Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey Returns Saturday
The Sixers announced (via Twitter) that Tyrese Maxey will return to action for Saturday’s game at Charlotte, which carries huge stakes in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The All-Star guard will be back on the court after missing the past 10 games with a tendon injury in his right pinkie finger. The team stated on March 10 that Maxey would be reevaluated in three weeks, so he was able to return slightly ahead of schedule.
Having Maxey back on the court will be a huge addition for the seventh-place Sixers, who are fighting to escape the play-in tournament at 40-33. Philadelphia is only one game away from moving up to fifth, but is just a game-and-a-half ahead of 10th-place Miami.
Before the injury, Maxey was in the midst of his best NBA season, topping the Sixers in scoring at 29 points per game and leading the league in both minutes played (38.3) and steals (2.0) per contest. He’s also averaging 6.7 assists per game while posting .461/.373/.893 shooting numbers and has formed one of the league’s best young backcourts alongside rookie VJ Edgecombe.
Tonight will be Maxey’s 62nd game of the season, so he’ll only need to appear in three of the final eight to reach the 65-game requirement to qualify for postseason awards. He’s a strong candidate for All-NBA honors after being named Most Improved Player in 2023/24 and finishing tied for 10th in the Clutch Player balloting last season.
Maxey’s return will force Quentin Grimes back to a reserve role after he started the past 12 games he has played. Cameron Payne and Justin Edwards could also see their playing time reduced.
Atlantic Notes: Murray-Boyles, Nets, Knicks, Edgecombe
Raptors rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles has missed the team’s past eight games due to a sprained left thumb, but his return shouldn’t be far off. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link), Murray-Boyles took part in practice on Tuesday, with the club set to assess how he responds to that session before determining whether he’ll be available for Wednesday’s game in Chicago.
Even if Murray-Boyles isn’t cleared to play tomorrow, head coach Darko Rajakovic expects to have him back at some point during the upcoming five-game road trip, which begins on Wednesday and runs through next Wednesday in L.A., tweets Lewenberg.
Murray-Boyles had emerged as a key contributor for Toronto prior to the injury. He has started 18 of his last 19 outings, averaging 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.3 steals in 27.7 minutes per game while shooting 60.3% from the floor during that stretch.
Here are a few more items of interest from across the Atlantic:
- Eric Koreen of The Athletic wonders if this year’s Raptors are the equivalent of last season’s Pistons, a limited offensive team without enough shooting that nonetheless played a scrappy brand of basketball, exceeded expectations, ended a postseason drought, and pushed a higher seed in the first round of the playoffs.
- There are five “touch points” that will determine how quickly the Nets accelerate their rebuild, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post: How their rookies develop, where their lottery pick ends up, the results of the upcoming postseason, whether a star becomes available, and how free agency plays out.
- In a mailbag, Ian Begley of SNY.tv outlines why Knicks head coach Mike Brown is reluctant to make changes to a struggling starting five and notes that Mikal Bridges has played a key role in the club’s defensive turnaround while slumping offensively.
- With Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George all unavailable, the Sixers have won three of their last four games with young role players like VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, and Justin Edwards leading the way, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. As Jones observes, Edgecombe is gaining important reps as Philadelphia’s go-to scorer, which could serve him well down the road. “I was being double-teamed against Brooklyn,” Edgecombe said, referring to Saturday’s game in which he scored 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting. “I had never been doubled in my life. I guess I just have to go back and look at the film.”
Sixers Notes: Embiid, George, Close Games, Edwards
There are no structural issues with Joel Embiid‘s right knee, head coach Nick Nurse told reporters during his post-game media session on Tuesday, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
While Embiid has primarily dealt with left knee issues over the last couple seasons, he was held out of Tuesday’s game vs. Boston due to soreness in his other knee and underwent further evaluation to assess the severity of the injury.
