{"id":194828,"date":"2025-10-01T13:59:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T13:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/194828\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T13:59:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T13:59:08","slug":"has-the-philadelphia-76ers-window-already-closed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/194828\/","title":{"rendered":"Has the Philadelphia 76ers\u2019 Window Already Closed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can a new approach salvage this Sixers era? Or is history doomed to repeat itself with Joel Embiid and Paul George? \u201cWe realize we\u2019re in the prove-it phase,\u201d says Daryl Morey.<\/p>\n

Andre Drummond was stunned the first time he walked into the Philadelphia 76ers\u2019 training facility this summer. The 13-year veteran, back for a second season with the team, had been rehabbing his foot and arrived two days late to camp. He figured he\u2019d ease into things. \u201cI\u2019m [coming in] thinking we\u2019re just going through plays and we\u2019re trying to catch a rhythm,\u201d Drummond said. Then he caught a glimpse of the games. Bodies were colliding. Elbows were flying. Yet not one whistle was blown.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Sixers, it turned out, had instructed their practice referees to be stingy with calls.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m getting my ass beat out there,\u201d Drummond said. \u201cBut to see certain guys on our team play that way, I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, this is what we needed right here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Same core, new approach. Consider it the motto for this year\u2019s Sixers. Thus far, everyone\u2019s buying in. There\u2019s all sorts of talk about new and improved \u201cstandards\u201d and \u201cculture.\u201d President of basketball operations Daryl Morey is touting the roster\u2019s youth and a revamped medical group. Head coach Nick Nurse is raving about the energy he\u2019s seeing in the gym. Players are gushing over the athleticism of V. J. Edgecombe, the no. 3 pick in this year\u2019s draft; the leadership of Tyrese Maxey; and the competitiveness of second-year guard Jared McCain. Best of all, even Joel Embiid is smiling. Physically, he says, he \u201cfeels pretty good.\u201d \u201cMentally,\u201d he adds, he\u2019s feeling \u201cbetter,\u201d too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The vibes, dare we say, are pretty good in Philadelphia as training camp gets underway. Then again, we\u2019ve been down this path before. As one person close to the team put it, \u201cAll that stuff is great, but can the organization really find any form of success with all the distractions and uncertainty that come with Embiid?\u201d A pessimist might point out that the Sixers star continues to be coy about his health. Will he be ready for opening night? And how many games does he plan on playing after suiting up for just 58 of 164 regular-season games the past two seasons? \u201cI\u2019ll be honest and say that it\u2019s going to be unpredictable at times,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

If that doesn\u2019t give Sixers fans a feeling of Groundhog Day, there\u2019s plenty else to fill that role. In Paul George\u2014who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in July after suffering an injury during a workout\u2014the Sixers have a second former All-Star on the mend. While his absences haven\u2019t been as mysterious as Embiid\u2019s, they\u2019ve been just as frustrating. At media day, he said he\u2019s still not ready to \u201cstart the full ramp-up,\u201d<\/a> a phrase that must send shivers down the spines of Sixers fans. \u201cAll I can do is just focus on doing that day after day, taking it one day at a time,\u201d he says. Neither he nor Morey has yet to offer a timetable for his return.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On top of all that, McCain is now out four to six weeks after tearing a ligament in his right thumb during a recent practice\u2014perhaps a casualty of the increased physicality?\u2014meaning that once again the Sixers will enter training camp with one of their young pillars on the mend. Meanwhile, Quentin Grimes, whose late breakout was one of Philadelphia\u2019s lone bright spots last season, is engaged in a contract dispute with the Sixers that\u2019s keeping him away from the team, fulfilling yet another ignominious preseason tradition. None of which seems like the ideal way for the team to bounce back from an embarrassing 24-58 campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yet, despite all of that, there\u2019s a clear sense of optimism running through the organization. Not a swagger, like last year. More like the quiet pride that comes from feeling as if you\u2019ve properly diagnosed a problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe realize we\u2019re in the \u2018prove-it\u2019 phase,\u201d Morey said at media day. \u201cI don’t think it really matters what we\u2019re saying up here on our expectations at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

The real question now is whether the Sixers truly have a chance in the depleted Eastern Conference. Or, put another way: Is a team built around Embiid and George still worth taking seriously\u2014or has its window already closed?<\/p>\n

\"\"Getty Images<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a quick refresher on how we got here \u2026<\/p>\n

