It has been a disastrous season for the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Orleans Pelicans.
Both teams began the campaign as contenders — on paper. Both teams were equipped with multiple All-Stars and hypothetically deep bench units. Both teams have excellent coaches, and well-established front office masterminds with lengthy track records of NBA success.
And yet, here we are. Both teams are jockeying for lottery position, with the Pelicans (12.5 percent) narrowly edging out the Sixers (9.8 percent) for the better odds to select Cooper Flagg in June's NBA Draft.
The circumstances behind their demises have been different, but there are common themes — injuries, turmoil, and roster turnover. The 76ers made the biggest free agency splash of last offseason, signing Paul George to a $212 million max contract. New Orleans, meanwhile, broke the bank to trade for Dejounte Murray, a lightning-rod for criticism in his Atlanta days.
Neither move has worked out particularly well, primarily because neither so-called star has been on the floor much, nor looked like their usual selves when available. Joel Embiid, Philly's guiding light for the last decade, has been dealing with a constant barrage of knee ailments and other injury offshoots. Zion Williamson, New Orleans' lodestar forward, has experienced comparable luck in the health department.
That said, Williamson has worked his way back to full strength in recent weeks, and the results are evident on the court. Since returning from a hamstring injury in early January, Williamson has averaged 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on 59.7 percent shooting. He has done so in just 27.9 minutes per game, operating on a tight minutes restriction.
Whereas the Sixers have no way of knowing what the future holds for Embiid, Williamson still very much looks like a franchise cornerstone. Durability remains a daunting concern, but when he's out there, he (and the Pelicans) look suspiciously real.
That brings us to next offseason. The Pelicans have a choice to make: cash in and trade Zion while his trade value is back up, or press on with the former No. 1 pick. If New Orleans entertains a full rebuild, few Zion Williamson landing spots are more volatile and fascinating in the realm of hypothetical than the 76ers.
So, let's get funky.
Should the 76ers, Pelicans swap Tyrese Maxey and Zion Williamson?
The operative word here, of course, is "should." It's a loaded word, too. These teams certainly could swap Zion Williamson and Tyrese Maxey. There are ways to make it work cap-wise, and it's a bold and exciting possibility from a pure basketball standpoint. There would be much to write and say about a trade like this.
But should they? For both teams, there are clear pros and cons.
I'd say, without reservation, that Williamson is better than Maxey. Comfortably so. He has also played 6,417 minutes across six NBA seasons, compared to 10,187 minutes across five NBA seasons for Maxey. The former is omnipresent on the Pelicans injury report. The latter, until this season really, has been a paragon of resilience and availability for an otherwise snakebitten 76ers team.
Philadelphia would be mortgaging its most dependable star in an effort to maximize a potentially nonexistent window with Joel Embiid and Paul George, whose own injury concerns rival Zion. New Orleans would be giving up a top-15ish player with 'best player on a championship team' potential in exchange for a more consistent and dependable centerpiece in Maxey, who profiles more as a second fiddle on a contender.
Both are 24 years old. Both are extremely talented in their own ways. Maxey is a more natural fit next to Embiid and George due to his point guard skills and high-volume shooting, while New Orleans has a deep backcourt and is thinner in the frontcourt. We've discussed this topic ad nauseum in recent episodes of The Sixer Sense Podcast (we're grasping at straws at this point in the season, folks) and we even ran a poll on The Sixer Sense X account. The responses were overwhelmingly against trading Maxey for Williamson, with only 13 percent of voters even willing to engage with the concept.
Maxey is easily the most enjoyable and heartwarming figure on a perpetually bleak 76ers team, so the reluctance to part ways with him is understandable. He's still on the upswing and he already ranks among the very best guards in the East. I'd imagine that reluctance extends to the front office as well.
Still, there are reasons to consider a swap like this, and I am going to honestly sit here and say that: yes, I could see both teams doing this. That is not the same as "I predict this will happen," but there is logic on both sides, and it would fit the trends of both front offices.
Philadelphia is in dire straits right now. Your guess is as good as mine as far as how good and dependable Joel Embiid will be moving forward. Paul George has been hurt all season and probably deserves some grace, but he won't get it in Philly. He's also 34 with a lengthy injury history, so the odds of him performing like an All-Star again are slim.
