For the final time during the 2024-25 regular season, the time has come to kick off the week with 5 Sixers thoughts. With only four games left in the Sixers' hellish season, let's turn our attention to five players we will not be seeing again until next summer — if that.
Joel Embiid
Understandably, every Embiid discussion right now is being had on the largest of scales: can the Sixers trade him? How harmful is his contract? Which surgery should he be getting? For a moment, how about we zoom in a bit and try to think earnestly about how his usage on the court can be altered whenever he is back in action?
For much of his career, Embiid has carried lineups. When the Sixers were not using their starting five, they were likely having Embiid handle the bulk of the responsibility in units that were otherwise undermanned, while his two best teammates would often join forces to lead the non-Embiid lineups. First of all, it is very fair to question whether Embiid can be impactful enough to take on those duties anymore, but it might be even easier to wonder whether it is a suitable role for someone whose workload will need to be monitored extremely closely.
So, here is one solution: everyone knows how lethal Embiid's two-man game is with Tyrese Maxey; it was perhaps the only aspect of Embiid's dominance over the prior two seasons that translated to this one. Rather than trying to use Maxey as the linchpin of non-Embiid minutes, the Sixers should tie him to Embiid as much as possible to ensure Embiid never has too much trouble generating quality offense for the Sixers.
Joel Embiid does not like doing many things on the floor as much as he likes going between the legs as he screens for a moving Tyrese Maxey: pic.twitter.com/g73QwlhKCT
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 11, 2025
What happens in the non-Embiid minutes without Maxey? None of Jared McCain, Quentin Grimes and Paul George are good enough to drive quality offense night in and night out with no help from others, but the three of them combine to make for a fairly talented trio of perimeter talents. McCain and Grimes projecting to be capable of handling significant roles offensively makes this an easier puzzle to put together.
MORE: Will Joel Embiid be on the Sixers in three years from now?
Paul George
The vision for George when he joined the Sixers was obvious: he was a perfect fit alongside Embiid and Maxey in star-studded lineups, and when the time came the nine-time All-Star could very easily become the focal point of the Sixers' offense. After a debut season in which George struggled to stay healthy, showed significant decline in off-the-dribble explosion and rarely displayed much upside as a scorer, there is no question the Sixers will not be able to rely on George to provide the caliber and volume of offensive creation they planned on him bringing.
Paul George's scoring upside in his first season with the Sixers was capped significantly by a lack of off-the-dribble burst. In 41 games in 2024-25, George scored over 30 points only three times, never scoring more than 33 points in a game. pic.twitter.com/iWbt5Wmj98
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) March 18, 2025
The question becomes: what can the Sixers rely on George for offensively? Is the vast majority of his time going to be spent as a spot-up shooter who occasionally attacks a closeout? Will the Sixers try to find other ways to get him the ball on the move in hopes of his natural skill taking over? Can he be the offensive focal point of any unit for eight consecutive minutes in a regular season game, or will he be better off maxing out as a second option in any given lineup? The answers to these questions will help determine how the Sixers plan to use George in his age-35 season.
Tyrese Maxey
Back to Maxey, it should be noted that the Sixers have not yet formally ruled him out for the remainder of the season. They say he remains day-to-day, as he has been for a month, despite ESPN's report that the 24-year-old star guard would be shut down for the year, a report which was quickly confirmed by Maxey's agent, Rich Paul.
However, if we are to assume Maxey will not return and begin thinking about what he will look like in his sixth NBA season, it is worth keeping in mind that he transformed his defensive style this season. Maxey went from largely being a weak link on that end of the floor to being a high-caliber playmaker. Maxey's on-ball defense also improved, but he is not exactly a stopper. Where he has become a genuinely impactful defender is finding the right opportunities to gamble for steals:
Tagging the roller, Tyrese Maxey uses his length to poke the ball away and force a turnover, leading to a Sixers transition basket: pic.twitter.com/N1ehvUXkdF
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 9, 2024
Longer-term, Maxey's ability to fit in a smaller backcourt alongside the next player is going to be one of the more significant issues the Sixers have to tackle. Maxey's newfound skill as a defensive playmaker certainly does not entirely erase those concerns, but does make the idea of building around two undersized guards more practical.
MORE: What would Tyrese Maxey be worth in a trade?
Jared McCain
That smaller guard Maxey would be playing with for years to come, of course, is McCain, who at 20 years old went on an incredible scoring binge, cementing himself as the frontrunner to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award before suffering a season-ending torn meniscus.
The questions about McCain's fit with Maxey will be constant for years to come, but it is also worth thinking about what his role will look like as an NBA sophomore when Maxey is off the floor. The Sixers were slowly beginning to embrace using McCain as their full-fledged backup point guard before he was injured, and it would create significant optionality as they craft their rotation if they can slot him into that role in addition to his minutes alongside Maxey.
McCain's growth as a passer was becoming evident as his rookie year progressed; he was making advanced reads and seemed to have a tremendous understanding of how opposing defenses operated:
Jared McCain takes note of how the defense is reacting to his drive. He sees Tristan da Silva (No. 23) get lost for a second and contorts his movement to set up a pass to Kelly Oubre Jr. for a spot-up three: pic.twitter.com/8jcFDPCrdb
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 12, 2024
Given McCain's work ethic, maturity and ability to develop skills at a rapid pace, it is difficult to bet against him resuming his improvement as a passer and facilitator, which will be made much easier because defenders are going to operate in fear of his shooting. Even if McCain does not have the entire playmaking skillset of a traditional point guard, players like Grimes and George will help shoulder some of that burden for him.
Eric Gordon
Even if Gordon decides he wants to return to the Sixers next season, he will almost certainly not pick up his $3.4 million player option for next season. Because of intricate salary cap rules, Gordon can decline that option, re-sign with the Sixers on another one-year, veteran's minimum contract and make a bit more money during the season while trimming his cap hit on the Sixers' end by over $1 million. The question is not what will happen with his player option decision, but what will happen when he inevitably declines it.
Gordon has just about accomplished everything a player of his caliber would have liked to by now. Except, of course, he has not won a championship. Gordon's decisions in free agency over the last few years have largely been guided by title odds, and clearly coming to Philadelphia did not work out for him in that respect.
If Gordon's medicals check out in the aftermath of wrist surgery which will cause him to miss multiple months to end the season, it seems reasonable to expect teams to be interested in signing him at the minimum. The Sixers giving Gordon that player option last summer was a significant indication that they had competition for the veteran sharpshooter; in his last several weeks before hurting his wrist Gordon proved he can still fire away from beyond the arc and knock shots down. Will that be enough to command a market of contending teams looking to bolster their floor spacing? The guess here is yes, but Gordon's athletic deficiencies are becoming more pronounced by the year, which will surely give some teams pause.
MORE: Predicting every Sixers player and team option
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