Coming off a first-round playoff exit in 2024, the Sixers\u2014thanks to Maxey agreeing to delay his extension\u2014were able to take advantage of some use-it-or-lose-it cap space and lure George away from the Los Angeles Clippers. It took a commitment of four years and $212 million\u2014a massive financial risk to take on a 34-year-old\u2014but the move was widely praised<\/a>. George, an elite do-it-all-wing, was the consensus top free agent on the market. He appeared to be the perfect player to slot in alongside Maxey and Embiid, both of whom were also locked up on long-term deals before the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The championship core that Morey and his predecessors had long chased was seemingly in place. The Sixers spent the preseason talking about their plan to coast through the regular season<\/a>, as if a playoff run were a given. They entered the 2024-25 regular season with the league\u2019s third-best title odds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And then? \u201cA rock-bottom type of season\u201d is how George describes it now. The problems were vast and wide-ranging. The supporting cast (Reggie Jackson? Caleb Martin?) assembled by Morey was old and slow. Nurse\u2019s schemes, particularly his pressure-predicated defense, didn\u2019t take. George missed half the season due to various injuries; when he did play, he looked more like a spectator than a star. The 16.2 points he averaged per game was his lowest mark since his sophomore campaign in Indiana.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, the Sixers might have survived it all\u2014or at least avoided becoming a punchline<\/a>\u2014if not for Embiid\u2019s unsteady health and flawed approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe organization was built around one guy who doesn\u2019t trust anyone and mostly keeps to himself,\u201d one former Sixers staffer said. When that one guy is putting up Wilt-like numbers, it can work. Not so much when he\u2019s playing in just 19 games\u2014a career low\u2014and, in those rare moments when he does suit up, shooting a career-worst 44.4 percent from the field while looking timid, heavy, and slow.<\/p>\n

Making matters worse was Embiid\u2019s refusal to be transparent about his injury. Not just with the public. He walled himself off from the majority of people within the organization, too. Players often showed up to work not knowing whether the team\u2019s star would be suiting up. Coaches often didn\u2019t know Embiid\u2019s status until he finished pregame warm-ups, sometimes less than an hour before tip-off. Nurse, who was forced to absorb the daily barrage of health questions, grew visibly frustrated. Knowing that even the slightest disclosure might be perceived by Embiid as betrayal no doubt added to the stress. \u201cWith Joel, even if there is a plan in place, you can\u2019t say anything about it,\u201d said a second former team staffer.<\/p>\n

More on the Sixers\u2019 Struggles <\/p>\n

More on the Sixers\u2019 Struggles <\/p>\n

\u201cIt all created an environment of dysfunction,\u201d said an associate of a Sixers player.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That tension boiled over in November, when ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania<\/a> reported details of what was supposed to be a closed-door, players-only meeting, with most of the grievances aired being directed at Embiid. \u201cThere was definitely a vibe shift among the players after that story broke,\u201d one person close to members of the team said. \u201cIt really affected the whole locker room,\u201d said a second person close to another player. \u201cPeople left that night feeling like they had turned a corner. Everyone promised to keep the details in-house. And then they wake up and all the details are out.\u201d The leak seemed to sting Embiid most. \u201cOnce you cross that\u2014you can\u2019t expect me to be part of a team meeting again. That\u2019s just not going to happen,\u201d Embiid told an ESPN reporter over the summer<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The losing\u2014and everything both causing it and surrounding it\u2014wore on everyone. Even Maxey, famous for his smile as much as for his speed<\/a>, occasionally sulked. \u201cI\u2019ve never lost in my career,\u201d he said recently. He was so broken, he now says, that he spent part of his summer focusing on his mental health.<\/p>\n

Going from a championship contender to a lottery-bound punchline took its toll on Morey, too. He\u2019d never endured a losing season in his 18 years as an NBA general manager. The turnaround he kept expecting never came. Colleagues noticed that he\u2019d often arrive in the office looking like he hadn\u2019t slept. Friends shared stories of having to \u201ctalk him off the ledge\u201d during phone calls. In an end-of-year press conference, Morey told reporters that he planned to \u201cassess everything.\u201d Yet, he made clear, he wasn\u2019t ready to punt on his core.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, when you have an MVP-level talent, you need to make aggressive moves to upgrade around that talent in that window,\u201d he said. \u201cThat’s what we did last offseason, and we feel good about it going forward. I think it’s such a unique thing to have a player of that caliber.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nick Nurse, V.J. Edgecombe, Johni Broome, and Daryl Morey during a press conference introducing the players<\/p>\n

David Dow\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Morey spent the offseason evaluating every department of the organization. Nurse did his own assessments, too. \u201cTo be honest, there was a lot of pissed-off-edness,\u201d he said recently. Numerous employees were soon let go or replaced. Coaches. Physical therapists. Medical staff. (Morey seems particularly excited about working with a New York\u2013based orthopedic surgeon named Dr. Jonathan Glashow, whom he name-checked multiple times on media day.) Even a security guard close with Embiid.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we turn the page and make sure we have a championship approach in everything we\u2019re doing?\u201d Morey said when describing his approach. \u201cThat did result in a lot of changes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