However, as Bontemps details, it doesn’t like it’s considered a serious problem, with the team announcing the star center’s status as day-to-day. Prior to Tuesday’s tip-off, Nurse said there were “no expectations” that Embiid’s latest knee issue would result in an extended absence.
“No expectation at all,” Nurse said. “He just reported a little soreness in his right knee. He’s had some imaging on that this afternoon, and the doctors are here tonight to go over that with him.”
Here’s more on the 76ers:
- Veteran forward Paul George also met with team doctors on Tuesday and the club provided a minor update on his status, announcing that he’s in the “final stage” of his return-to-play process as he continues strengthening his left quad following offseason knee surgery. With George moving closer to making his season debut, his status will be updated again later this week, according to the Sixers.
- Through their first 11 contests, the 76ers have played in nine games defined as “clutch” (within five points in the final five minutes), including five that have come down to one possession. While Philadelphia has performed well in those clutch games (6-3), the team doesn’t want to make a habit of having to erase deficits and win 50/50 games, notes Tony Jones of The Athletic. “I think it’s a good habit that we are resilient and we show the ability to fight and claw and scratch and get the lead back,” Sixers wing Quentin Grimes said. “But, we don’t want to keep having to play like this. We don’t want to have to be in position to have to keep trying to get back into these games.”
- A revelation last season as an undrafted free agent, second-year forward Justin Edwards had a mediocre Summer League and played a limited role through the Sixers’ first 10 games, averaging 4.0 PPG in 11.3 MPG on 38.7% shooting. However, he showed in Tuesday’s victory that he remains capable of making positive contributions in Philadelphia’s rotation, as he racked up 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting in 27 minutes of action. “I think I said this to you guys before, like, I love him,” Nurse said of Edwards, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required). “I don’t worry about him. Works extremely hard. He really worked on his shooting. He goes out there and tries extremely hard on defense every time. He’s not perfect. But he’s a really good developing young player that I love. If he has a bad game, it doesn’t even phase me, because I love him.”
Sixers Notes: Embiid, Barlow, Drummond, Edwards
Joel Embiid will miss the Sixers‘ game against the Magic on Monday due to left knee injury management, reports Keith Pompey of the Philly Inquirer (via Twitter). It has been reported that Embiid and the Sixers would be cautious with his health, so the move isn’t unexpected after he played in the first two contests of the season.
Embiid scored 20 points in 20 minutes in the Sixers’ most recent game against the Hornets, following a disappointing season debut against the Celtics. Taking advantage of Charlotte’s lack of big man depth, Embiid added four assists and two steals while scoring nine of the team’s first 18 points, writes Pompey.
Embiid, who is currently on a minutes restriction, is still trying to navigate how to be most effective in a more limited role, Pompey writes.
“Longer stints, you’ll actually be able to let the game come to you,” he said. “But then again, longer stints also mean you might be done by halftime. But I can’t sit for too long… being in shape is one thing, but being in basketball shape is another thing. You need to play, and you need to play a lot.”
We have more from the Sixers:
- Dominick Barlow will miss at least the next two games with a laceration to his right elbow that will require a procedure on Monday to address, reports Pompey (via Twitter). Pompey adds that Barlow will be reevaluated later in the week. Barlow was one of the standouts of the Sixers’ preseason, winning the starting power forward job in Paul George‘s absence despite being on a two-way contract. In his season debut against the Celtics, he scored 13 points and added eight rebounds and five assists. He played just under 16 minutes against the Hornets before leaving the game due to the injury.
