A Battle-Tested Tyrese Maxey Is Ready To Embrace His Latest Role
Tyrese Maxey has worn a lot of hats for the Sixers. He was thrown in the deep end early with all of the Ben Simmons drama forcing him onto the…
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 20: Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers warms up before game one of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on April 20, 2024 in New York City.
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)Tyrese Maxey has worn a lot of hats for the Sixers. He was thrown in the deep end early with all of the Ben Simmons drama forcing him onto the court earlier than the Sixers may be planned. Then James Harden came into town, then later fled town.
All of that drama forced Maxey into a lot of different roles. To his credit, he stepped up to the plate every time. Were there struggles? Sure. But he never stopped working on it. Now it has paid off, with the Sixers giving him a Max Deal. Now his role is finally set in stone. He is star number 2, right up there on the big stage with Joel Embiid.
Tyrese Maxey Talks About His NBA Journey So Far
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)Tyrese Maxey joined Mid-Days with Bob Cooney on Tuesday, just after the Sixers held a press conference to officially announce his Max Deal. One of the things he talked about was all the roles he had to this point in his career.
"I had to do so many different things. In my 2nd year, I had to fill in for Ben. Then we brought in James and I had to change my role to be off-ball. Had to learn that. Now I had to come back to being a primary ball handler, and the co-star to Embiid. I had a different path. But I worked extremely hard to be able to do a little of everything."
A big reason Maxey is the player he is now is the fact he kept rising to the occasion. He got his 1st real shot at playing time because of Ben Simmons refusing to play. Maxey could have fumbled that moment, forcing the Sixers to adapt. But he did as well as you could possibly expect.
Maxey is not a natural PG. But he held the flood doors closed. That whole Ben Simmons situation could have been a disaster. Maxey prevented it from being one. He gave the Sixers the luxury of patience. They didn't have to make a desperate move early in the season for a PG, because Maxey was holding down the fort.
As he mentioned, once they did get Harden, his role changed again. He now was off the ball. Once again, he stepped up. Maxey played some of the basketball of his career to that point. It was our first hint that he could be more than a role player, he could be a star.
With Harden running the offense, Maxey became one of the best 3pt shooters in the league. The Harden situation went south though. Like Ben Simmons, he forced his way out.
To complicate last season even more, Embiid missed a ton of time. Once again Maxey was thrust into a new situation. He had to be THE star. Also once again, he stepped up. Maxey had his 1st All-Star season and finished 13th in points per game.
That is why the Sixers paid him. That is why when they signed Paul George, it wasn't just to pair with Embiid, but the Sixers said it was to pair with Embiid and Maxey. He is on that level now.
Maxey continued from there and said something I think perfectly encapsulates him as a player.
"Once you learn who you want to be, and what you want to be in the league, the Sky is the limit."
Now Maxey knows who he is, as do we, as do the Sixers, and as does the league. If they didnt know, they learned in game 5 against the Knicks. The Sixers may have lost that series, but not because of Maxey.
Maxey has gone through many roles. But now he just has one role. Super Star.
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NBA free agency has begun. Well, legal tampering has begun. The most confusing phrase in sports. Teams can begin to "legally tamper" with other team's free agents. Sixers free agency will be as busy as we have ever seen it.
Not just because they are expected to make some big splashes, but also because they need to make a lot of moves. They only have 3 players under contract. We can count Tyrese Maxey in that because we know they will eventually give him a max deal. But even with him, they only have Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Ricky Council IV, and Paul Reed.
Paul Reed is expected to be cut. His money is not guaranteed, and he was a massive disappointment as the backup center last season. So that really leaves the Sixers with 3 players, one of whom is Ricky Council.
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY - FEBRUARY 15: President of basketball operations Daryl Morey looks on during a press conference at the Seventy Sixers Practice Facility on February 15, 2022 in Camden, New Jersey.
Sixers Free Agency Is Underway
There have been big rumors around the Sixers, and what they will do with all the cap space Daryl Morey saved up last season. They finally got Tobias Harris off the books, and almost every other player was on an expiring contract.
That was all on purpose. Morey basically punted last season, to try to go all in for this free-agency period. He didn't force any moves that would have limited what they could do this off-season. The trades he did make, were for expiring contracts.
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)So will that bold strategy pay off? Can Morey land a big fish to get the Sixers closer to competing with the Celtics? Will they make the move that finally gets them past the 2nd round, and maybe even to the NBA Finals? Let's find out.
