It has been an exhausting week covering the Sixers. Unfortunately, it is only now Monday. 

Ever since news of Paul George's 25-game suspension broke – just five days ahead of Thursday's trade deadline – the Sixers have had to adjust to a new reality. They will be without their third-best player for the better part of two months, and all of their trade deadline strategizing was dependent on math that no longer adds up.

Typically, 5 Sixers thoughts is the headliner every Monday here. But today, that is our 2026 Sixers trade deadline primer, which you can find here. Inside the primer: an in-depth evaluation of what the George news means for the deadline, explanations for all of the relevant salary cap and luxury tax rules governing the Sixers, judgements about the team's most and least valuable assets and dozens upon dozens of possible trade targets.

For now, a pair of notes stemming from Saturday's win over the New Orleans Pelicans before pivoting to three trade targets that are particularly intriguing. 

Joel Embiid and Jared McCain forming a rapport

McCain, whose months of struggles led to multiple G League assignments and several DNPs, is finally finding something again. Even without tremendous explosion, he has been lights out as a shooter of late, with two breakthrough performances in his last three games.

One turning point for McCain: spending more time on the floor with Embiid, whose presence alone creates opportunities for others.

"Obviously, the defense is going to gravitate towards him the most," McCain said on Tuesday. "And I think being able to play off him, I've always loved it. It's always been fun to play with him, off of him, and I think it's easy to do it."

McCain knocked down four threes in the Sixers' win over New Orleans on Saturday, and all of those shots came while Embiid was on the floor. Three of them came as a direct result of the attention the former NBA MVP commands:

Is Sixers head coach Nick Nurse making a concerted effort to pair up McCain and Embiid for the sophomore's benefit?

"I like it. I think when it works out, it's good," Nurse said on Saturday. "We certainly are looking at that. I'm not saying it's a for-sure thing, but it's certainly up there on the priority list."

Embiid, of course, has a long history of forming brilliant two-man rapports with skilled guards. JJ Redick was the first, Seth Curry followed him and then Tyrese Maxey added a new layer to it as a downhill driver. Embiid has been in McCain's ear about what to do in those situations.  

"It's the same for everybody: I try to tell them to be aggressive," Embiid said. "I want them to come off [my screen] with the intention of attacking and shooting the ball. He's been more confident lately, so just got to keep going. It's the same mentality for everybody here: use me, attack."

Does Embiid envision forming the same long-term two-man excellence with McCain that he has had with Redick, Curry and Maxey?

"I talked about it last year... Obviously, it takes a little bit of time," Embiid said. "For JJ, it was easy. With Tyrese, it was easy. I think a lot of it is also basketball IQ. Know time and place, when to do certain stuff, so it's a learning experience for him."

Nobody is better suited to explain the unusual lifestyle of being Embiid's teammate than Maxey. He has, unsurprisingly, been vocal as McCain tries to work out the kinks.

"Dude, if you come off and they're not guarding you, shoot it," Maxey tells McCain. "That's what you do. That's what we need [you] to do."

MORE: After months of struggles, Sixers thrilled McCain finally looks 'more like him'

Maxey raved about the work McCain has put in to get himself back on Nurse's radar and, in light of George's suspension, knows how valuable a resurgence from the 21-year-old would be. 

"We need that scoring punch that he brings, and I'm just happy for him, man. He has fought himself out of a little funk, and doing that is hard, man," Maxey said. "It's really hard, especially when you don't play every night, the uncertainty of the roster and sometimes you're winning, so it's a weird spot to be in. But he's fought his way out and I've seen the confidence coming back into him, and we're going to need that. We're going to need that. But their two-man game is really good. It's really good. It's going to be hard for teams to defend, and it's just another layer that we can add to our offense."

Tyrese Maxey makes an important point

In a similar vein, Maxey's leadership was once again valuable on Saturday, as the George news shocked the Sixers.

As soon as the news broke, Maxey reached out to McCain, Justin Edwards and Trendon Watford. "Listen, y'all got to be ready," Maxey told them.

"I know Kelly [Oubre Jr.] is going to be ready, that's just who he is," Maxey said. "But Jared, Justin, Trendon: they haven't played in playoff basketball, and last year – no disrespect – we weren't good, so we didn't play meaningful basketball... We need those guys to really step up and play good basketball for us."

Maxey's full response to the first question he was asked about George's suspension on Saturday:

"First of all, we stand with Paul. We appreciate him, and as a team we're going to rally behind him and make sure that he's good and gets whatever he needs. As far as who's going to step up: I think Kelly, we saw Kelly play good tonight. VJ [Edgecombe] will step back into that role that he was kind of in in the beginning of the season, being more aggressive than he already is. Jared, Quentin [Grimes], Trendon, all those guys played well tonight, and we have Justin as well, which he'll get in and he'll play, have his moments as well. So we have some guys that we can use and throw in there. [Dominick] Barlow steps into the starting lineup and he brought what he can, we know what he can do, he's been doing it all year, and we appreciate him for that." 