- Andre Drummond was out of head coach Nick Nurse‘s rotation to open the season, but played arguably his best game as a Sixer against the Hornets, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic (subscriber link). Drummond brought down 13 rebounds in 15 minutes and was instrumental in turning the team’s momentum around, according to Jones. “I’m thrilled that he was able to play so well,” Nurse said. “And now, I’m kind of wondering why I didn’t use him earlier. I knew that I would eventually have to use him again, because Joel was down to just a few minutes in the second half. I was trying to find some spark, and he gave it.“
- Justin Edwards was hoping to build off a strong rookie season, but struggled to carve out a role for himself during Summer League or preseason, writes Kyle Neubeck for PHLY Sports (Twitter link). After scoring nine points in the second half against the Hornets, Edwards revealed that Drummond has been an important confidant, having helped keep him confident and ready for his opportunity. “For a guy like Justin who’s young… who is used to playing big minutes off the year he had last year, coming back now and being out of the rotation… I have him sit next to me every game,” Drummond said. “I said bro, don’t lose yourself in this. It’s a game of runs; it’s a game that changes often. Just stay ready, continue to work, and when your number is called, you’re going to be ready to go.“
Sixers Notes: Morey, Embiid, Grimes, Yabusele, Edwards
After making the playoffs for seven straight years, the Sixers bottomed out in 2024/25 amid injuries to several key players, going just 24-58. With a little luck in the draft lottery, Philadelphia kept its protected first-round pick and moved up to No. 3, selecting former Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe.
As challenging as last season was, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey thinks the 76ers have an opportunity to make a significant move up the Eastern Conference standings in ’25/26 due to major injuries to star players and roster changes to rival teams, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic.
“I do think it’s open in the East,” Morey said in an extensive interview with select media from the Las Vegas Summer League. “I do think that’s a fair characterization. I do, obviously, think that we weren’t the only team that’s unfortunately gone through a lot of tough injuries. That’s opened some things up. But we’re going to have to prove that we’re with those upper-echelon teams in the East. But we do feel like if all things come together, we can be right there, and we’ve given ourselves a lot of flexibility to upgrade the team during the year, if things are going as well as we hope.”
Here’s more on the Sixers:
- While Morey says star center Joel Embiid is “on track” to be ready for the start of training camp, league sources tell Jones that the 31-year-old big man has not yet resumed on-court basketball activities. Still, Morey and the rest of the front office are optimistic that Embiid will be ready to suit up for the regular season opener.
- In his same session with reporters, including Jones, Morey seemed to confirm that Philadelphia offered Guerschon Yabusele a contract above the minimum using his Non-Bird rights, as our Luke Adams had previously speculated. Yabusele wound up signing a two-year deal with New York for part of the mid-level exception. Morey suggested the 76ers didn’t want to hard-cap themselves by using any portion of their taxpayer MLE before Quentin Grimes‘ restricted free agency is resolved.
- “Yeah, that sucked,” Morey said of losing Yabusele. “We offered Guerschon the most that we could that wouldn’t limit us and our ability to retain Quentin. That was above the minimum. I’ve seen reports saying that we only offered the minimum, and that wasn’t true. But it was definitely below what he ended up getting. We knew it would create a challenge for us. So we wanted to retain Quentin. We hope to work that out with his representation, and our focus was on making sure that happens. So, that did impact what we could offer Guerschon.”
- Philadelphia native Justin Edwards was one of the bright spots for the Sixers last season. After a solid rookie campaign, he re-signed with his hometown team on a new three-year deal. “I definitely think this has been a full-circle moment for me, playing in the place I grew up in,” Edwards told Jones of The Athletic. “What I want to do is continue to grow my game and to keep getting better. I want to be in the Rising Stars game next season.”
Atlantic Notes: R. Brunson, Celtics, Edgecombe, Edwards
Rick Brunson, Jalen Brunson‘s father, will remain on the Knicks‘ coaching staff but he’ll have a reduced role under new coach Mike Brown, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reports.
Brunson has been on the staff of 2022, the same year that Jalen Brunson joined the Knicks as a free agent. He was Tom Thibodeau‘s top assistant last season, but Brown will hire his own associate head coach.
