Category: 76ers

Celtics’ Jayson Tatum reacts to big moves made by Sixers, Knicks

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum gives his thoughts on the big moves made by the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks.

The 2024 offseason has been dominated by the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks as both teams have loaded up to try and take down the Boston Celtics in the East. The Celtics are the defending champs and everybody in the league has their eyes on Boston.

The Sixers went out and brought in Paul George in free agency to form a strong trio with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. They also brought in proven veterans such as Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, and Caleb Martin to help push the Sixers over the top in the East.

The Knicks, who eliminated the Sixers in Round 1 in the postseason, also added Mikal Bridges in a trade. New York boasts a strong cast of players led by star guard Jalen Brunson alongside Bridges, OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum hopped on  Wave Sports + Entertainment’s “7PM in Brooklyn” and had this to say about the moves Philadelphia and New York made:

I mean, it’s twofold. Like, I see all the changes in people switching teams and obviously teams is getting better, and that’s every offseason, and you got to have like an appropriate fear or respect for your opponent, right? You don’t never want to disrespect who you playing, but with that being said, it’s like we won. Like, when you win a championship, you get to talk how you want to talk. They gotta go through us.

Tatum is correct. The Sixers, as well as the Knicks, have to go through the Celtics. However, Philadelphia has put itself in a top position to contend with and challenge the Celtics in the East.

Caleb Martin gives his thoughts on new Sixers teammate Joel Embiid

Addition Caleb Martin gives his thoughts on new Philadelphia 76ers teammate Joel Embiid.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been an active team in the offseason as team president Daryl Morey has taken advantage of the cap space to help push the Sixers into serious contention in the East.

Morey landed Paul George to form an elite trio of George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers were also able to bring in proven role players such as Andre Drummond, Caleb Martin, and Eric Gordon to put around those three stars.

Martin, especially, has had a ton of success with the Miami Heat in the past. He will look to help the Sixers finally get over the hump and is looking forward to playing with Embiid in Philadelphia.

While talking with ESPN during their broadcast of Tuesday’s summer league matchup between the Sixers and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Martin was asked which player he’s excited to play with:

Two of those guys, obviously, PG and Embiid have been some very tough covers in the past so I think having somebody with Embiid’s capabilities on that side of the ball—to be at that size and get it done and put the ball in the basket like he does, I just think it enhances the coverages and what we’re trying to do and get a lot of guys really good looks.

Embiid is a willing passer and coach Nick Nurse has unlocked that part of his game. He averaged 5.6 assists per game in the 2023-24 season and a guy like Martin who always seems to be in the right spots on the offensive end should benefit from playing with a guy like him.

Paul George credits Philadelphia’s Lil Dicky for him signing with Sixers

Paul George credits Philadelphia rapper Lil Dicky for him signing with the 76ers in free agency.

The Philadelphia 76ers have had a terrific offseason led by the big addition of Paul George in free agency. The Sixers were able to land the 9-time All-Star and max player they were looking for to team up with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in order to move forward in the Eastern Conference.

The Sixers pulled out all the stops in their meeting with George. Along with President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey, GM Elton Brand, and team governors Josh Harris and David Blitzer, franchise icon Julius “Dr. J” Erving was also at the meeting.

George also discussed on “Podcast P with Paul George” the video the Sixers showed him which included Philadelphia icons such as baseball megastar Mike Trout and rapper Lil Dicky. It was Lil Dicky’s message that swayed him to join the Sixers:

That video—it sold me. What hit me was the saving money. It impacted me, it had a little touch on me.

Lil Dicky added:

I just thought, what would be pertinent information? I’m from Philadelphia, I know where your dollar goes in Philadelphia. I have a house in L.A., if I spent the same amount of money on a house in Philadelphia, it would be like 100 times bigger. Your bang for your buck goes so much further in Philadelphia.

The Sixers were obviously in “whatever it takes” mode to get George to Philadelphia. On paper, the Sixers have an elite trio with George, Embiid, and Maxey and they are squarely in the conversation to come out of the Eastern Conference and reach the finals for the first time since 2001.

