July 15, 2026
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
Before Tyrese Maxey's first All-NBA season began, some Sixers fans were prepared to see him traded.
Back in September, we posted our annual preseason Sixers survey, gauging how fans felt about the offseason that was winding down and the hard-to-predict regular season that was ahead.
After 736 respondents filled out the survey, it became clear that there was plenty of local frustration – not so hard to predict given the disaster that was the 2024-25 season.
This offseason has been a whirlwind – from Daryl Morey's ouster to the hiring of Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey to the 2026 NBA Draft to the Jaylen Brown trade to the pursuit of LeBron James.
Now that there is some time to breathe – at least for the moment – let's revisit the results of that survey with the benefit of hindsight:
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| Pleased that both are back | 399 | 55.0% |
| Frustrated that both are back | 90 | 12.4% |
| Pleased that Nurse is back, frustrated that Morey is back | 150 | 20.7% |
| Pleased that Morey is back, frustrated that Nurse is back | 86 | 11.9% |
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| 1 | 139 | 19.0% |
| 2 | 187 | 25.5% |
| 3 | 252 | 34.4% |
| 4 | 128 | 17.5% |
| 5 | 27 | 3.7% |
Just over 75 percent of respondents were in favor of Nick Nurse returning for a third season as Sixers head coach. Now, he is getting a fourth season, while Morey's tenure is over.
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| Wanted the team to draft Edgecombe; still glad they did | 518 | 71.2% |
| Wanted the team to draft Edgecombe; now unsure he was the right pick | 30 | 4.1% |
| Did not want the team to draft Edgecombe; now glad they did | 115 | 15.8% |
| Did not want the team to draft Edgecombe; still unsure he was the right pick | 65 | 8.9% |
Some will argue that No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel is a better long-term bet than Edgecombe after his superior rookie season, but it would be nonsensical for Sixers fans to feel any regrets about landing Edgecombe, a no-doubt-about-it franchise cornerstone.
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| A+ | 10 | 1.4% |
| A | 22 | 3.0% |
| A- | 30 | 4.1% |
| B+ | 91 | 12.6% |
| B | 173 | 23.9% |
| B- | 80 | 11.1% |
| C+ | 86 | 11.9% |
| C | 124 | 17.2% |
| C- | 43 | 5.9% |
| D+ | 20 | 2.8% |
| D | 20 | 2.8% |
| D- | 7 | 1.0% |
| F | 17 | 2.4% |
Broome was the rare draft pick that was not remotely exciting to Sixers fans, whose skepticism was perhaps justified by Broome's ominous rookie season in which he only logged 55 regular-season minutes.
MORE: Asking a Portland beat writer about three former Trail Blazers signed by Sixers
• Trendon Watford: two-year, veteran's minimum contract with a team option in the second season
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| A+ | 45 | 6.2% |
| A | 104 | 14.4% |
| A- | 75 | 10.4% |
| B+ | 141 | 19.6% |
| B | 167 | 23.2% |
| B- | 53 | 7.4% |
| C+ | 38 | 5.3% |
| C | 68 | 9.4% |
| C- | 11 | 1.5% |
| D+ | 5 | 0.7% |
| D | 4 | 0.6% |
| D- | 4 | 0.6% |
| F | 5 | 0.7% |
Watford had a few exciting flashes in his lone season in Philadelphia, but was not good enough consistently enough. His $2.8 million team option for 2026-27 was declined and he is expected to play elsewhere.
• Eric Gordon: one-year, veteran's minimum contract
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| A+ | 6 | 0.8% |
| A | 3 | 0.4% |
| A- | 5 | 0.7% |
| B+ | 6 | 0.8% |
| B | 40 | 5.5% |
| B- | 25 | 3.4% |
| C+ | 44 | 6.0% |
| C | 117 | 16.0% |
| C- | 71 | 9.7% |
| D+ | 65 | 8.9% |
| D | 88 | 12.0% |
| D- | 38 | 5.2% |
| F | 224 | 30.6% |
Nobody liked this deal, and Gordon played very few minutes for the Sixers before being salary dumped at the cost of a distant second-round pick swap. Gordon did serve as a valuable mentor for Edgecombe.
• Kyle Lowry: one-year, veteran's minimum contract
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| A+ | 4 | 0.5% |
| A | 11 | 1.5% |
| A- | 7 | 1.0% |
| B+ | 25 | 3.4% |
| B | 24 | 3.3% |
| B- | 25 | 3.4% |
| C+ | 35 | 4.8% |
| C | 94 | 12.9% |
| C- | 80 | 10.9% |
| D+ | 74 | 10.1% |
| D | 102 | 14.0% |
| D- | 41 | 5.6% |
| F | 209 | 28.6% |
The Lowry signing was similarly panned by many, but his leadership in the locker room was very meaningful. Lowry has officially retired after 20 seasons in the NBA.