Darren Erman, Maurice Cheeks and Mark Bryant, who were also members of Thibodeau’s staff, are also expected to return under Brown, Bondy confirms.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Offering transparency regarding the team’s offseason moves, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens admitted the trades he’s made — including deals involving Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis — were designed to get the team under the second tax apron. “We’ve known for a long time that hard decisions were coming,” Stevens said, per Kyle Hightower of The Associated Press. “The second apron is why those trades happened. I think that is pretty obvious. And the basketball penalties associated with those are real. … So that was part of making the decision to push and put our chips on the table and go for the last two years.” However, he won’t call next season a rebuilding year. “That’s not going to be part of the lexicon in our building, and that’s the way we’re going to focus moving forward,” he said.
- It didn’t take long for the snake-bit Sixers to deal with another injury, though this one is minor. Lottery pick VJ Edgecombe is dealing with a left thumb contusion, which is affecting his Summer League status, Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports tweets.
- Sixers forward Justin Edwards earned a new three-year contract after going undrafted last year. Edwards is proud of what he’s accomplished. “Going undrafted, I didn’t let it determine the rest of my basketball life,” Edwards told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I just worked hard and did what I was able to do and got a contract out of it.”
Sixers Re-Sign Justin Edwards To Three-Year Deal
July 6: Edwards has officially re-signed with the 76ers, according to NBA.com’s transaction log. Edwards’ deal includes a third-year team option, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
June 27: The Sixers will decline their minimum-salary team option on forward Justin Edwards in order to sign him to a new three-year contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Charania, the new deal will pay Edwards roughly $2MM in 2025/26 and will be fully guaranteed for the first two years.
Edwards, who will turn 22 this December, joined the Sixers last summer as an undrafted free agent out of Kentucky. He opened the season on a two-way deal before being promoted to the standard roster after the trade deadline in February.
The 6’7″ forward had an impressive rookie year in Philadelphia, averaging 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.0 steal in 26.3 minutes per game across 44 outings (26 starts). He registered a shooting line of .455/.363/.696.
The Sixers will have the ability to complete this deal with Edwards using his Non-Bird rights. While it sounds like it might be worth the veteran’s minimum (which is projected to start at $2,048,494 for a second-year player in ’25/26), the minimum salary exception can only be used for deals of up to two years.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Edwards’ deal includes a team option in year three, since that would give the Sixers the ability to make him a restricted free agent in 2027 instead of having to take him to unrestricted free agency in 2028.
And-Ones: ESPN Broadcasters, Inside The NBA, Small Forward Market, Key Dates
The current top ABC/ESPN broadcasting trio of Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson might not work together beyond the NBA Finals, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reports.
That grouping hasn’t meshed like the vaunted trio of Breen, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy — the latter two were let go by ESPN during a series of cost-cutting moves in 2023. The network will reevaluate its current roster of broadcasters after the Finals, Marchand says, adding that ESPN intends on re-signing Jefferson, though the analyst has also drawn interest from Amazon Prime Video.
Burke’s spot is not guaranteed for next season, according to Marchand, but Breen is locked in as the top play-by-play man. Tim Legler has supporters among the network’s top executives and could become a option to join the No. 1 broadcasting group.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- TNT’s celebrated “Inside the NBA” show will move to ESPN next season but Charles Barkley doesn’t intend to finish out his 10-year contract, Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports relays. Barkley has seven years left on the $210MM contract he signed with TNT and said on the Dan Patrick Show he only wants to work two more years. “Inside the NBA” will continue to have an extended post-game show and will also lead ESPN’s pregame and halftime programming.
- The free agent small forward pool doesn’t have an All-Star level talent, according to Spotrac contributor Keith Smith. The “starter tier” is headed by Khris Middleton and Kelly Oubre, who hold options on their contracts. Restricted free agent Justin Edwards and unrestricted FA Taurean Prince round out that group.
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks lists all the key offseason dates, beginning with the draft’s early entry entrant withdrawal deadline for non-college players on June 15. The other important date this month prior to the draft is the start of negotiations between teams and their own free agents, which occurs the day after the Finals conclude.
Sixers Notes: Gordon, Dowtin, Edwards, Grimes
Veteran guard Eric Gordon can get guaranteed money if he exercises his player option before free agency. However, Gordon might have a limited role if he returns to the Sixers.
