September 23, 2025
Rob Gray/Imagn Images
Could the Sixers revisit a potential Lauri Markkanen trade concept?
This time next week, the Sixers will be a few days into their Abu Dhabi trip and preparing for a pair of preseason exhibitions there against the New York Knicks.
Next Tuesday will also mark the first Sixers mailbag of the 2025-26 season, which means this is the final Sixers mailbag of the 2025 offseason.
Let's get to your questions:
From @RNDiamondstein: Is the Lauri Markkaen chatter just smoke? Is there a universe where we’re talking about like… a significant trade during this year? Tyrese Maxey or Paul George and a bazillion picks?
It is not the first time this has been the case, but the Utah Jazz being willing to move Markkanen at some point during the upcoming campaign certainly seems plausible. Utah is still getting its rebuild off the ground and Markkanen is hitting his peak years. His portable skill set has made him an attractive trade target for many teams, and even after a down season last year there should be no shortage of interest in a three-level scorer of his size.
But for the Sixers' purposes, a Markkanen trade feels unlikely. As good as Markkanen is, trading Maxey for him would not be wise. Maxey is younger by well over three years and is arguably the better player regardless. Both players are under contract for another four years; during that time Markkanen will make over $27 million more than Maxey. Even if someone wants to argue that Markkanen is a better player or a better fit for the Sixers, he is much more likely to eventually become a negative asset given his contract and age. That feels like a virtual impossibility for Maxey. Ultimately, the position the Sixers are in should not lead them to a blockbuster trade that makes them an older team.
Of course, they could get much younger and quite possibly much better if they could turn the remaining three years and $162 million on George's contract into Markkanen. But for Utah to play ball on such a deal, the Sixers would have to give up a whole lot to facilitate the swap. Maybe that means Jared McCain. Maybe it means a boatload of draft picks. Maybe it means McCain and a boatload of draft picks.
Paying any sort of premium to boost short-term championship odds should be an enormously tough sell for the Sixers. The entirety of their title hopes hinge on Joel Embiid. Any deal of this magnitude would not just be the Sixers making a bet that they will be on the right side of the trade, but also that Embiid will be healthy enough for them to take advantage of it. Making both of those bets at once should be a bridge too far.
MORE: Media Day, training camp just days away
From @Nate_Dog0: If Embiid is out to start the season in what order would you rank players in points per game?
I am taking this question to mean Embiid is out but everyone else is available, and I am also going to assume that this includes Quentin Grimes, who remains unsigned as of this writing.
1) Tyrese Maxey: It is not inconceivable to me that Maxey leads the Sixers in points per game even while including Embiid, whose minutes will be monitored much more closely and could try to scale back his offensive workload to conserve energy. But when Embiid is out – which should happen quite often – Maxey will have the ultimate green light from head coach Nick Nurse.
2) Paul George: I strongly considered putting Grimes above George, but the tie goes to the player actually under contract with the team. George's star-level scoring upside was basically nonexistent in his first year with the Sixers; his off-the-dribble explosion was lackluster and he failed to consistently create advantages as a result. But George is still a tremendous shooter who should be in line for greater three-point volume next season.
3) Quentin Grimes: Once the Grimes situation is resolved, he profiles as an obvious starter alongside Maxey in this team's backcourt. A strong baseline in terms of playing time plus a combination of reliable spot-up three-point shooting and newfound on-ball scoring chops makes him a safer bet than anyone else on the roster. Grimes has a path to filling an important role on both ends of the floor no matter who is healthy every single night.
4) Jared McCain: McCain also has the right blend of on-ball and off-ball scoring capabilities to have a pretty reasonable floor in terms of scoring. But he could be a defensive liability, particularly because Maxey will be locked into more minutes than anyone else on the team. It would be easier to imagine him challenging Grimes in terms of points per game if Grimes was not a clear plus on defensive while McCain is a noticeable minus.
MORE: What should be expected of Paul George?
From @treenas27.bsky.social: What is the likelihood this team is able to be solid defensively with Embiid? What about not terrible without him?
The Sixers being an above-average defensive team with Embiid has, in the past, been a certainty. Embiid has often been a walking elite defense on his own, but his nightmarish season last year calls into question how much he can handle. Another benefit of Embiid potentially downsizing his offensive role: maintaining enough stamina to be a real deterrent at the rim again. When Embiid has been at his best defensively, perhaps only Rudy Gobert has matched his impact on that end of the floor over the last five years or so. But last season, Embiid's complete immobility rendered him a shell of himself as a rim protector and overall defensive player.
However, reaching the bar of "solid" – let's call that in the top 15 of the NBA's 30 teams – should at least be in play if Embiid is somewhere between last season and the years prior. He would still be a very valuable rim protector, even if not an All-Defense contender. That is the most important aspect of the battle personnel-wise when it comes to building a strong NBA defense. George continuing to outpace expectations for a player of his age on the defensive end would do wonders, as would Grimes logging significant minutes.
Without Embiid, it becomes a whole lot trickier to find the Sixers' path to defensive success. The team being worse than average, but not by a brutal amount, would probably be its own version of success on that front if Embiid is not around.
Adem Bona is already a stellar shot-blocker, but his improvement as an overall defender will need to accelerate even more. Andre Drummond must have a major revival after looking completely incapable of defending for much of his first full season in Philadelphia. The potential weaknesses down low would exacerbate the Sixers' significant reliance on perimeter players without strong positional size.
Even when Embiid does play, the Sixers are going to need viable center minutes somewhere else. Drummond was supposed to stabilize that spot after replacing Paul Reed, but after the down season he had it would be foolish to expect quality minutes from the 32-year-old. The second part of your question, more than anything else, underscores how important Bona has become in all of this.
SIXERS PLAYER PREVIEWS
Jared McCain | Justin Edwards | VJ Edgecombe | Kyle Lowry
Kelly Oubre Jr. | Johni Broome | Adem Bona | Andre Drummond
Trendon Watford | Eric Gordon | Paul George | Quentin Grimes