MORE: Diving into the ramifications of George's suspension

Day'Ron Sharpe, Brooklyn Nets

Here is the write-up on Sharpe, who makes $6.25 million this season with a team option for the same amount next year, from the trade deadline primer:

"Sharpe is an elite backup center, and if the Sixers are interested in bolstering their rotation at the five behind Embiid, their best bet is trading for the Nets' 24-year-old backup big. Sharpe is a stellar rebounder and a very good passer for a center, and while he is not much of a shooter he is an efficient play finisher. Sharpe's contract is a total bargain, and while Brooklyn might ask for a first-round pick, it is difficult to see a team gladly meeting that price point. Could the Sixers use salary filler and either a young player or collection of valuable second-round picks to get Sharpe?"

Sharpe would be a meaningful upgrade from Andre Drummond, and the veteran Drummond being traded from Philadelphia to Brooklyn for the second time would likely be a prerequisite to this deal getting done for salary reasons. Would Brooklyn have interest in Justin Edwards or Johni Broome as a young player they can develop as part of their rebuild? Perhaps the simpler answer is the Sixers dumping Eric Gordon in this deal, too, and compensating the Nets with a boatload of second-round picks.

If the cost is not absurd, Sharpe should be the center the Sixers are most focused on if they want to bolster their group of fives behind Embiid. Sharpe would quite possibly be the best backup Embiid has ever had, and he and Adem Bona would make for a solid enough pairing at center on nights Embiid is out.

Saddiq Bey, New Orleans Pelicans

Here is the write-up on Bey, who makes $6.1 million this season and $6.4 million next year, from the primer:

"A Villanova product, Bey missed all of last season due to injury before returning to action this season in New Orleans. The Pelicans are his third team, and there is a decent chance he is moved to his fourth this week. Bey torched the Sixers on Saturday night, scoring 34 points on 19 shots. He can score from a whole lot of places on the floor."

Bey was an intriguing option for the Sixers long before he exploded against them on Saturday; Bey is currently in the midst of a red-hot stretch which will only help New Orleans secure a quality return for him if they choose to do so. Bey, who has been one of the best clutch scorers in the NBA this season, is rounding into peak form coming off a torn ACL:

Before Saturday's game, Pelicans head coach James Borrego raved about Bey's offensive versatility and spoke at length about the number of ways New Orleans utilizes his ability.

"He's just a pro, on both sides of the ball," Borrego said. "The physicality defensively [makes us] bigger, stronger. We've got more presence defensively. But offensively, he's so versatile for us right now. He's a catch-and-shoot guy, he's a drive guy downhill. We post him some. He's on the offensive boards. He's closed out games for us, he's made big shots for us. So he covers a number of things for us offensively. Especially with Trey [Murphy III], Zion [Williamson], they tend to get most of the attention. We can sneak a few plays in for Saddiq and let him get on a run. He's been a real settler for us offensively. When we've gone dry offensively, he's someone that we can throw the ball to and I know something good's going to happen: either get a good shot he's going to find somebody open on the perimeter."

Justin Champagnie, Washington Wizards

Here is the write up on Champagnie, who is on one of the most team-friendly contracts imaginable, from the primer:

"Whether the Sixers want to duck the tax or not this week, they should call Washington and make an offer for Champagnie, an elite wing rebounder who does just enough of everything else to be a useful rotation piece. He is on a stunningly team-friendly contract, and given the three max contracts atop the Sixers' books it would be an enormous benefit for them to have a near-minimum rotation piece locked in for three years. He would have been the best candidate for the Sixers to backfill Oubre's spot while staying under the tax before George's suspension, but Champagnie remains one of the players Morey and his front office should be most focused on."

Champagnie makes only $2.3 million this season, then $2.6 million next year and $3.0 million in the following campaign. His salaries in 2026-27 and 2027-28 are non-guaranteed. He had a career-best three-point shooting season last year, but has struggled this year, shooting 31.1 percent on 2.0 three-point attempts per game. He would be a nice long-term fit as the last wing in the Sixers' rotation and has enough utility to fill a larger role than that while George is suspended. Champagnie's standout skill is his offensive rebounding:

When the Wizards were in Philadelphia last month, head coach Brian Keefe jokingly took credit for Champagnie's offensive rebounding prowess before praising the 24-year-old.

"It's all him," Keefe said. "We got this when we acquired him two and a half years ago. He has a real knack for just finding the ball, and he goes every time. So there's a pursuit to it, but he also has a great understanding of timing, when to go, where the ball is going to be. He's really unique with that."

MORE: 2026 Sixers trade deadline primer