From a roster standpoint, however, Morey had few options. Embiid and George are locked in to hefty long-term deals. No one was going to take them without forcing the Sixers to fork over additional assets, meaning that there was no reset trade to be made. On the other side of the spectrum, Morey could have flipped the no. 3 pick for a win-now veteran, but doing so would be betting even more on the health of George and Embiid, a wager no sane GM would make at this point.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, Morey looked at the things he could control. He realized he had erred in building the supporting cast\u2014or, as he might say, \u201cover-indexing\u201d\u2014with veterans and taking the regular season for granted. \u201cWe did want to inject a lot of youth into this roster so we can manage through injuries better as well,\u201d Morey said. He and Nurse also recognized that today\u2019s NBA is just different. The game is faster and more physical. Younger teams\u2014look at the reigning champs<\/a>\u2014are succeeding more than ever. To compete, both Morey and Nurse had to adjust.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about being a little more athletic, a little faster, a little younger, a little quicker,\u201d Nurse said. The Sixers wouldn\u2019t just carve out roles for Edgecombe and McCain; they\u2019d also fill out the rotation with sophomores like Justin Edwards and Adem Bona, both of whom impressed team higher-ups and the coaching staff last season. \u201cI think we\u2019re tied for the number of players under 25 in the league,\u201d said Morey, who\u2019s spent most of his career reserving bench spots for proven veterans like P.J. Tucker and Trevor Ariza. He added, \u201cWe feel like we\u2019ve buffered things better with youth,\u201d most of whom, the team\u2019s veterans say, are cut from the same cloth as they are.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have really good young guys, and they have this open happiness and this spirit that\u2019s just a pureness,\u201d said veteran guard Kyle Lowry, back for a third season with the team. \u201cThey love basketball, they want to work, they get into the gym early, they listen to the coaches.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In other words: The Sixers didn\u2019t get younger because they\u2019re waving the white flag. They\u2019re doing so because they believe it gives them a better chance to win games, in the future, sure, but also now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Tyrese Maxey at media dayGetty Images<\/p>\n

But can this work? Can the Sixers really bounce back from everything they\u2019ve endured? Can a team with 69 percent of its salary cap tied up in George and Embiid, two players who might spend the majority of the season watching from the sideline, really succeed?\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is where Maxey, entering his sixth NBA season, appears to finally be comfortable sliding into a leadership role. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to create an identity where, no matter who plays \u2026 it doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d he declared on media day, sounding like no Sixers player in the Process era ever has. \u201cThe 76ers are going to play this way every single night, no matter who\u2019s out there. We\u2019re going to compete, we’re going to play hard, and that’s what it has to come down to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the offseason, he took it upon himself to start acting like the team\u2019s leader, too. He organized players-only runs and brought Edgecombe to Disneyland. He started playing video games so that he could spend more time with younger teammates, a bunch of whom he invited over to his family\u2019s home in Dallas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJust building that camaraderie and a brotherhood off the court, I think that’s one of the biggest things that I tried to do this summer,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bull case for the Sixers this season is straightforward. It starts with the team\u2019s injury luck improving. Or, as Morey would likely put it, regressing to the mean. \u201cLast year was a little unique,\u201d Morey said. \u201cI think at times last year, we were without five to seven of our players.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It helps that the East is in shambles, too. The Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic appear to be sure things. Beyond that, who knows? The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers might be facing gap years without their stars. The Milwaukee Bucks are relying on Kyle Kuzma and Kevin Porter Jr., and Giannis Antetokounmpo is continuing to hint that he might want a new home. The Miami Heat will be without Tyler Herro for a couple of months. Maybe a void will open at the top of the East that the Sixers can fill?<\/p>\n

And maybe Embiid\u2014who was basically a full participant in the Sixers\u2019 first practice of training camp\u2014will regain some of the pop from his 2023 MVP season. Maybe he\u2019ll play 45 or so games. Maybe George, feeling more settled with one year in Philly under his belt, will grow more comfortable with his teammates and his role in Nurse\u2019s system. Maybe McCain will return from his thumb injury and pick up where he left off last season. Maybe Edgecombe will live up to expectations. Maybe Bona and Edwards will continue to grow. Maybe Grimes will eventually give them a boost. Maybe Nurse, leaning on his experience coaching Kawhi Leonard during the Toronto Raptors\u2019 2019 title run, will learn how to better manage the uncertainty surrounding his veteran stars. Maybe Maxey\u2019s message will take hold.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe it will all work, and next month, Stephen A. and Kendrick Perkins will be debating whether or not the Sixers are for real. Maybe none of this will happen and, come January, Morey will indeed decide to pivot. Maybe the Sixers will land somewhere in between. There\u2019s no predicting the future. The best a team can do is learn from its past. The Sixers say they\u2019ve done so. The question isn\u2019t whether or not they have. It\u2019s whether or not it\u2019s too late.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yaron Weitzman<\/p>\n

<\/a>Yaron Weitzman is an NBA reporter and the author of \u2018Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports.\u2019 Follow him on Twitter, @YaronWeitzman. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Can a new approach salvage this Sixers era? Or is history doomed to repeat itself with Joel Embiid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":194829,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-194828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}