August 12, 2024
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
With Paul George now in Philadelphia, can Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey help lead the Sixers to an NBA Finals?
The Sixers will sign one more veteran's minimum contract at some point between now and the start of the 2024-25 NBA season, but their roster for the beginning of the year is largely set with seven weeks and change remaining until training camp gets underway.
13 players are currently under contract with the team, and for reasons related to their on-court abilities and durability concerns, many of them have particularly wide ranges of outcomes within a given season. Let's project the best and worst case scenarios for each Sixer in the upcoming regular season:
Best case: Embiid plays somewhere in the ballpark of 65 games and is the best player in the NBA. If he does reach 65, he wins his second NBA MVP trophy in three years. He sets new career-best efficiency numbers -- topping those in his 2022-23 MVP season -- surrounded by the best duo of offensive talents he has ever teamed with in Tyrese Maxey and Paul George.
Worst case: Embiid suffers a significant injury and misses a considerable portion of the regular season and enters the playoffs nursing that injury without being in ideal conditioning.
Best case: Playing with another star-caliber perimeter scorer in George and a consistently available Embiid allows Maxey to increase his efficiency while focusing on making a significant leap as a creator for others. Maxey easily clears his 2023-24 assists per game total of 6.2 and sets a new career high in that department.
Worst case: Maxey does not make any noteworthy strides as a playmaker and his defense regresses from where it had progressed to by the end of last season. His in-between game as a scorer fails to develop, and he continues to be a bit more reliant on off-the-dribble three-point shooting than what is optimal.
Best case: George defies expectations and plays more than 70 games for the second straight season, and playing with a dominant center like Embiid for the first time in his career, he continues to be one of the league's most effective and dangerous shooters. George is able to enter the playoffs at maximum physical capacity, prepared to take on challenging defensive assignments.
Worst case: George misses considerable time during the season, and his fit in Philadelphia -- which appears clean as a sheet --turns out to be a bit murkier than anticipated. The impact of his aging begins to become a bit more pronounced, and suddenly his four-year max deal looks like a negative asset.
Best case: Oubre's three-point efficiency reaches an all-time high playing alongside three All-Star three-level scorers, and his simplified role on offense as a spot-up shooter and timely cutter allows him to hone in on becoming the best defensive player he can be.
Worst case: Oubre does not improve his accuracy from beyond the arc on lower volume, inherently reducing his value on offense by a notable amount. He is eventually moved to the bench in order to be utilized as a scorer more often, but is not particularly efficient with the ball in his hands.
Best case: Playing with the most powerful offensive supporting cast of his career, Martin enjoys career-best three-point shooting numbers, stays healthy and quickly adjusts his defensive style to fit the preferences of Sixers head coach Nick Nurse -- with the occasional big scoring night to help get the Sixers out of a rut.
Worst case: Martin has a down year from three-point range, and it turns out that the significant discrepancies between his defensive instincts and how Nurse likes to coach his wings cause significant issues. Martin is a rotation-caliber player, but not someone the Sixers want closing playoff games.
Best case: The ageless wonder that is Lowry continues to find ways to impact winning, whether that comes via three-point shooting, passing or defense. Even at his advanced age, Lowry is a quality rotation player for a contending team.
Worst case: By the time Lowry turns 39 years old in March, his time as a consistent contributor has ended. His athleticism continues to decline, and his lack of burst makes him a liability on offense while also hurting his defensive value.
Best case: Gordon's three-point shooting gives the Sixers' offense a major lift, and he becomes an important part of the team's rotation on a nightly basis. Gordon is able to serve as a secondary ball-handler in a pinch, but provides most of his value with an excellent shooting season.
Worst case: Gordon misses plenty of time due to injuries, and when he is healthy, his declining athleticism makes him a target of opposing offenses. His drop-off is significant enough that Nurse is forced to look in another direction for bench minutes at the position.
Best case: Drummond helps the Sixers fix their rebounding issues, raises the floor of their second unit lineups, and serves admirably as a fill-in starter whenever Embiid is unavailable.
Worst case: Drummond is a perfectly viable backup center in the regular season, but underwhelms when filling in for Embiid. The Sixers' disastrous on-off trends when Embiid sits continue for another year.
Best case: The Sixers' perceived hole at power forward enables Council to receive a chance at consistent minutes, and he runs with the opportunity. Council thrives as a driver and versatile defender while continuing to improve his three-point shot, cementing himself as part of the Sixers' future.
Worst case: Council fails to take advantage of whatever chances at playing time he gets, and becomes more of a situational piece than a player who is relied upon. His long-term outlook is muddied by an unimpressive year.
Best case: Martin gives the Sixers serviceable minutes early in the season when necessary, and in January or February, the Sixers trade his useful contract -- often known as a "balloon deal" -- to a team that genuinely values him in exchange for a player more suited to help the Sixers in the short-term. Martin continues to progress and asserts himself as a rotation player in the NBA with whatever team he is dealt to.
Worst case: Martin does little of note on the floor, and is eventually moved in a trade as nothing more than salary filler.
Best case: As a change-of-pace ball-handling option, Jackson works his way into Nurse's rotation on most nights. He improves his decision-making and shot selection enough to be considered a genuine option for minutes in the playoffs.
Worst case: Jackson proves to simply not be good enough to be a contributor for a contending team at this stage in his career, and is not factored into plans for the playoffs whatsoever.
Best case: McCain begins the season out of Nurse's rotation, but impresses when called upon and eventually earns consistent playing time. His three-point shot translates seamlessly to the NBA, and he performs well enough in the other areas of his game to be a viable rotation player by the end of the season.
Worst case: McCain's weaknesses prove too significant for him to be a rotation player as a rookie. In their pursuit of a championship, the Sixers are forced to consider using McCain as a trade piece to make a meaningful rotation upgrade.
Best case: Bona's incredible motor and outlier athletic/physical tools make him a viable backup center when one of Embiid or Drummond is out, and it becomes clear that the rookie is the team's backup center of the future.
Worst case: Bona's foul-happy nature, lack of clear offensive utility and general raw nature makes him unplayable early on in the season, and he is sent to the G League to refine those aspects of his game in hopes of accelerating his development.
Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice
