October 06, 2026
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
Labaron Philon Jr.'s first NBA training camp began with an attempt to stop a LeBron James transition attack.
From the sounds of it, the first official week of the 2026-27 Sixers season has been quite rigorous. Head coach Nick Nurse described running two "very intense and physical" practices to start training camp, and on Saturday morning Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey praised the group's competitiveness early on.
Even Labaron Philon Jr., in his first NBA preseason, has sensed a particular intensity. And with a mountain of a task at hand – optimizing the additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to a team already featuring Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe – the whole group being focused is critical. What has stood out to Philon about his first week on the job?
"The way they compete," Philon said on Thursday. "Everybody’s competing really hard. We’ve had great days. Like, everybody’s just going at each other. I feel like that’s the only way we can sharpen each other’s iron, by just going at each other. When I see Bron going at JB and VJ going at Tyrese, that kind of sparked me a little bit to push somebody else on the team. Like me trying to go at [Anfernee Simons], Ant trying to go at me, or stuff like that. I feel like that connection right there is going to get us better as a whole, and we’ve been seeing it ever since training camp started. So it’s been a great process."
In two weeks, the Sixers will be kicking off their season at Madison Square Garden; that leaves time for three mailbags before this campaign is underway. This week's mailbag focuses on Philon's likelihood of being traded – yes, we have already landed here after one preseason game – and what the buyout market could look like this winter:
From @mastermind2913: You think we trade Labaron Philon Jr. at the deadline? Can always use bench guards, but doesn't seem like he'll be a huge factor for the two years LeBron James is here. And I feel like we've got to maximize every avenue we've got to go all-in these two years.
James' teams have always focused on short-term championship aspirations, and that will not change now. But, contrary to what many have argued, that is not a death knell for Philon's time in Philadelphia. As a rookie drafted late in the first round, Philon will only make about $3.6 million this season; he is not going to be meaningfully more helpful when it comes to matching salaries in a hypothetical deal than anyone else on this roster.
And while the Sixers have short-term ambitions, they do not need to completely mortgage their future to chase every single instant upgrade. Their depth is already better than ever before, and they remain primed to build around Maxey and Edgecombe (and potentially Brown) in the years to come. Philon can be an important part of their future – especially if the optimism being projected so far holds up.
"I talked about his compete level and his effort. His physicality has been good. I think that’s been excellent," Nurse said on Thursday. "What's showing more is his ability to run an offense. Like, really takes command of getting people where they need to be, making a decisive play call or whatever it is and getting it executed and also he’s got a bit of a – when things are getting a little haywire, he’s got a little bit of an ability to break away and get some space and get into the paint and then create the offense that way.”
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Nobody is ever truly off the table in trade talks these days – certainly not a rookie on a team trying to contend for a championship with limited upside in terms of playing time this season. But the odds are always stacked against any one player being moved, and that is absolutely true for Philon, whose early play has sparked quite a bit of excitement.
"[H]e’s really settled in the last couple days. I mean, he’s so talented. The thing I love about him, like, with all these guys too, it doesn’t really faze him," Gansey said on Saturday. "You know, he’s just coming in there and competing and trying to earn some minutes and I think he’ll figure it out because, like, I tried to tell him the other day, being a point guard in this league, I think that’s the hardest position for a rookie... it’s going to take some time. But he’s a worker, he loves to be in the gym. So, I think he’ll figure it out here soon. But every day he’s been getting better and better.”
Ultimately, with the Sixers able to take back very little salary compared to what they are sending out, the pathway to trading someone like Philon includes acquiring someone on an extremely cost-effective contract. Not many NBA players even close to Philon's orbit in terms of salary are true difference-makers; the ones that are rarely get moved.
On a few occasions since being hired, Gansey has alluded to the importance of bolstering the team's depth and enabling Nurse to reduce the workloads of his key players. Gansey got the job done in emphatic fashion. Will Nurse follow suit by finding ways to keep the minutes totals of Maxey and Edgecombe down? If so, Philon could be the most significant beneficiary. That would present an opportunity for him to be more impactful than expected in his first two seasons.
MORE: Nick Nurse wants to move Joel Embiid 'around the floor,' Philon standing out
From @buff985.bsky.social: Who might be the buyout market acquisition this year?
It is a fool's errand to spend too much time on a question like this before the season has even started; so many players could theoretically find themselves on the buyout market in February. Dozens of veterans around the league have cases right now; eventually that field will narrow down.
But, for the sake of answering your question, I pondered the most common characteristics of buyout players. They are often nearing the end of their careers, they almost always are being bought out from expiring contracts by teams not expected to be in the playoff picture, they fit a specific need for their new team and they are flawed to enough of a degree that no team trades for them before the deadline.
With those criteria in mind, one player stands out to me as a potential Sixers buyout target: Brook Lopez.
MORE: After 'great first week,' LeBron 'just trying to build' with Joel Embiid, Sixers
Lopez, the Los Angeles Clippers' 38-year-old center on an expiring contract worth nearly $9.2 million, appears likely to come off the bench in the season ahead; reports out of training camp indicate the younger Isaiah Jackson is the first-team center. Yanic Konan Niederhäuser showed significant flashes as a late first-round pick last season, and for a Clippers team now firmly focused on the future, he should be prioritized over the veteran 15 years his senior.
Perhaps in the aftermath of being stripped of five first-round picks by the NBA, the Clippers will surprise people and compete for a Play-In Tournament spot in the Western Conference. But it does not feel likely, and even if it does happen, Lopez is not likely to be essential. And for a player whose mobility and productivity have declined significantly in recent years, his price point is prohibitive. It is far from impossible he ends up being traded before the deadline, but it is easier to imagine the Clippers moving veterans like Kris Dunn, Chester native Derrick Jones Jr. or Rui Hachimura.
The Sixers, of course, do not have a solidified answer at backup center. Lopez is a very different player than what the Sixers have right now – he is not a vertical spacer whatsoever, but can space the floor out on the perimeter – but perhaps having multiple looks behind Embiid could be beneficial. Lopez, of course, must show he can still hang at his advanced age.
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