Gordon holds a $3.4MM player option but he’s coming off a disappointing and injury-marred season. The veteran wing posted career-low averages of 6.8 points and 19.7 minutes per game, though he shot it well from three-point land (40.9%), Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes. He only appeared in 39 games before undergoing season-ending arthroscopic right wrist surgery on Feb. 26.
“It was tough, because I wanted to play as many games as I can,” Gordon said.
Here’s more on the Sixers:
- Jeff Dowtin remained on a two-way contract as the season ended even though he appeared in 41 games, including three starts. Dowtin averaged 7.0 points in 15.1 minutes per night. “I’m just a hard worker, a go-getter no matter what,” he told Pompey, who considers whether there’s a place for the guard in Philadelphia going forward. “There’s always going to be obstacles that come in front of you. There’s always going to be things that you don’t like. Things are never going to always go your way. But it’s just how I’m built for different things, different obstacles.”
- Undrafted rookie forward Justin Edwards was one of the few pleasant surprises in an otherwise disappointing season for the Sixers. Edwards had his two-way contract converted to a standard deal after he emerged as a regular contributor — he averaged 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 44 games, including 26 starts. Philadelphia holds a $2MM option 0n his contract for next season, but he’s positioned himself to be a part of the long-term future, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “I was able to get an opportunity early,” he said. “I just made the best out of the opportunity, and it all worked out for me.” The 76ers could sign Edwards to a longer-term deal by turning down his option and making him a restricted free agent.
- Quentin Grimes thrived after being acquired from Dallas in midseason. What kind of contract could Grimes receive in restricted free agency? Spotrac contributor Keith Smith believes a four-year, $80MM deal might work for both sides, unless the Nets — who will have ample cap space — decide to blow the Sixers out of the water with a much bigger offer.
Nick Nurse Reflects On Difficult Season After Sixers Officially Eliminated
Head coach Nick Nurse discussed the frustrations of a lost year after the Sixers were officially eliminated from postseason contention with Saturday’s loss to Miami (Twitter video link from PHLY Sixers).
“Obviously it’s not anywhere near where we had hoped it would be when we set out this summer and this fall, that’s for sure” Nurse said. “That’s the only thing you can say, it was a super struggle. You know, most of the way I think there was only a couple times of some momentum. Right? December, and there was another I think four- or five-game winning streak in there, too, where you were always holding out hope that the team was playing better and getting some wins and hopefully get some players back.”
That turnaround never came, as the Sixers were plagued by injuries to stars and role players throughout the season. Franchise cornerstone Joel Embiid was limited to 19 games before being declared out for the season in late February. Top free agent addition Paul George appeared in 41 games before he was ruled out for the season in mid-March. Tyrese Maxey was active for 52 games, but he hasn’t played since March 3 due to a sprained finger and probably won’t return this season.
Injury issues affected virtually the entire roster, as Philadelphia got just 40 games out of Andre Drummond, 39 from Eric Gordon and 33 from Kyle Lowry. Rookie guard Jared McCain was lost after 23 games due to a meniscus tear following a promising start.
Tonight marked the Sixers’ 50th different starting lineup in 74 games, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), with Justin Edwards, Guerschon Yabusele, Adem Bona, Quentin Grimes and Jared Butler opening the game.
“It just didn’t seem like the injury bug would ever leave us,” Nurse said. “It just seemed like every time we’d have a good game it would cost us a player or two for the next one. We never could build any momentum.”
The good news for the Sixers is that tonight’s defeat, combined with Brooklyn’s win, drops them a half-game behind the Nets and gives them the fifth-worst record in the league. Philadelphia’s first-round pick in this year’s draft is top-six protected and will convey to Oklahoma City if it falls outside that range.
The 23-51 Sixers have now dropped seven straight and 24 of their last 28. Five of their final eight games are against teams under .500, starting with Sunday’s home contest against Toronto.