton-Tucker, Malik Monk, Davontae Cacok, Joel Ayayi, Austin Reaves
The Lakers are clearly not concentrated on youth at the moment. Their age has been a running joke all summer. Even so, there’s a lot to like about Talen Horton-Tucker, who should carve out a significant role in the absence of Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Alex Caruso.