For some reason, there is no 5th year option in the contract section, which Maxey is eligible for a 5 year max, worth up to 25% of the teams salary cap for the 2024-2025 season…*
++Players which, in this scenario, the team would resign:++
-Maxey, who is the teams most invaluable asset, outside of the perennial MVP caliber talent that is Joel Embiid, Nicolas Batum, Kelly Oubre Jr, and Kyle Lowry…
++Free Agent Signings:++
-LeBron James (like I said, please keep in mind that this is all hypothetical…) Landing LeBron James would be the team’s greatest player ever acquired via trade, or FA. Although LeBron will turn 40 on the 30th of December towards the end of the year, he is still performing at an elite level, which is unprecedented, given the abuse his body has endured, and the amount of excruciating minutes he’s played throughout his 21 year career. Though his previous two season saw him miss a good chunk of playing time due to injuries, this past season marked his first time playing more than 70 games since his final year with the Cavs, in 2017-2018, where he played all 82 games…Now, who knows when, or even if, Father Time will catch up to leagues all time leading scorer, but it goes without question to say that he’s still amongst the NBA’s best in shooting, and scoring. Despite being top 20 in field goal attempts, LeBron was ranked 17th in effective field goal percentage, 20th in true shooting percentage, and shot 41% from 3. The most he’s ever shot from outside in his career, which to add, was better than players like Steph Curry, Donte DiVincenzo, MPJ, Bojan Bogdanović, Klay Thompson, Buddy Hield, Corey Kispert, Desmond Bane, the other Bogdanović, Maxey, Trae Young, Luka Dončić, Mikal Bridges…etc.
-Luke Kennard would be exactly what this team needs, as he’s one of the leagues most efficient, and dangerous 3pt snipers. He’s elite both as a catch and shoot guy, and as a spot up threat, who has the propensity to come of off ball screens with ease, and just knows where to be on the court. He also gets to the line, which is important come playoff time, when every bucket counts, and is virtually automatic from the charity stripe. His downside is defense, but there will be players on the court who will mask this.
-KCP, K-Love, and Jeff Green are all proven vets, who bring the team much needed veteran leadership, championship pedigree, and are all former teammates of LeBron at one point in time, on the Cavs, and Lakers, respectively speaking. In recent years KCP, and Green played a crucial part in Denver’s championship run, along with K-Love for the Heat, though they ultimately came up short, at the behest of Denver.
-GPII is another veteran who brings championship experience, having assisted the Warriors in defeating their eastern conference foe, the Boston Celtics, 4-1 in 2021-22…For his size, he excels as a defensive stopper, who isn’t afraid of a challenge, and when you need him to, can hit the three ball.
-Patrick Williams is one of my favorites to watch play. At 6ft 7in, he has the perfect blend of size, athleticism, speed, and explosiveness. Given the landscape of today’s NBA, you need to have players that have the ability, and capability to guard multiple positions, and he does just that: Both as an on-ball, and off-ball defender, which I think, Nick Nurse would like, and appreciates in a player. Whatever you need him to do, he will execute to the best of his abilities. This is the kind of player needed to fulfill a teams championship aspirations…
Financially, in totality, these moves would put the Sixers just at the precipice of the first luxury tax apron, which for this season is 179.1 million dollars. In closing, I think this squad, lead by a big three of Embiid, Maxey, and Bron, with this much depth, could possibly deliver Philadelphia its first championship in decades. Let me know your thoughts, what you like, what you don’t like, and who you’d target? If you read this far, I truly appreciate you, and thank you for doing so. You’re a legend 🙏🏽❤️!!!