May 03, 2024
Brad Penner/USA Today Sports
The Sixers have their most important offseason in years ahead of them.
The Sixers' season came to an embarrassing end at home.
Philadelphia and New York fans were competing to see who had the louder MVP chants. One for Joel Embiid, the other for Jalen Brunson (not for Tyrese Maxey). The only thing louder than Knicks fans was the thud of the season closing in horrific fashion.
The refs. The fans. The 2,000 tickets. The sniping on social media. None of it mattered. The Sixers ultimately were beaten by a better team – for whatever circumstances – and suffered another frustrating early playoff loss. This season was a colossal waste of time, proven by what happens next.
I told you weeks ago the Sixers should sit Embiid because this post season was an exercise in futility. Behold, not only did the Sixers further grind his body into the ground, they did it at the expense of handing over their arena to Knicks fans.
There’s a ton of cap space next season, meaning the team can rid themselves of the stench of Tobias Harris’ contract and most likely everyone else not named Tyrese Maxey. That also means it’s time to pick up and start all over again.
Let’s look at the three biggest issues centering around the Sixers and why they are moving in place – or possibly the wrong direction.
First, the Embiid enigma. His career is defined by “if” and “but” rather than championships. As commendable as him playing through multiple injury was, it continues to validate long term concern that he’s simply not fit for the playoffs. As difficult as a reality as that will be for some, it’s right in front of us.
Embiid is a hall of fame talent that can’t seem to get it right during the playoffs – the most important part. Maybe it’s his style of play, maybe it’s his size, maybe it’s just dumb luck. Whatever the reason, the result has developed a pattern. It's one that is pretty clear to me; the team has to treat Embiid as a luxury moving forward. It’s fantastic if he’s healthy and able to dominate in the post season, but you can make no more assumptions.
How does that happen and how do you do it with a generational talent? Easy. You need a combination of a ton of money and a budding super star already on the team. Suddenly, this doesn’t seem that difficult, but it’s the optics that will set this plan back. The team doesn’t want to admit their rational concerns about whether Embiid will be available, and Nick Nurse isn’t going to coach any different when Embiid is on the floor.
This is the second biggest issue now facing this broken Sixers team; how they approach Maxey. This young kid is full of everything that defines the modern Philadelphia athlete. Outside of being swallowed up on the floor in Game 6, Maxey left us little to criticize overall – it just wasn’t enough when it counted. Live, learn, and grow. That’s the nature of being successful in the playoffs. This was a big year for Maxey but he still needs to take another step.
The Sixers must make Maxey one of the top priorities on the floor. He’s the focal point and centerpiece of this team. But we have to understand, the nature of the NBA playoffs would indicate he needs to experience that next level before dominating it.
Nobody can offer that wisdom to Embiid or Maxey, as they need to experience it themselves. The issue remains, how fast can Maxey rise inside of Embiid’s open window? There is still hope these two will meet in the middle, even briefly, but without addressing this third major issue – there is no hope.
The team has money to spend. Goodbye Tobias Harris. Kelly Oubre is an interesting candidate although I think he played himself – rightfully so – into a larger deal. Whether he outprices the Sixers market is irrelevant, as the main focus is bringing in someone who can take over a basketball game.
The Knicks were down to six healthy players, seven overall. They won games because Jalen Brunson took over. The series was dictated by people who can take over games. But this is just the first round in a long battle of attrition. We already established through history that Embiid isn’t built for the long haul, and Maxey needs another year (or two) of a deeper playoff run.
The Sixers must bring in a top tier free agent who can run with either Maxey or Embiid, and still take over, preferably in the playoffs. Let me repeat this loud and clear – building around Embiid will seal the fate of this basketball team. It’s a death sentence. That also means just addressing the team’s concerns by upgrading the backup center. No, you need a superstar.
Get Embiid up and pushing these guys to come here, same with Daryl Morey. These are connected guys in the NBA and should be active in pursuing the largest of names.
We will dive deeper into who that will be once the season ends in earnest, but for now, it has to be someone who can take over the identity of the Sixers. James Harden flopped, but Jimmy Butler was on the right track. As foolish as the decision was to keep Harris over Butler, the latter’s tenure here showed you can have that type of player work with Embiid.
Now we add Maxey to the equation and that’s the recipe.
The Sixers have one off-season – this one – to get this right or the Embiid era is officially dead. It’s not looking good right now, and outside of a massive change in approach to conditioning, the only hope left is new blood.
We start over, again, new players, new coaching, new gelling with teammates. This gives me little hope as nobody just slaps together a championship team.
Time is running out, Mr. Morey… tick tock.
Eytan Shander is a long time radio and TV personality in Philadelphia. In addition to his weekly column, you can currently listen and watch him on Fox29’s Good Day and other sports shows. He’s giving betting advice on OddsShopper. A lifetime Eagles fan, Eytan lives just outside the city with his wife.
Follow Eytan on Twitter: @shandershow
