Some of the highest-level NBA basketball imaginable is being played on a nightly basis right now, as four teams all battle in an attempt to earn their places in the NBA Finals.

The only relevance the Sixers hold in the NBA's pair of conference finals: players they have discarded are making meaningful contributions for their new teams.

How can the Sixers be more like the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs? Some of the successes of those teams are not replicable, but as the Sixers look for a new lead executive in basketball operations, it is a chance for the organization to chart a new path that it hopes will lead to the deep playoff runs Philadelphia fans have long craved.

In this week's 5 Sixers thoughts, a batch of notes on the future of the Sixers and the ongoing playoff action featuring old friends:

Early returns on Daryl Morey's last draft pick

Last week, our annual Sixers year-in-review series began, evaluating the seasons of each member of the roster to break down statistical trends and identify what we learned about them during the season.

It is worth noting that one player on the roster all season long who will not be covered in the series: Johni Broome. Why not? Frankly, the No. 35 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft spent such little time on the floor for the Sixers that there was not a large enough sample size for any meaningful analytical takeaways or even substantive observations.

Broome, who will turn 24 years old in July, logged just 55 regular-season minutes, only making four of his 24 shot attempts. Of his 11 appearances, 10 came in games that were already well out of reach. His one semblance of a rotation cameo came late in November, when one center got hurt and three more entered first-half foul trouble. All of that resulted in Broome playing seven minutes and change.

Oddly, many Sixers fans have written Broome off entirely. And while his rookie season was somewhat ominous, it is a fool's errand to derive any conclusions, positive or negative, from such an insignificant sample of minutes.

Former Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey had a strong draft record in Philadelphia, and Broome is the last question mark remaining. And for what it's worth, last year's second round does not look all that promising at the moment. Immediately before Broome went off the board, the Charlotte Hornets nailed two early second-rounders, drafting Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner. Otherwise, Maxime Raynaud, picked at No. 41 overall by the Sacramento Kings, made the All-Rookie Second Team, and then there is not much to write home about.

Oftentimes, second-round picks are at least in part dictated by contractual matters, and Broome being willing to sign a four-year contract bolstered his value for the Sixers.

To be clear, Broome's rookie season – between a complete lack of rotation opportunities and a torn meniscus – went about as poorly as it possibly could have. Folks are right to feel concerned about his long-term prospects, or at least worse than they did after he was drafted. But the book on Broome has not been written yet.

MORE: How Broome and Sixers matched up two years after first meeting

Sixers executive drawing interest from other teams

Last week, Tony Jones of The Athletic reported that Sixers assistant general manager Jameer Nelson was the "strongest internal candidate" for the team's lead front-office job – a statement which does not bode well for general manager Elton Brand.

On Saturday, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirmed that reporting and added a note on Prosper Karangwa, one of Morey's top lieutenants throughout his six-year tenure running the Sixers.

"While Nelson appears to be the safest of any current 76ers executive on staff, it’s unclear what’s next for others on the staff," Scotto wrote. "For example, Propser Karangwa has drawn interest from the Lakers and Mavericks, league sources told HoopsHype."

Karangwa was actually hired by the Sixers a few weeks before Morey. And, as @HojoTakeda on Twitter/X points out, worked with Minnesota Timberwolves general manager Matt Lloyd in Orlando earlier in their front-office careers. If Lloyd ends up being the executive chosen by Bob Myers to lead the Sixers moving forward, perhaps it would make Karangwa more likely to stick around.

2026 NBA Draft class on the verge of being locked in

A critical date in the NBA calendar is nearing: Wednesday night is the deadline for college players to withdraw their names from the 2026 NBA Draft.

Last year's deadline day was a bloodbath for NBA teams, and in recent years the growth of NIL has devastated the quality of depth in drafts. It used to be understood that any player with the ability to secure two years of guaranteed money by landing in the first round would head to the NBA; now college programs can offer more money than the NBA's rookie scale.

If NCAA teams continue to compel players to go back to school – either via traditional returns or through the transfer portal – the NBA might need to consider increasing the size of rookie-scale deals, which have long been artificially deflated, for the sake of giving prospects stronger motivation to enter the league. But for all we know, that could simply improve the NIL packages being offered.

The Sixers pick at No. 22 overall next month, and that is the exact region of the board that is now prone to being devalued by a tough batch of stay-or-go decisions. If this trend continues for years to come, it will be worth tracking the average outcomes of post-lottery first-round picks and seeing how much it worsens relative to the time when every prospect's lone motivation was to bolster their draft stock.

MORE: Sixers mock draft roundup 3.0

Jared McCain and Landry Shamet thriving in Conference Finals

The Western Conference Finals are tied, 2-2, after the undermanned Oklahoma City Thunder managed just 82 points on 6-for-33 three-point shooting against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 on Sunday night. One of their many poor performances came from former Sixers guard Jared McCain, who made just one of his 10 shot attempts in 24 minutes off the bench.

McCain, of course, stole the show in Oklahoma City's Game 3 victory. His fearless shot-taking stunned viewers – at least those unfamiliar with his game – and he out-shot Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama en route to a game-swinging performance:

Even before injuries piled back up, McCain's brilliant three-point shooting and crafty inside-the-arc scoring had helped him carve out an expanding rotation role in the Thunder's rotation. He is playing crunch-time minutes in the highest-level series in recent NBA history.

Meanwhile, the New York Knicks have a chance to punch their ticket to the 2026 NBA Finals in Cleveland on Monday night. After sweeping the Sixers in the second round, they have a chance to do the same to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Knicks had a thrilling Game 1 comeback, erasing a 20-plus-point deficit in the fourth quarter and winning in overtime. It felt like the series ended there, and it would not have happened without the efforts of former Sixers first-round pick Landry Shamet:

Shamet, traded to the Los Angeles Clippers midway through his rookie season as part of the package which netted Tobias Harris, bounced around the league a decent bit. His NBA career was nearing life support. But he has finally broken through again, this time in a different mold.

Rather than simply functioning as a three-point shooting specialist, Shamet has become a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden because of his tenacious defense on the perimeter and endless hustle. He is a true scrapper, but the smooth stroke from beyond the arc remains. Shamet, who added 14 points on five shot attempts in Game 3, is arguably New York's best bench player right now.

Talking Sixers offseason and potential trades

For those interested in seeing and listening to more about the Sixers' options in the upcoming offseason and ways they can improve, I appeared on Yossi Gozlan's Third Apron Podcast.

First, we discussed the likelihood of Joel Embiid or Paul George being traded, what such deals would look like, and more realistic avenues for the team to make changes: