The Philadelphia 76ers have one of the best and most well-rounded backcourt rotations in the NBA. Between Tyrese Maxey, who has been playing like a candidate for Most Valuable Player; VJ Edgecombe, who is in the running for the Rookie of the Year award; Quentin Grimes, who has arguably been the best Sixth Man in the league so far; and Jared McCain, who had just returned from injury, the backcourt is probably the least of this squad’s problems.
Almost out of necessity, the 76ers have gone away from their previous dynamic of having their scoring attack revolve around the individual brilliance and sheer dominance of Joel Embiid. However, their guard-heavy design, while incredibly promising, also leaves a lot of room for potential overlaps. Can this group of talented guards coexist? That is the question that will soon belabor the franchise.
Of the four, Grimes is probably the one whom the team will be more comfortable parting with, largely due to the fact that his contract could be too pricey for their spending power. As such, the 76ers should already be envisioning if their troika consisting of Maxey, Edgecombe, and McCain can be a sustainable nucleus of players who can actually play together.
The 76ers will soon get to know if their talented guards can coexist
Staggering players with similar skill sets is often the easiest solution to abate possible overlaps and logjams, but the 76ers cannot just rely on such on-court mechanism to dictate their maneuvering for the future.
Maxey, now cemented as the franchise player, was already signed to a max contract last year, while Edgecombe will most likely reach the point where he will likewise command significant money. McCain, if his return to form actualizes, should also be on the same trail as his rookie counterpart.
Now, the 76ers do not have the luxury of having a flexible financial docket. Due to them housing a couple of other albatross deals, they will most likely come to a point where concessions have to be made, and the possibility of them prematurely parting with one of Edgecombe and McCain is legitimate unless they find a way to shed those mammoth deals.
Hence, it is essential for the 76ers to like what they will be getting out of their triumvirate of talented backcourt cogs when playing together. After all, if they cannot coexist on the floor, that would imbue some degree of justification for the front office to find a more affordable option to replace one.
So far, Nick Nurse has not really given those three a real opportunity to be on the floor together. However, once McCain starts fully regaining his mojo, he should see some lineup combinations where he is playing next to Maxey and Edgecombe. That would finally allow the front office to see what the team has and if they can ultimately afford to let one of them go, no matter how unwise that sounds, given their financial climate.