Despite their relative success in recent memory, the Philadelphia 76ers do not have anything to show for it. The franchise has yet to flirt with a championship lest a Conference Finals appearance, and now, things have taken a drastic downturn after they missed the postseason entirely for the first time since 2018.
While the Joel Embiid era still subsists, the 76ers have taken numerous facelifts around him. The likes of Ben Simmons and James Harden have already finished their respective stints with the franchise, both in unceremonious fashion, and now, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George round out the team’s nucleus, which is still among the most talented cores in the NBA.
However, that core which netted them lofty expectations to begin the season has started to unravel. Embiid and George are both aging and injury-prone, and there is really no telling if they can still get back to their usual level of play. Maxey, meanwhile, has somehow struggled as the nominal alpha, casting some cloud on his viability as a main option on a championship aspirant.
On the flip side, a certain star, who was previously linked to Philly, has seen a meteoric rise in the playoffs, giving the 76ers yet another what-if.
Tyrese Haliburton shines as the 76ers regret a trade they didn’t make
Before Ben Simmons completely tanked his value, he remained a highly sought commodity in the league during his self-imposed and dramatic hiatus that lasted an entire year. He was ultimately dealt to the Nets for James Harden, but Brooklyn was not the only team that had a well-documented interest in him.
Sacramento, at the time, also registered interest in Simmons. Multiple outlets reported back then that the Kings were willing to offer Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes and two first-round picks for Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Matisse Thybulle, which the 76ers flatly refused.
With Haliburton currently playing hero for the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs, one could only wonder how we would have looked in a 76ers jersey. The tandem of him and Tyrese Maxey would have undoubtedly been the most electric backcourt in the league, giving them the sufficient ammo to be contenders for the long run.
Instead, Philly deemed it better to usher in a proven star in Harden, which ir probably a fair assessment at that juncture. However, in hindsight, that was definitely an opportunity they missed. Instead, it was Pacers that took the gamble of moving on from their own established star in Domantas Sabonis to hand the reigns to a ceiling-raiser in Haliburton.
Now, the Philadelphia 76ers can only look from afar.