 

Rich Paul sheds light on Tyrese Maxey’s rookie season with Sixers

Super agent Rich Paul sheds some light on Tyrese Maxey’s rookie season for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey is one of the top players in the league as he is on his way to becoming a multi-time All-Star due to his maniacal work ethic and his immense talent. He averaged 25.9 points and 6.2 assists in the 2023-24 season.

However, while he has proven himself at this stage of his career, it isn’t like he was a sure thing. He was the No. 21 pick in the 2020 NBA draft and was in a reserve role in his rookie season playing behind Ben Simmons. He received an opportunity in his second season thanks to the Simmons saga, but even in his third season, Maxey came off the bench for 19 of the 60 games he played.

Now, he is a max player and is among the top guards in the league. Maxey is one of the leaders for this Sixers team and will look to take another step forward in the 2024-25 season.

Agent Rich Paul hopped on “The Pat McAfee Show” and praised Maxey for what he has been able to achieve and shed some light on his rookie season:

They wanted to send him down to the G League. They wasn’t even going to draft hm, first of all, then they were gonna send him down to the G League. Then they decided to play him a little bit. It was COVID. It was a game that guys sat out. He scored 40 points against Denver, I think. We talked after that game. I said ‘Tyrese, great game, but you won’t play the next 10 games’. He was so confused. I was like ‘Yeah. Those 40 points mean nothing in terms of where you’re at in the pecking order’. Now today, he’s a max player, but he’s never allowed himself to make it about him.

https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1813253982271512807

To correct Paul, it was actually 39 points Maxey scored against the Nuggets in the 2020-21 season. He continued to play even when the Sixers did get healthy again, but his minutes understandably went down due to the fact that Simmons and Seth Curry were able to return from the health & safety protocols.

Either way, Maxey does deserve a ton of credit. While the Sixers were hopeful that he would be able to make that next step into stardom, it wasn’t a sure thing that he would. He has proven himself at a high level and Philadelphia will be looking to him to lead the way on its continued path for a title.

 

Former Sixers guard Patrick Beverley to sign with a team in EuroLeague

Former Philadelphia 76ers guard Patrick Beverley has announced on Twitter that he will play overseas in the EuroLeague.

Former Philadelphia 76ers guard Patrick Beverley has found a new home. After the Sixers sent Beverley away to the Milwaukee Bucks at the deadline in a deal that sent Cam Payne to Philadelphia, Beverley will head overseas to play in the EuroLeague.

He announced via “The Pat Bev Pod”‘s official Twitter account that he is heading overseas due to a big offer to join Hapoel Tel Aviv BC. In 73 games split between the Sixers and the Bucks, Beverley averaged 6.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while shooting 41.7% from the floor overall and 33.7% from deep. He will now bring his hard-nosed style of play to the EuroLeague.

Beverley has experience playing overseas in the past before he began his NBA with the Houston Rockets. He also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Chicago Bulls in the NBA. He has career averages of 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists.

 

KJ Martin explains why he returned to Sixers on a deal in free agency

Forward KJ Martin explains his decision to return to the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.

The Philadelphia 76ers continued to work their roster into form with the re-signing of forward KJ Martin. The Sixers were able to bring back the athletic forward on a 2-year $16 million deal and continue to work on putting the right pieces around their star trio.

Martin was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in the James Harden deal and played in 58 games averaging 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds. He only played 12.3 minutes per game which is a far cry from the 28.0 minutes per game he played in the 2022-23 season with the Houston Rockets, but he makes his return to the Sixers.

Martin sat down with The Philadelphia Inquirer and explained his decision to return to the Sixers:

“The roster was open,” he said to The Inquirer at the NBA Summer League. “So it was obviously a possibility. My agent spoke to the front office, and they obviously spoke highly of me. So that was a big part of it, and looking where the dominoes fell, it just felt like the right situation [after Paul George] came and they really don’t have a lot of fours.”

Martin is a guy who can play off the ball and use his athleticism and basketball IQ to cut to the basket for easy looks. He can do what’s needed when a guy like Joel Embiid is being doubled. With the Sixers needing players of his caliber, he makes a lot of sense for Philadelphia with this current roster.

 

Sixers give a shoutout to Mike Muscala as he enters retirement

The Philadelphia 76ers take to Twitter to give a shoutout to Mike Muscala as he enters retirement.