Follow along here to track what happens in Sixers Free Agency:
Sixers Re-Sign KJ Martin
This deal is interesting. Why would they pay a guy who barely saw the court this much money? Well it has something to do with how complicated the NBA Cap is. To make a trade, you usually need to send money back. The problem is players the Sixers are paying they mostly want to keep. Now they have a movable player they can trade, and make the money work.
For reasons that are hard to explain, and I don't fully understand myself, his contract also allows them to take back more money. They can take back a more expensive player than they would be able to fit into their cap. So expect KJ martin to eventually be traded. The move may be baffling on paper, but it gives them extra flexibility to add another semi expensive player later this off-season. So it is actually a really good move that can allow them to make an even better move down the road.
Grade- A
Sixers Sign Kyle Lowry
Kyle Lowry, on a small deal, is a net positive for the team. he brings leadership, and can be the point guard off the bench. But we saw how little he has left in the tank last year. He cant be anything more than a guy with 15 minutes off he bench per game. As long as they don't expect more than that, it is a good deal.
Grade- B
Sixers Sign Caleb Martin
They took several days off from making moves, but after a few days of negotiation, the Sixers landed Caleb Martin. Martin is a proven playoff performer and a top-level defender. He should be the final piece of their starting 5, with it being Maxey, Oubre, Martin, George, and Embiid. But they could still tinker with things and move Oubre or Martin to the bench feasibly.
It's a great move, bringing in another plus defender. Maxey is the only weak link on defense now, and even he has improved.
Grade- A
Sixers Give Tyrese Maxey 5-Year Max Extension
We knew this was coming, we just had to wait for the Paul George to happen 1st. Maxey has turned into a true star. He is what we call a certified bucket. He is also the 1st player to ever pick up Embiid on a night he struggled in the playoffs.
This is 100% deserved. Maxey has become a top 15 scorer in the NBA. He finished 11th with 25.9 points per game. In the playoffs, he was 5th with 29.8 points per game. Embiid is still the present for the Sixers, but Maxey is the future. He will only be 27 when George's contract expires.
Grade- A
Sixers Land Paul George
There it is. We knew it was coming. But they waited for us to go to sleep before they made it official. At 3:30 ET the Sixers landed the big fish they were after, Paul George.
George is not the perfect players. For 1, he is 34, and injury prone. But if they were going to keep up with the Celtics, they needed another high-level player, and George was the best option. He still averages over 20 points per game, shoots over 40% from 3, and plays great defense.
We might see this hurt them a few years from now. But for now, it makes them the 2nd best team in the league. If Morey can get creative and fill out the roster the right way, they could get up there with the Celtics too.
Grade- A
Kelly Oubre Returns
Signing Kelly Oubre Jr to a minimum contract last season was a strike of genius. He turned into arguably their 3rd best player. With Paul George now here, that won't be the case again. But having Oubre around should still be a big help. He is a cheapish option, that they know they can count on.
Oubre averaged 15.4 points per game last season. He can slide into one of their starting roles, and now they just need a starting SG, then a bench. He will cost slightly more than the minimum this time, but still is affordable, leaving room for the Sixers to make more moves around the trio of Embiid, Maxey, and George. Great move.
Grade- A
Rumor: Clippers Out On Paul George
The Clippers took the rare step of thanking a player for their service before he signed elsewhere. This whole time, the gap between the Clippers and George was the guaranteed 4th year. George wants it, Clippers don't want to give it to him. Apparently, that is not going to change. They released this statement confirming they are moving on from Paul George.
Sixers Sign Eric Gordon To Vet Minimum Deal
With Maxey soon to sign a max deal, the Sixers looking to sign a free agent to another max deal, and embiid already on the Max, Morey will have to get creative to fill out the rest of the roster.
Enter Eric Gordon on a vet minimum deal. The 35-year-old averaged 11 points per game last year with the Suns. Over a 16-year career, he has never failed to average at least 10 points per game. Is Gordon a game-changer? Not, but with everything else the Sixers plan to do, he is a good guy to have around at the cost.
He is still a good shooter, and can still give a team a solid 20 minutes. At such a low cost, it is hard to complain about this one.
Grade: B
Sixers Sign Andre Drummond
Backup big was not the most pressing need, but it was a need. Paul Reed and Mo Bamba did not get it done last year. They need someone to keep the ship steady when Embiid comes off the floor or misses a game. They get that in Andre Drummond.
Drummond is the best backup Embiid ever had. He only lasted half a season here before being packaged in the James Harden deal. Now he returns on a 2-year deal.
It is hard to find any reason to complain about this one. Drummond is an elite rebounder, a solid defender, and is among the best backup bigs in the league. They get him at a more than reasonable price, and ensure they have someone they can trust behind Embiid. Great move.
Grade- A
