The Sixers were struggling to get healthy, yet they were exceeding expectations. In their last game their available rotation was the closest it has been to an idealized version of themselves, and now the angst might be at an all-time high for the 2025-26 season.
Joel Embiid is back, but he will not play on Tuesday after a Sunday performance that was only mildly encouraging with some notable red flags. Paul George has not one, but two injuries. Tyrese Maxey is carrying a workload that is nearly unprecedented. The Sixers are 6-9 in their last 15 games, with their 20th game of the season set for Tuesday night.
The present and future of this team remains murky and confusing. Predictably, you have questions. Luckily, that is what our weekly mailbags are for.
Let’s dive into your questions:
From @sixersallie: Based on how the season is going so far, do you think the Sixers will make any moves at the trade deadline?
It would be unlike Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey and his front office to just stay the course and not choose a definitive path — buying or selling — at the trade deadline. Morey has been known for his activity, and during his tenure in Philadelphia the Sixers have always entered deadlines with clear objectives.
But how can Morey act with any sort of confidence at this point, with this roster?
Perhaps when February begins and the deadline is days away, the Sixers will be in good standing and have a real chance of securing a playoff spot. That would clearly indicate a willingness to buy in search of rotation upgrades.
But to what end? If the Sixers traded a draft pick or a young player in an attempt to bolster their short-term chances of winning, they are suddenly making two significant gambles at once: that whatever they receive in the trade will prove to be more valuable than what they are giving up, and that Joel Embiid will be healthy enough and productive enough for long enough that the team can actually reap the benefits of making such a deal.
If the Sixers do end up buying at the deadline, they should wait at long as possible to do it, because one significant injury would wipe out their chances of winning at anything close to the highest levels — and there is clearly an especially strong chance of such a thing happening.
The natural pivot point would be selling. But nobody is taking Embiid’s contract. Barring something unforeseen, the same is true for George. The Sixers are trying to get younger, not older, so VJ Edgecombe and Jared McCain will both be off the table in addition to Maxey. Quentin Grimes has a no-trade clause and it makes no financial sense for him to waive it unless the Sixers find an unlikely trade partner.
So, what really is there to sell? Kelly Oubre Jr., a quality two-way rotation wing on an expiring salary below $9 million, is the most obvious option. If Andre Drummond continues to excel, a team could have some interest in him on a $5 million expiring. But neither player will net the Sixers a tremendously valuable asset; the primary upside of trading those veterans would be accelerating an effort to duck the luxury tax threshold yet again.
Expect the Sixers to drag out their decision on which path to take at the trade deadline for as long as they can — and standing pat, even if not something one would expect from this front office, cannot be ruled out. It is a brutally complicated picture.
MORE: Embiid, VJ Edgecombe talk returns, Dominick Barlow earns starting PF spot, more
From @SantUffizio: Do you think Jared McCain is making crisp decisions? Dribbled off his foot twice yesterday but generally struggles to find his position on the court.
Maxey’s advice for McCain, which he repeated many times publicly and privately as the 21-year-old tried to battle through early struggles after returning from two injuries, is: “Don’t think, just hoop.” McCain was clearly in his head, not just about how to deal with a bulky knee brace and his lack of trust in that knee, but probably also the brace on his shooting hand. He needed time to get back up to speed but was playing against unforgiving defenders. It made for an ugly situation early on.
McCain has always had too much skill and craft to stay down, and before a dud of a performance on Sunday the second-year guard submitted season-best showings on three consecutive nights. Maxey’s advice has helped him quite a bit.
“After every game, like the early games, he would text me,” McCain said. “He texted me when I went down to the G [League]. Just staying in my ear. ‘Continue to be yourself, it’s going to come back.’ So he’s been a great mentor and somebody who I can go to for that, and kind of helping me get through this process of coming back to myself.”
To answer your question more directly: It’s getting there. Early on it was obvious that McCain was struggling mightily with a challenging task: finding himself while only playing short bursts of minutes and not disrupting a stellar guard rotation that was humming without him. It weighed on him quite a bit.
But since McCain has returned from his two-game assignment with the Delaware Blue Coats, he has seemed more like himself, and that includes his decision-making. There have certainly been times where vastly superior athletes have overwhelmed him, but McCain has never been an explosive player to begin with.
Even as he has regained much of his confidence on the court and is becoming considerably more comfortable trusting his knee, McCain is still trying to figure out how he can get back to himself without detracting from Maxey’s brilliance and the stellar stretches that come with Grimes and Edgecombe. It is easy to see how the conflicting goals could make it harder for him to think straight. But he is getting there.
MORE: Tyrese Maxey and McCain thriving together
From @HojoTakeda: Do you think Justin Edwards will find any consistency in his role?
It depends on your definition of consistency. Because of the nature of Edwards’ role, so much of the equation in terms of him having a quality performance will boil down to three-point shooting. Even very good shooters do not post strong shooting lines every night, and even if Edwards solidifies himself as a good shooter — count Nurse as one of the believers that he will — it is not like he will ever be an elite marksman from long range.
Edwards is not going to have the ball all that much, and when he gets it his job is to do something quickly, whether that is a quick-trigger spot-up triple, a strong drive or making the next pass. He has had bouts of indecisiveness lately; it is unlike him and has been noticeable. Edwards endeared himself to Nurse as an undrafted rookie with his unflappable decisiveness. It is a real skill. It has, at times, eluded him this season.
Where the Sixers do need more consistency from Edwards right now is on the defensive end of the floor. He is a high-effort player on that end of the floor with the requisite frame and athleticism to defend multiple position. Nurse has enormous faith in him. But since Kelly Oubre Jr. went down with a knee injury, Edwards has been one of the Sixers’ single most important defenders. It is a high-pressure role, and the results have been mixed.
On Friday night in Brooklyn, Nurse said that Edwards has to be a bit more “solid” on defense. His definition of that term: being smarter about when to gamble for steals and blocks and when to stay in position. It is something Nurse believes Oubre has made strides with recently. He believes Edwards can do the same.
“He’s had his ups and downs, I think. I’m trying to get him to be a little more solid,” Nurse said. “I think you’re seeing that he’s getting in the lanes, getting some steals, picking people’s pockets, things like that. But then there’s also the share of breakdowns and over-gambles and things, too. Very similar, right? I think that’s been Kelly’s biggest step forward this year, is he’s really gotten way more solid on the defensive end. Less risk-taking, staying in front of his man a lot more, and that’s where we’re kind of trying to push Justin, the same way.”
In a brief conversation with PhillyVoice after Friday’s game, Edwards said that being more “solid” defensively, and avoiding ill-advised gambles is not something he has recently discussed with Nurse. But he said he is eager to learn as much as he can from both Nurse and Oubre.
“I’ve learned a lot [from Oubre], honestly. He’d teach me the different types of schemes on how to guard different players and stuff,” Edwards said. “…If [Nurse is] saying I’m gambling, [I will] just listen to it, and just try to be better.”
MORE: Edwards stays ready amid struggles, ‘work shows’ for hometown hero vs. Celtics
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