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Tyrese Maxey Rumors
WEEKS AFTER the locker room altercation in November, the Sixers held a closed-door meeting to address the team's calamitous 2-11 start. Details of the meeting leaked the following day. Maxey, whom Embiid considers one of his best friends, confronted Embiid about being late for team events and dragging the morale of the group down. Embiid told a reporter, "Whoever leaked that is a real piece of s---." He reportedly vowed to find the source. "I know who leaked it," Embiid tells me during a late-night phone call after the season ends. "You do?" "Yeah, but I'm not going to -- the past is the past," Embiid says. "The one thing I'll say is, it's hard being around people that do those sorts of stuff. "That goes back to the trust thing. Once you cross that -- you can't expect me to be part of a team meeting again. That's just not going to happen."
Derek Bodner: Tyrese Maxey, on the Sixers signing his longtime friend Trendon Watford: "It doesn't seem real yet." "I think he brings an element that we haven't had," Maxey says about Watford's ability to handle, create and defend multiple positions.
Kendrick Perkins: The Philadelphia 76ers are nowhere in hell. I believe Joel Embiid is going to come back on a revenge tour. I believe so. This is going to be a revenge season for Joel Embiid. I believe he's going to come back on a mission. Well, he should. He should because him and Paul George are probably, in my opinion, not probably, they are. When it comes to pressure, they're the top two for as most pressure in the NBA to get something done. Nobody wants to hear nothing else. You got to get it done. You got to get that sh*t done. Period. No other way around it. Conference Finals minimum with that big three with Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and Joel Embiid.
The Philadelphia 76ers chose Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe at No. 3, when the story wasn’t the player selected but the team that did it. Philadelphia canvassed the league, searching for ways it could trade down from the third pick leading into the draft, league sources told The Athletic. Come Wednesday evening, it couldn’t find a worthwhile deal and chose the explosive 6-foot-4 guard. Edgecombe will join second-year scorer Jared McCain and All-Star spark plug Tyrese Maxey in the Philadelphia Sixers’ backcourt.
Adam Aaronson: Daryl Morey says Nick Nurse has been “unbelievable” during this process, mentioning Nurse’s experience running teams before he was an NBA head coach. Says all of Maxey/George/Embiid wanted to come to Edgecombe’s workout, but only Maxey could get to it. Says Maxey/VJ got along.
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Meanwhile, Baylor’s Edgecombe impressed the Sixers during his private workout and dinner with team brass and Maxey. If the Sixers don’t select Bailey, there’s some thought he could drop out of the top five. Some also are wondering if this is part of his inner circle’s plan. Being drafted by the Washington Wizards (who select sixth) or New Orleans Pelicans (seventh) could provide an easier path to stardom for Bailey.
Edgecombe is said to have impressed with his work ethic, personality and interviews. He went to dinner with Morey and other Sixers higher-ups. Even Tyrese Maxey, sources say, flew in for the occasion. The Sixers are certainly intrigued by what type of defensive complement Edgecombe could provide their All-Star guard, sources say, in addition to his explosive upside on the offensive side of the ball.
The rise of racquet sports in the U.S. is real, and a new business called Ballers is looking to capitalize on the growth with the help of $20 million in backing from a group of athletes and investors highlighted by tennis legend Andre Agassi, NBA star Tyrese Maxey, and MLS goalkeeper Maarten Paes. Ballers, which describes itself as a “first-of-its-kind hospitality-driven social sports venue,” will open its first location next month at Philadelphia’s historic Turbine Hall—a sprawling 55,000-square-foot facility that used to be the largest power plant in the city. That location will feature six pickleball courts, three padel courts, two squash courts, a turf field, four golf simulators, and a putting green, among other amenities.
Daryl Morey: Well, it did fail right away. I would say the first thing is—even though many were on board with the plan—I don’t really accept that. My job is to win, regardless of that. So, um, you know, we’re spending a lot of time thinking: What could we have done better? I think I spoke about it after the season. I did get too focused on: what are the pieces that are going to help us win a playoff series? And even how we spoke in training camp—about getting our key players to the playoffs—it set the wrong tone. And that will be something I correct, and Coach Nurse corrects. But, a long lead into your answer—which is: it never started. You know, Joel was hurt right away. Never really played to the level we know he can play. Then it was: we had a Paul injury, a Maxey injury—really, the whole... Rod Drummond was—I mean, like—it was really like— And then I did—and people made fun of it, correctly. I mean, I do. I’m online. I read.
More than four dozen players were nominated by PBWA members. Twenty-five finalists were selected by a PBWA subcommittee to create the official ballot, which was voted on by the entire membership. Players received two points for every first-team vote and one point for every second-team vote. The other 15 finalists, in alphabetical order, were: Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons), DeMar DeRozan (Sacramento Kings), Donte DiVincenzo (Minnesota Timberwolves), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves), Al Horford (Boston Celtics), Kyrie Irving (Dallas Mavericks), C.J. McCollum (New Orleans Pelicans), Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Georges Niang (Cleveland Cavaliers/Atlanta Hawks), Kristaps Porzingis (Boston Celtics), Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers), Fred VanVleet (Houston Rockets) and Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs).
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Slick (reading X): "How do you think your draft class panned out so far? Redraft the top five." Anthony Edwards: "Me at one. I would go LaMelo at two. I'm going Tyrese Maxey at three. Tyrese Haliburton at four. I'm going Jayden, Jaden McDaniels... Nah, I'm going Jayden for sure."
The trio, which was supposed to lead the Sixers to an NBA championship, logged only 15 games together as group because of injuries. As a result, George wants them to spend time together this offseason to build chemistry. “I think that’s very important,” he said. “We’ve already talked about seeing each other, where we’re going to be this summer. So we’ve already had those conversations about connecting once the season’s over. I think it’s very important. “I don’t think it’s healthy to go two, three months before seeing each other, regardless of if we’re checking in over the phone. It’s just different seeing each other.”
Adam Aaronson: Daryl Morey and Nick Nurse both expressed confidence that Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain and Quentin Grimes can all fit alongside each other moving forward. Nurse says he would like for McCain and Grimes to both be able to handle backup point guard minutes.
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