The path forward in Philadelphia is thus very difficult to decipher. Jared McCain and a potential top-six pick in June's draft will go a long way toward establishing a future beyond Embiid, with Maxey as a logical fulcrum of any such plans. But, Maxey is 24 with four years left on his contract. The clock is, even now, ticking. Embiid and George both feel immovable on the trade front. Philadelphia has zero financial flexibility in free agency and their chances of adding another top-shelf prospect in the near future, beyond 2025, aren't great. This team is stuck in neutral right now, and it could take an explosive, go-for-broke trade to get them into gear.
A healthy Zion, Embiid, and George trio can absolutely contend, and maybe even win the East. That obviously requires the largest "if healthy" qualifier in the history of "if healthy" sports team qualifiers, but it's true. Williamson is a bonafide superstar — a singular offensive advantage creator with his constant rim pressure, hyper-efficient finishing, and underrated playmaking chops. He can be the best player on a title contender. Maxey, I'm not so sure. Williamson shifts the balance of power on Philadelphia's roster in a meaningful way. He can give them a new, non-Embiid focal point. Maxey is much more suited to riding shotgun.
There is incredible risk here. Odds are, it blows up completely and the Sixers end up plummeting to the NBA basement before long. Still, that feels like the arc this team is on currently, and I'm not sure there is a real path to building an everyday contender around Maxey, and without Embiid, before the young guard's contract expires. A lot of that will depend on Philly's lottery outcome, as Cooper Flagg changes the equation quite a bit. But if the Sixers' future is Maxey, McCain, and the No. 6 pick, it could be worth exploring the pros and cons of Williamson. Just exploring it.
From the Pelicans' perspective, this is a one-way ticket out of the perpetual uncertainty inherent to building your team around Zion. He has not been a stable bedrock for the Pels. It's like building your house on a fault line. Maxey refocuses their roster, allowing Trey Murphy to blossom into a higher level of stardom alongside a potential top-3 pick — maybe even Cooper Flagg, Maxey's New Balance buddy.
Both these teams are desperate. I am not going to sit here and say either team should execute this trade, but it's absolutely a worthwhile discussion topic to bring up with your buddies at the bar on a Saturday night.
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NBA news roundup:
- LeBron James is re-launching his Mind the Game podcast with a new co-host: Steve Nash. His last co-host, JJ Redick, was hired as the Lakers' head coach after a few episodes. Nash is a very smart and charasmatic guy. He also has NBA head coaching experience. What are the odds that he parlays this exposure for his X's and O's knowledge into another coaching gig?
- Jimmy Butler spoke fondly of his time in Miami after Golden State's blowout loss in South Beach this week: "I don't think I could be who I am today without my opportunity here." He didn't seen so appreciative, however, when he left the court postgame without interacting with a single former teammate.
- No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher is quietly averaging 15.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assist on .517/.368/.909 splits over his last 10 games. When it comes to the debate over the "best" rookie right now, it's getting harder to ignore Atlanta's sharpshooting wing.
The one NBA Draft prospect folks aren't talking enough about...
The 2025 NBA Draft class is loaded, and March Madness has already given us plenty to ponder and appreciate from that perspective. That said, one of my favorite prospects in this draft did not get the luxury of an NCAA Tournament stage.
South Carolina sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles ought to come up more frequently when discussing that second tier of elite prospects behind Cooper Flagg. It was easy to ignore the lowly Gamecocks in a talent-rich SEC this season, but Murray-Boyles elevated his performance across the board after an impressive freshman campaign. He upped his volume and his efficiency, all while playing stifling defense in the frontcourt.
He's an oddball prospect, especially by NBA standards, but we shouldn't let rigid archetypal thoughts prevent us from identifying obvious high-end talent. There aren't many players like CMB in the NBA right now, but who cares? That doesn't mean it can't work. It just means he is unique, with a chance to chart his own path.
I've seen some of the smartest draft folks around bring up Charles Barkley when discussing Murray-Boyles' NBA projection. He's 6-foot-7, 231 pounds, and he doesn't shoot. The trepedation is understandable. But he is also one of the most well-rounded and physically dominant prospects on the board.
The 19-year-old averaged 16.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks on SEC-best 58.6 percent shooting. He made a valiant effort to expand his game to the 3-point line (26.5 percent on 1.1 attempts) and his touch around the basket is a strong shooting indicator long term. In the meantime, expect Murray-Boyles to render a positive impact with his switchable, one-through-five defense, his advanced playmaking chops, his elite rebounding, and his incredible interior scoring package. The dude will find ways to make it work and he offers one of the highest ceilings in the draft.
Buy your stock now, before it's too late!