Once again, our weekly call for mailbag questions received such an overwhelming response that a bonus mailbag is in order.
If you missed Tuesday's regular edition, we hit on the Sixers' ability to contend without Joel Embiid healthy, why there have been no updates on Embiid's knee, and what a sign-and-trade of Quentin Grimes could look like.
Let's get into another batch of questions:
From @TonyREast: How many players are in the tier of the third-best (since the Sixers have Pick No. 3) prospect in the draft, to you?
I am glad my friend Tony asked the question in this way, because I am not quite ready to endorse any prospect as the singular best fit for the Sixers when they make the No. 3 overall pick. But, assuming Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper are the top two picks as expected, I have narrowed down the field to three players. If I had control of basketball operations for the Sixers – it is likely best for all parties involved that I do not – these are the players I would be considering, listed in alphabetical order:
• VJ Edgecombe, SG, Baylor
• Tre Johnson, SG, Texas
• Kon Knueppel, SG/SF, Duke
Yes, my personal list does not include Rutgers star Ace Bailey. It is not that I view him as undraftable, and the appeal of a shot-maker of Bailey's caliber at his size is tantalizing. But Bailey's reliance on mid-range shots, questionable overall shot selection and suspect ball-handling skill all give me major pause when it comes to drafting him this high. Bailey is a much easier positional fit than the other players on my list, but I continue to believe that the Sixers do not have a certain enough short-term contention window to factor that into this decision.
Ultimately, the Sixers should take whichever prospect has the best chance of having a long, excellent NBA career. I do not believe Bailey's case is nearly as strong as those of Edgecombe, Johnson and Knueppel.
Edgecombe has a style that is far more conducive to consistent impact on winning in today's NBA, and if he experiences some outlier development as a ball-handler there are tremendous star outcomes available to him. But it is hard to imagine him not becoming a long-time starter with his incredible athleticism, defensive upside and transition scoring chops. The question remains how high his offensive ceiling is. On Wednesday afternoon, NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported that Edgecombe recently met with the team and appears to be its "primary option" as things stand now.
I am convinced that Johnson, the player I predicted the Sixers will take at No. 3 in my first mock draft, has far and away the most clear path to offensive stardom of the prospects available to the Sixers. There will be bumps in the road along the way – he needs to put on considerable muscle and become a much better finisher, then round out the rest of his scoring arsenal – but his incredible shooting ability gives him a great baseline for NBA production with room to grow into a stellar scorer with quality secondary playmaking skill.
Then there is Knueppel, who everyone seems to agree will be a very good player for a very long time. But oftentimes players with high floors are also believed to have limited ceilings. For Knueppel, limited burst and length are among the red flags. They very well could prevent him from being a full-blown go-to scorer, but stardom cannot be ruled out for a player with his combination of shooting skill, craftiness and attention to detail.
SIXERS-SPECIFIC SCOUTING REPORTS
From @take_sentry: If Guerschon Yabusele leaves, is there a 4 on the market that can rebound, respectably shoot, and the team can afford? The healthiest version of this lot is still weak on the glass, especially with Joel Embiid not at 100 percent.
I'll answer your question directly first: If the two-year, $11.6 million taxpayer's mid-level exception is not enough to retain Yabusele, it should be enough to find a viable replacement if the Sixers' goal is to fill the vacated hole at power forward. The name I will continue to mention is Trey Lyles, the 29-year-old Canadian with 10 years of NBA experience under his belt.
Lyles is a quality stretch four who in the last three years has shot 36.2 percent from three-point range on 9.0 attempts per 100 possessions. At 6-foot-9 and 234 pounds, he is a reliable rebounder who has some experience sliding up to the five in small-ball lineups, though he would likely not be a consistent option there.
That, to me, is where Yabusele's departure would hit the hardest. It is not about his individual production at power forward or center, but the fact that he can provide both of them as one player occupying one roster spot.
When the Sixers have Joel Embiid and Guerschon Yabusele on the floor together, Yabusele will often be defended by a much smaller player at a major strength disadvantage. Some high-low stuff from Embiid to Yabusele like could be a terrific source of offense for those units: pic.twitter.com/DZw2Sq0sWb
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 11, 2025
Yabusele has some offensive warts at the four and some defensive warts at the five, but is more than good enough to be a viable option at either spot from game to game and quarter to quarter. For a team hoping to build a roster that both amplifies Joel Embiid and accounts for his lack of consistent availability, that archetype of player is so valuable – and the reason losing Yabusele would be a gut punch is that no obvious replacement in that mold exists.
MORE: Most interesting teams to monitor in 2025 NBA Draft
From @ChrisBernucca: Why is all the talk about whether the Tyrese Maxey-Jared McCain pairing can work? Doesn't it make more sense to start Grimes and bring McCain off the bench? He would be matched up against opposing reserves and that would limit his minutes alongside Maxey.
Barring another higher-profile addition to the team's guard rotation in the draft, I would be extremely surprised if Sixers head coach Nick Nurse did not opt to start Maxey and Grimes together and bring McCain off the bench in what would still be a featured offensive role. It is clearly the optimal short-term setup, relieving McCain of pressure while making it easier to stagger his minutes with those of Maxey and ensure one of the ball-handlers is on the floor at all times. Maxey and Grimes make for an obvious fit thanks to Grimes' size and defensive acumen.
However, I think a compelling case could be made for starting Maxey and McCain together, regardless of whether that means also starting Grimes at the three in a smaller unit or bringing him off the bench.
The case has two key points, and the first is there is a nonzero chance McCain is just too good to not have his potential playing time maximized. What he was doing in just the first handful of weeks of his NBA career was jaw-dropping, and he was on a remarkable trajectory before a meniscus tear cut his rookie year short at 23 games. Despite not having particularly strong physical or athletic tools, McCain continued finding ways to score at all three levels with high efficiency marks. He did it all while learning how to adjust to facing NBA defenses on the fly.
The other component of the argument for starting McCain is that he and Maxey are the two most valuable long-term building blocks in the organization, and while concerns about their viability as a small backcourt are valid, there is so much offensive ability between the two players that it would almost be irresponsible to not give it every chance to succeed. Odds are the Sixers are going to eventually be forced to make a definitive determination regarding whether or not they can build around Maxey and McCain as a pairing; whenever that decision comes they will be better off with the largest sample size possible informing it.
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