The Sixers as a franchise are still in a super weird place. Veteran stars Paul George and Joel Embiid are getting paid $100 million per year combined over the next three years and they both seem infinitely injured and infinitely underwhelming when they are on the court. Frankly I have zero expectations for these players at this point and having their contracts on this team is a major L at this point in time. I think the Sixers need to just hope they play whenever and just proceed forward and focus on more reliable, younger talent on this team. If George and Embiid show up, cool. I see them as insanely overpaid role players at this point. Embiid's injury status and availability seems to be in the exact same spot as usual, and apparently George had surgery again. Like my gosh, this is wild.
As annoying and mysterious as those two players seem to be, oddly enough there are a few glimmers of hope on this Sixers team, and really, I find it pretty exciting as a Sixers fan.
Third overall pick VJ Edgecombe looks like he has a seriously bright future. He has only played in two games in the Summer League so far and he has stood out in a big way. He moves with an eye opening mixture of grace and explosiveness that other players can't really keep up with. He can do it all on the court and his offensive ability seems a bit more advanced than I anticipated. I have high hopes for him, I really believe he could become one of my favorite players quick. He's so fun to watch!
Fellow rookie big man Johni Broome has looked good in the summer league as well, and with Joel Embiid's unknown status entering well, forever, it is pretty great to see the Sixers having a young prospect like Broome on the roster. He is so competitive on the floor. I am hoping that Broome, Drummond, and Bona can be a nice band-aid for whenever Embiid doesn't play.
Jared McCain is apparently on a good path to recovery after tearing his meniscus last year in what was a strong rookie season until the injury.
So yeah, right now, the Sixers have a young core of guards in Maxey, McCain, Edgecombe and perhaps Quentin Grimes if he gets resigned. Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon can be good veteran guards to use here and there and mostly be good team leaders. Although Gordon in particular still has some good minutes in him compared to Lowry I believe. Then, the Sixers have their makeshift group of big men like I mentioned. So, I believe the Sixers have a shot to compete in 2025-25. If they can at least be competent and compete for a play-in, that would be cool.
Of course when it comes to Embiid and George all I can do is cross my fingers really. They'll play when they play, the franchise CANNOT look at them as stars at this point. Just random wildcard luxuries, pure talent and depth really is what they must think of those two. I hope they don't see themselves as leaders either at this point, you can't simply claim leadership if you're never there. Well, they can be leaders in a way with wisdom and things like that. But when it comes to like, actually leading and taking charge on the actual court, I feel like that type of role needs to be figured out amongst the younger players now.
NBA off-season moves fairly quick. Won't be long till we see how this squad looks. I'm not expecting greatness, but there is an interesting mix of talent being built I'd say. I'm intrigued at least.