In the 2020 bubble, former Philadelphia 76ers forward Mike Muscala was a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. While the 2019-20 season was not the most memorable for the Sixers, the shots Muscala made in the bubble have turned into some of the biggest for the franchise.

Muscala made two big 3-pointers down the stretch to help the Thunder knock off the Miami Heat, 116-115. That win officially conveyed the pick the Thunder owed to the Sixers. Philadelphia then used the 21st pick to select Tyrese Maxey.

If it wasn’t for those Muscala shots, Maxey wouldn’t be in Philadelphia.

As Muscala enters retirement, the Sixers took to Twitter to give a shoutout to the former Philadelphia big man who played 47 games for the Sixers in the 2018-19 season.

Across 11 seasons in the league, Muscala played for seven different teams and had career averages of 5.9 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 37.3% from deep. He played 548 games with 45 starts in his career.

 

Cam Payne to leave Sixers in free agency, sign 1-year deal with Knicks

Cam Payne will leave the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency and sign a 1-year deal with the New York Knicks.

The Philadelphia 76ers made a wise move at the deadline when they sent Patrick Beverley away to the Milwaukee Bucks in a deal that brought in Cam Payne. In 31 games with eight starts for Philadelphia, Payne averaged 9.3 points and shot 38.2% from deep.

He also was a big help in the playoffs against the New York Knicks. He shot 44.4% from beyond the arc and made a big difference in the Game 3 win over New York when he hopped off the bench and scored 11 points with three assists.

Now, Payne is headed to the team that eliminated Philadelphia in Round 1. He will sign a 1-year $3.1 million deal with the Knicks.

Payne will be a key piece off the bench for New York and just add to the depth for the Knicks. He was not going to receive much playing time with the Sixers when considering the return of Kyle Lowry and the selection of Jared McCain in the draft.

 

Steve Kerr addresses possibly moving Joel Embiid to the bench for Team USA

Steve Kerr addresses the idea of moving Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid to the bench for Team USA.

Team USA was able to pick up a 98-92 win over Australia in an exhibition game on Wednesday thanks to some clutch shots late by Tyrese Haliburton. The Americans had a sizeable lead before Australia was able to put on a valiant rally to make Team USA sweat.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid hasn’t had a dominant start to the exhibition schedule for Team USA. He fouled out in the win over Canada on July 10 and only had 10 points in the win over Australia, but he has made an impact with his defensive play and his ability to protect the paint.

Anthony Davis had a huge game for Team USA off the bench going for 17 points and 14 rebounds to go along with two blocks. There is a school of thought that coach Steve Kerr should move Davis into the starting lineup in place of Embiid, but Kerr isn’t ready to make that move just yet.

Kerr told reporters out in Abu Dhabi:

These next few games, I’m going to continue to experiment with the lineups. Joel is getting better and better every day. It usually takes big guys a little bit longer to get rhythm and flow, but I love Joel, he’s a dominant player. I think it’s going to be important for us to figure out the best combinations and putting the right people together and that’s still a work in progress.

Embiid is an elite rim protector with an extremely high basketball IQ. He hasn’t been his normal self just yet, but the FIBA rules are an adjustment for everybody. One has to figure that the big fella will eventually find his rhythm and make a big impact for Team USA during this Olympic run.

Sixers’ Joel Embiid scores 10 points as Team USA holds off Australia

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid and had 10 points while making an impact for Team USA in a win over Australia.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid continued his preparation for the Paris Olympics on Monday as Team USA took on Australia in an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi. The big fella fouled out in his Team USA debut in a win over Canada on July 10, but he was able to bounce back in this one.

Embiid had 10 points on 3-for-6 shooting and he knocked down two triples on five attempts. He also grabbed five rebounds and had two steals to help Team USA hold off Australia 98-92. The Americans had a sizeable lead in this one, but Australia deserves credit for digging deep and not giving up.

The big fella was clearly able to make an impact in this one with his rim protection. A big reason why Australia was able to get back in the game was they were able to get to the basket often with Embiid off the floor. That’s something coach Steve Kerr and his staff will look into as they move forward.

Embiid and Team USA will continue their prep for the Olympics on Wednesday when they take on Serbia in Abu Dhabi.