Philadelphia 76ers: Keep Tyrese Maxey out of cap-clearing conversations

During his stop at ESPN’s #Greeny radio show, Brian Windhorst dropped a bomb on the Philadephia 76ers‘ fanbase that isn’t quite Woj-level but certainly came pretty darn close.

Daryl Morey wants to secure a third star.

Now granted, that isn’t really news news, as pretty much every team in the NBA would like to secure another star to take their roster from good to great or great to Kevin Durant on the Golden Warriors level, but this particular soundbite drew a ton of attention not only because Windy refused to name names – Donovan Mitchell? Zach LaVine? – but because freeing up the money to do so isn’t an easy ask by any means.

First and foremost, the Sixers would have to release Danny Green and remove his non-guaranteed money from the books. Then, the Sixers would have to trade Tobias Harris, which Windhorst’s colleague Bobby Marks suggests could require attaching Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle to do, before finally convincing James Harden to sign a long-term deal worth roughly $24.3 million in 2022-23 to free up enough money to more or less sign a max contract player worth $157 million over four years, which is the maximum amount Zach LaVine could secure on the open market.

See what I mean? There are a lot of moving parts needed to get that deal done.

Should Daryl Morey push to secure a third star? You bet, but not if it requires moving off of Tyrese Maxey, as giving up on the supremely talented second-year guard could age about as well as the Minnesota Timberwolves’ decision to trade Zach LaVine for Jimmy Butler back in 2017. That one didn’t age too well, did it, Philadelphia 76ers fans?

The Philadelphia 76ers should value Tyrese Maxey as their second-best player.

Tyrese Maxey’s development from Year 1 to 2 was nothing short of incredible.

Sure, fans always knew he could score – I mean, he did put up 39 during his rookie season – but heading into the fall, few expected to see him crack the starting lineup as a second-year player, let alone start all year at point guard – a position he never played full time at the NBA or NCAA level – while averaging 17.5 points, an 4.3-1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio, and a 3 point shooting percentage of 42.7 that ranked top-5 association-wide.

When the Sixers needed a bucket, they turned to Maxey. When the Sixers needed a spark, they turned to Maxey. And when James Harden proved more floor general than fearless scorer, Maxey rapidly became the three-time scoring champion’s favorite pass catcher, as the Kentucky product could burst into the painted area once the ball touched his hands for a circus shot around the net.

There’s no doubt about it; there are roughly 15 teams who probably feel pretty silly about passing on Maxey with their selection in the 2020 NBA Draft, including the Miami Heat, who picked Precious Achiuwa one pick before Maxey came off the board.

So why would the 76ers trade Maxey to simply get off of Tobias Harris’ contract? In short, why wouldn’t, or at least shouldn’t?

I know, I know, call me bullish, call me a homer, but Maxey’s upside, when coupled with the player he already is, is much more intriguing than almost any player who is expected to be available this summer. Unless the Sixers are going to use Maxey, Harris, Matisse Thybulle, and what little assets they have left to pursue a player like Bradley Beal, Joel Embiid’s preferred partner in crime according to Bill Simmons, the idea of moving off of the most exciting in-house draftee since JoJo in 2014 – don’t @ me – to free up cap space just borderline sacrilegious.

Come on, could you imagine how brutal it would feel to watch Maxey average 20-plus points per game on a team like the OKC Thunder for the next decade? That would feel worse than Jimmy Butler’s success in Miami, Jrue Holiday’s success in Milwaukee, and SimmoTheSavage25’s success on Twitch, as he already has 59.6K followers and counting.

If the Sixers could cash out on Maxey for an MVP-level player in his prime like Luka Dončić, that would be one thing – remember, Joel Embiid said he wouldn’t fault the Sixers if they traded him to Golden State for Steph and Klay – but moving on from a player with his upside for another 30-year-old All-Star who might age like milk instead of wine feels like a real win… for the other team in the deal.

By Joel Embiid’s own admission, no player on the Philadelphia 76ers should be untouchable. If the Golden State Warriors came calling and offered up both Steph Curry and Klay Thompson for his services, Daryl Morey would rightfully accept that deal any day of the week. But to give up on Tyrese Maxey now, immediately following an incredible second season, in order to free up money to sign a max contract player just feels wrong. In Maxey, the Sixers secured a diamond in the rough that 29 other teams wish they had on their roster, and making that a reality for another franchise to buy either a much older star or cap space could go down as one of the worst deals in the team’s 76-year history.