Happy Monday! For the first time in a while, the Sixers can begin a week with some semblance of optimism — even as an update on Joel Embiid's left knee is looming, with news likely to come in just a matter of hours. The Sixers notched impressive wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls to get back on track, and are now just a game out of the Play-In Tournament picture in the Eastern Conference.
As we do every Monday, let's get the week started with 5 Sixers thoughts:
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Sixers assign Ricky Council IV to G League
Council, who would have gone three consecutive contests without logging a single second of playing time in the first half of a game had Paul George not left Saturday's game due to a finger injury, was assigned to the Delaware Blue Coats on Sunday morning in advance of their game against the Greensboro Swarm.
The move had no roster implications for the Sixers, who are free to assign players on standard NBA contract to the G League and recall them to the NBA team at their leisure but do not open up a roster spot by sending a player to Delaware. Council's second NBA season has very much not gone as planned, and while such an assignment could symbolize that in a manner which can be upsetting for some players, the truth is that Council has not done enough to earn consistent playing time with the Sixers.
As head coach Nick Nurse has spoken about time and time again, no basketball player is going to be on an ideal development path without playing basketball. With the Sixers resting Sunday before practicing on Monday, they found an opportunity to give Council extended run in Delaware.
Council had a nice afternoon of work, posting a game-high 29 points to lead the Blue Coats to a 111-102 victory over the Swarm. He was immediately recalled to the Sixers and will practice with the team Monday morning.
Tyrese Maxey thriving as a playmaker
Maxey's defense has been his best skill this season relative to expectation. And as he has surged in recent weeks, it has been his otherworldly scoring which has stood out. But Maxey has quietly put together a stellar stretch of play as a creator for his teammates. Maxey has totaled at least seven assists in four consecutive games, collecting 33 dimes to nine turnovers during that span.
On Saturday night in Chicago, Maxey finally found rookie center Adem Bona for the sort of alley-oop dish that Bona's rolls practically beg guards to throw in his direction:
Maxey 🏀⬆️
Adem 🏀⬇️ pic.twitter.com/pVByeksXlq— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 26, 2025
In his last 10 contests, not only is Maxey averaging 30.5 points per game on above-average efficiency marks, he is also averaging 7.5 assists per game. In his first 27 games of the season prior to this stretch, he only averaged 5.5 assists per contest. Even without Embiid available, Maxey has made strides as a passer of late.
Eric Gordon: more than a shooter?
Gordon's absurd shooting stretch in the month of January has taken his three-point percentage as a Sixer from 27.5 percent before returning from an extended absence caused by a dental issue to 39.7 percent now. The 36-year-old sharpshooter looks exactly like the player the Sixers had hoped would provide surplus value on a veteran's minimum contract, even without the ability to form any sort of partnership with Embiid.
While Gordon knocked down three triples in Chicago — including one which put the game on ice in its final minutes — his production elsewhere was far more noteworthy. Gordon had a few impressive drives, including a tough reverse layup and a nifty assist, then came up with two crucial defensive plays:
Eric Gordon shot 3-8 from three-point range in the Sixers' win over the Bulls on Saturday night, but he also had one of his better all-around games of the season. Gordon had a *unique* drive and finish, a nifty assist to a cutter and two significant steals using his quick hands: pic.twitter.com/Bhv3K3Z9Mx
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 26, 2025
Because Gordon is relatively undersized and vastly disadvantaged from an athletic perspective, he is far from a reliable defender. But in matchups when he can hang physically or become a helper, Gordon's strength and incredibly quick hands make him more of a defensive playmaker than one would expect. If the Sixers ever get their entire team healthy at once, they do have the requisite defensive infrastructure to keep Gordon in those spots as much possible.
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Reggie Jackson finds his groove
The veteran point guard Jackson has had very few strong performances on the court as a Sixer. Just seven days ago in the previous iteration of this very series, I wrote about the confusing nature of the team using a roster spot on him. But Jackson deserves credit for constantly staying ready, and in Chicago he made a concerted effort to hunt his own shots. Jackson's 12 points on 10 shots may not loo, marvelous, but the Sixers might not have beaten the Bulls without his efforts:
Reggie Jackson gave the Sixers a big lift in Chicago on Saturday night, scoring 12 points on 5-10 shooting in 15 minutes: pic.twitter.com/solc5F0Kz8
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 26, 2025
This is the player the Sixers thought they were signing. For better or worse, Jackson has always been about aggressively trying to find avenues to score the ball, and far too often as a Sixer he has spent his time on the floor standing around waiting for something to happen.
Trade proposal of the week
Until the NBA's Feb. 6 trade deadline passes, I am ending each 5 Sixers thoughts by pitching a trade idea involving the team. This week, I am pitching a three-team deal which nets the Sixers a former developmental project of theirs who eventually caught on elsewhere:
Sixers receive: Haywood Highsmith
Thunder receive: Andre Drummond, Alec Burks, 2031 second-round pick via Sixers
Heat receive: Ousmane Dieng, Reggie Jackson, 2027 second-round pick via Sixers
Highsmith has become a steady two-way wing presence for the Heat, shooting a career-best 40.9 percent from three-point range this season and serving as a reliable defender. But Highsmith's minutes have waned recently, and with a Jimmy Butler trade likely coming in the near future, Miami should be adding multiple rotation-caliber players to the mix soon. That would damage Highsmith's standing within their pecking order even more, so in this deal they shed his 2025-26 salary of just over $5.6 million, add a second-rounder and take a chance on a former lottery pick in the 21-year-old Dieng, who has failed to crack Oklahoma City's loaded rotation.
With Chet Holmgren still out due to an injury which will prevent him from suiting up for the majority of the season, Oklahoma City's center depth has been challenged a bit. Isaiah Hartenstein returned from his second extended absence of the season, and the Thunder had only one traditional "center" while Holmgren and Hartenstein were sidelined. Drummond would not be part of their healthy rotation, but neither will Dieng. Drummond would at least give Oklahoma City extra insurance in the middle, while they also bolster their ball-handling depth with the veteran Burks add a second-round pick in the only future draft for which picks can be traded that the Thunder do not already have multiple second-rounders.
For the Sixers, the rationale behind this move is pretty cut-and-dry, and it can be easily justified if the team wants to attempt to make a playoff push and if it pivots to a focus on next season. For the cost of just two second-round picks, the team turns Drummond and Jackson into Highsmith, who they can bank on being part of their rotation in each of the next two years on a cost-effective contract or use as a trade chip in the offseason should the right opportunity arise.
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