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| He is a potential star | 24 | 3.3% |
| He is a higher-caliber rotation piece than previously anticipated and can start for a contending team | 474 | 64.9% |
| He is a useful role player, but his scoring in a tanking period will not translate to more competitive NBA games | 232 | 31.8% |
It turns out, the final response was the one best represented by Grimes' fifth NBA season. And that is part of the reason Grimes is now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
MORE: Revisiting PhillyVoice's 10 predictions for 2025-26 Sixers season
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| George returns to star-caliber production and stays mostly healthy | 25 | 3.4% |
| George remains healthy and is much better than last season, but does not play like a star | 247 | 33.8% |
| George plays much better than last season when healthy but once again misses significant time | 251 | 34.4% |
| George has an extremely similar season to last, with shaky productivity and limited availability | 166 | 22.7% |
| George's play and/or availability are even worse than last season | 41 | 5.6% |
Was the third or fourth response to this question more accurate? Given how well George played in the first round of the playoffs, the point goes to the 34.4 percent.
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| 1 | 209 | 28.6% |
| 2 | 192 | 26.3% |
| 3 | 139 | 19.0% |
| 4 | 127 | 17.4% |
| 5 | 63 | 8.6% |
It would be quite interesting to examine the results of this poll now, when Maxey is certainly the most visible front-facing face of the franchise.
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| Guerschon Yabusele | 563 | 92.4% |
| Jared Butler | 79 | 13.0% |
| Ricky Council IV | 68 | 11.2% |
| Lonnie Walker IV | 45 | 7.4% |
As it turns out, nobody should have objected to the Sixers letting any of these players go. In fact, not offering Guerschon Yabusele a two-year contract at the taxpayer's mid-level exception was one of the team's best decisions of last offseason.
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| Dominick Barlow | 35 | 4.8% |
| Adem Bona | 625 | 86.4% |
| Johni Broome | 141 | 19.5% |
| Andre Drummond | 138 | 19.1% |
| Justin Edwards | 565 | 78.1% |
| Eric Gordon | 65 | 9.0% |
| Kyle Lowry | 41 | 5.7% |
| Kelly Oubre Jr. | 667 | 92.3% |
| Jabari Walker | 262 | 36.2% |
| Trendon Watford | 529 | 73.2% |
Nobody saw Dominick Barlow's emergence coming, while there were significant expectations for sophomores Adem Bona and Justin Edwards. The Watford optimists did not quite see what they were hoping for.
MORE: LeBron James sweepstakes continue, loaded Eastern Conference and more
• Trading picks owed by Los Angeles Clippers (2028 unprotected first-round pick, 2029 top-three protected first-round pick swap rights) to find short-term rotation upgrades
| Response | Votes |
| Supportive of the idea | 90 |
| Unsure or see argument on both sides | 219 |
| Against the idea | 403 |
The Sixers did not do this – during the 2025-26 season. Then came the 2026 offseason. Earlier this month, the Sixers traded the 2028 unprotected Clippers pick (with an unusual condition) to turn George into Brown. That is a short-term upgrade in the eyes of most, but it is most certainly a long-term upgrade given Brown is six years younger than George.
• Trying to use Jared McCain as a sweetener to shed Joel Embiid or Paul George's contract in a trade
| Response | Votes |
| Supportive of the idea | 133 |
| Unsure or see argument on both sides | 145 |
| Against the idea | 444 |
The Sixers never got the chance to do this, because Morey concluded McCain was no longer a building block, trading him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a first-round pick – later used by Gansey to select Labaron Philon Jr. with the No. 22 overall pick in last month's draft – and three second-rounders.
• Trading Tyrese Maxey to build around a backcourt of Jared McCain and VJ Edgecombe
| Response | Votes |
| Supportive of the idea | 64 |
| Unsure or see argument on both sides | 174 |
| Against the idea | 478 |
This idea is still an interesting one to ponder, but maybe it was never realistic.
The results here could not have possibly been any closer without these two guards being tied:
| Response | Votes | Percentage |
| VJ Edgecombe | 361 | 50.1% |
| Jared McCain | 359 | 49.9% |
It is safe to say Edgecombe is the better player with the better future, and that is more about the extent to which he surpasses expectations than anything else.
A handful of bold predictions that either came true or were very close to coming true:
• "VJ Edgecombe is our most important future piece by end of year"
• "VJ will clearly be the third best player on the Sixers' roster"
• "Sixers make playoffs as the No. 8 seed and upset the No. 1 seed. Still lose in the second round though"
• "Jared McCain has a significant sophomore slump and gets mentioned in trade talks for marginal upgrades"
• "Maxey will be a top-10 scorer and All-Star"
• "Run and gun Sixers move emotionally past Embiid with focus on the engine of young guards"
• "Sixers part ways with Daryl Morey"
And a handful of bold predictions that definitely did not come true:
• "Johni Broome makes more 3s than VJ this season"
• "Sixers will waive-and-stretch Embiid"
• "Jared McCain top 3 in 6th man of the year voting"
• "The Sixers make a run to at least the conference finals and have three All-Stars"
• "Adem Bona makes an All-Defense team"
• "They become the third Philadelphia team to win a title in 12 months"
• "My bold prediction is that the Sixers actually have a normal season"
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