Philadelphia 76ers: Don’t bet against Tyrese Maxey

The Philadelphia 76ers have a good problem.

After spending the better part of a week between the trade deadline and the All-Star break down both Seth Curry and Andre Drummond, the Sixers will finally have 15 players plus two more on two-way contracts eligible to play when they take the show on the road to Minneapolis for an incredibly hyped contest against noted Philadelphia Eagles fan Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

That’s right, after weeks of waiting, James Harden will finally take the court in a red, white, and blue uniform and deliver onto the general public of Philadelphia the best guard they’ve had the pleasure of calling their own since Allen Iverson two decades ago.

Sidebar: Did you know Harden and Iverson are both members of the NBA’s 75th-anniversary team alongside fellow Sixers Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Charles Barkley? Funny how that works out.

But when a team adds a talent as supremely talented as James Harden, it’s going to radically restructure the roles, usage, and rotational deployment of the rest of the roster. Sure, Joel Embiid will remain the focal point at both ends of the court, even if he has to take on more pick-and-roll responsibilities, but what about a player like Tobias Harris, who will likely go from the offense’s number two option with the freedom to ISO score at will to a player with a more defined role as a floor spacer? Will streamlining his duties unlock the max contract player’s efficiency, or will he instead struggle to make things work a la the spring of 2019?

And what about Matisse Thybulle? With Ben Simmons gone for good, his defense is incredibly important, but not if his offensive limitations shrink his role down from fifth starter to defensive sparkplug.

Fortunately, there’s one player on the Philadelphia 76ers’ roster that fans won’t have to worry a lick about in terms of fit despite theoretically having to make the biggest adjustment with James Harden’s debut a day away; a guard who has met every challenge he’s been presented head-on and cleared every hurdle in his path.

Tyrese Maxey should remain one of the Philadelphia 76ers’ signature players.

Ah Tyrese Maxey; has any player captured the hearts of Philadelphia 76ers fans in such a fantastical way?

Maxey’s rise has been meteoric. He went from a late first-round pick, to a sparkplug coming off the bench, to a legitimate NBA starting point guard, and through it all, the 21-year-old has taken every challenge presented his way in stride.

What? Doc Rivers wasn’t comfortable playing Maxey because of his defensive miscues? Well, Maxey worked on his game and has since become a fixture of closing lineups regardless of the score or situation. How about the complaint that Maxey wasn’t a true point guard capable of setting up his teammates? Maxey worked on that too and now averages a team-leading 4.6 assists versus only 1.2 turnovers per game, which *spoiler alert* is a fantastic ratio.

Heck, despite averaging a very underwhelming 3 point shooting percentage of 29.2 at Kentucky and only slightly improving on that mark as a rookie with a 30.2, Maxey had become a legitimate floor spacer who hits 39 percent of his shots from beyond the arc on 3.6 attempts per game.

And now? Now Tyrese Maxey will be playing alongside James Freakin’ Harden, where his rapidly expanding game will be tested once more. Will it work? Only time will tell, but do you know what Philadelphia 76ers fans? I certainly won’t be betting against him.