Yahoo Sports NBA reporters Jake Fischer and Dan Devine hop on the “No Cap Room” podcast to discuss the pressure on Tyrese Maxey to make a leap as a facilitating point guard this season amid the James Harden trade drama, and how his play will determine the size of the contract he will earn next season and beyond.
Hear the full conversation on “No Cap Room” – part of the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen
Video Transcript
[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING]
JAKE FISCHER: At this point, for the Philadelphia 76ers, Dan, Tyrese Maxey has a lot on his shoulders this season, especially being that he is, by various accounts, not going to be signing an extension, particularly so that the Sixers can maximize, and build, and whatever, save cap room to be a major player next offseason, whether by free agency or by trade.
So how good he plays this season, just like all these rookie extension guys who won’t end up signing one, which most of them won’t– That’s kind of my sense. I mean, some guys will, but most guys just traditionally don’t. So he’s gonna be playing regardless of what happens with James, regardless of what happens with the Sixers. Can they ultimately get out of the second round, all that?
Tyrese Maxey, in a vacuum, is going to be playing, knowing that his contract status is hanging over his whole year, to the point where his representation is saying, well, great, like, that means we’re gonna be one of the best, if not the best guards on the market next summer. Well, you’ve gotta play like it first.
And a great way to not look at it in a vacuum, to put this into the context of the Sixers and the Eastern Conference, a great way to fatten up your pockets is to win games and to win games in the playoffs, and right now, he’s Joel Embiid’s best supporting cast member in order to actually get out of the second round for the first time in this era.
DAN DEVINE: If Harden’s not on the court, and if Harden’s not starting at point, Maxey has been more of a combo guard, because he hasn’t had to be the number-one point guard. If Harden’s not there, he does. And so then the opportunity to run all those pick and rolls, the need to be that, to make those reads and deliver those passes, all of that, and sort of make the decisions of score or facilitate, that’s the next level of growth for him, because we’ve already seen him average 20 a game in two separate postseasons.
We haven’t seen him be the one who has the decision-making apparatus of the offense on his shoulders. A very limited sample, but, last year, when he was on the court and Harden was off of it– this is from CleaningTheGlass.com– the Sixers’ offensive rating was 119.2 points per 100 possessions. That would have been second in the NBA. That’s right underneath the Sacramento Kings.
The defense was a work in progress in those minutes, but the Sixers, at different points during the regular season, had a work-in-progress defense. If he can be a capable caretaker offensively, running the show, like he was when Harden was off the floor last year, and then take another step forward as far as what he can do setting the table, the opportunity for Philly gets a lot more interesting in terms of what they can turn Harden into, because, right now, it’s can we turn Harden into another star or enough stuff to get another star?
If Maxey shows he is that star, then, all of a sudden, what you can turn Harden into, you know, there’s more options for you. There’s more pathways to get where you want to go, if you’re Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers.