Sixers’ Kelly Oubre, Jr.: ‘I fell in love with the game of basketball here’

Sixers’ Kelly Oubre, Jr.: ‘I fell in love with the game of basketball here’

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What a difference a year makes.
Last summer, Kelly Oubre, Jr. was forced to take a minimum deal with the Sixers because the veteran wing did not have the market he hoped for. A little over a week ago, in the wee hours at the start of free agency, he agreed to terms with the team on a two-year, $16.3 million deal.
Were there other offers after a strong 2023-24 campaign with the Sixers? Of course. But Oubre made the decision to return and build upon his success.
“Well, there were definitely options on the table,” Oubre said via Zoom at the Sixers practice facility Tuesday, “options that are closer to the ballpark of where I’m working toward getting to. But at the end of the day, man, it’s all about situations, it’s all about fit, it’s all about the people that I’m working with and I’m working for.”
Oubre is likely to slot into an extremely talented starting group. The headliners will be Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and newcomer Paul George, but Oubre and Caleb Martin will help make that unit formidable. Plus, new additions like Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon will provide depth.
While many have talked about the Sixers’ new “Big 3” and how it stacks up to other iterations around the league, Oubre looks at the team more holistically.
“They have big names and they’re All-Stars and things like that,” he said. “But I think we’ve got like a Big 12, Big 15. I don’t do Big 3s because you exclude me, and I don’t like that. [Laughs.] But at the end of the day, they’re all great players and we all know what each of them brings to the table. At the end of the day, it’s about how we all mesh together. … The sky’s the limit, man.”
The Sixers still have work to do to get to a “Big 15.” They have 10 players either officially under contract or in agreement to terms.
While the team will mostly have to operate with veteran minimum deals the rest of the way, that doesn’t mean they can’t find talent. Hell, they found Oubre.
And he rewarded the organization by bringing what Daryl Morey described as “a breath of fresh air.” It was almost jarring to see a player with Oubre’s elite athleticism play for the Sixers. That type of guy has always seemed to elude the front office during the Embiid era.
Oubre plays with reckless abandon, going to the rim with ferocity, sticking his nose in there defensively to fight through screens, and crashing the boards with a full head of steam. While he’s never been a consistent three-point shooter, there were signs of improvement. He closed the regular season shooting well, then made 39.1% of his threes in six postseason games.
“I would say confidence and shot selection. That’s two of the biggest things for me,” Oubre said. “Just shooting the right ones, and not just shooting ones because I think that every shot I shoot is going to go in. I’m sure all people feel that way, but it doesn’t go that way, obviously. …
“I know I can shoot the ball. I have been dealing with some shoulder things the past couple years. Minor stuff, but it has affected me with my jump shot and things like that in training. But I feel 100 percent healthy now and ready to get to work and make shots.”
Oubre finished as the Sixers’ fourth-leading scorer in the regular season and third-leading scorer in the playoffs. His lightning quick first step and fearlessness driving to the rim took pressure off Embiid and Maxey at times. Both All-Stars embraced him in the locker room as well.
Oubre was quick to credit head coach Nick Nurse often last season and continued to do so Tuesday. After Oubre had bounced around the league so much, it’s clear he valued his relationship with Nurse and how the Sixers as a franchise made him feel.
After the Sixers lost Game 6 against the Knicks, Oubre said he simply wanted to go somewhere he was “loved.” That appears to be the case in Philly.
“A great organization,” Oubre said. “An organization that cares about the players, that cares about winning, that cares about the city. Everything is tied in pretty much to where the love of the game is. It’s the City of Brotherly Love. It’s a city where they love sports and they love basketball, and just the fans helped me fall in love with it.”
Now, Oubre is back and he’s excited about what’s next.
“I want to … I don’t want to say finish what I started, because I don’t plan on being done,” he said. “This is a step toward where I want to be at — signing a more long-term deal — but this was the place where I felt comfortable, and I felt safe and happy. And I fell in love with the game of basketball here, so why would I go anywhere else?”

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Jeff Dowtin, Jr. leads the way, Jared McCain shows off on-ball skills, Justin Edwards gets going as Sixers lose at buzzer to Grizzlies

Jeff Dowtin, Jr. leads the way, Jared McCain shows off on-ball skills, Justin Edwards gets going as Sixers lose at buzzer to Grizzlies

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Right back at it, the summer Sixers lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 87-85 on a buzzer-beater Tuesday night. Anyone looking to see the big names of summer league in this one were disappointed, as the two-time Naismith Player of the Year Zach Edey did not suit up for Memphis. Both of the Grizzlies’ “big leaguers” in GG Jackson and Jack LaRavia sat out tonight as well.
Jeff Dowtin, Jr. led the Sixers with 18 points and six assists, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from three. Jared McCain had 12 points, shooting 3-of-10 from the floor. He shook himself free for a three that would have given the Sixers the lead, but it just bounced off the rim.
Ricky Council IV wasn’t quite able to follow up his 29-point performance. He shot just 2-of-9 from the floor, finishing with seven points, four rebounds, three assists and three turnovers.
Justin Edwards shot it well, finishing with 14 points.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
McCain had a bit of an inverse of last night. He knocked down his first pair of threes but then struggled a bit inside the arc for the rest of the first half. He ended it on a nice note with a slick dump off pass to a rolling Keve Aluma.

While McCain had a couple nice drives in the second half, the Sixers weren’t getting much on offense for most of the night if it wasn’t coming from Dowtin. He was able to glide into his spots and knock down jumpers when the rest of the team was really struggling to create separation.
It looked like the Grizzlies’ defense loaded up on stopping Council, and he wasn’t quite ready for that. His three turnovers in the first half set the tone for the kind of night he would have driving the ball. He did hit his first three off the dribble in the fourth quarter again, but did not have another heater in him.
Edwards, currently occupying one of the Sixers’ two-way contracts, got himself on the board after a quiet night on Monday. He made his first three shots of the night and was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Edwards has the size required to make it as an NBA player, but often is trying to play at a speed that makes him look out of control. It has been nice to see the minutes go to almost exclusively the youngest, newest guys to the team.
NBA veterans Tony Bradley and Romeo Langford have yet to see the floor. While RJ Hampton came off the bench Monday, he also did not play Tuesday.
Tonight, Bona’s stat sheet reflected how impactful he was at the rim. He rotated over for four blocks on the night.

His shortcomings on the glass however, and the team’s at large, were on display in the 27-6 edge the Grizzlies had in second-chance points. It wouldn’t be a Sixers game if they didn’t get crushed by offensive rebounds — they literally lost the game on a floater Memphis picked up and threw in off a missed shot.

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3 Sixers Summer League storylines to follow

3 Sixers Summer League storylines to follow

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The Sixers begin their 2024 NBA Summer League journey on Monday evening, as they face the Oklahoma City Thunder in their first of three games in Salt Lake City before traveling to Las Vegas to play five or six contests (to be determined based on their record in first four games).While the Sixers’ 2014 Orlando Summer League Champions banner will fly forever, this event is not about wins and losses. Summer League is for development and competition among young players hoping to break in.For an in-depth breakdown of the Sixers’ roster for this year’s Summer League — with notes on 11 noteworthy players — click here. For now, here are a few storylines worth following over the next two weeks:Jared McCain’s shot creation and point-of-attack defenseMcCain could light Summer League on fire with his three-point shooting, and it would be a ton of fun to watch, but it would not actually tell us much that we do not already know. McCain’s reputation as a long-range sniper is established by now; he was one of the best shooters in the country during his lone season at Duke in which he shot 41.4 percent from beyond the arc on considerable volume and made 88.5 percent of his free throws. What we do not know about McCain is how ready the other facets of his game are, and that is going to determine his short-term outlook for the Sixers. Even with his tremendous shooting stroke, he will not play consistent minutes as a rookie unitasker on a team trying to win a championship.Despite being a 6-foot-3 guard, McCain averaged just 1.9 assists per game with the Blue Devils. He will not need to be a primary creator of offense on a team starring Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George, but it would be an important step in his development if he can at least make defenses pay when they inevitably try to run him off the three-point line and beat them with the ball in his hands.The allure of a Maxey-McCain backcourt is enticing on the offensive end of the floor; two guards who attract such noteworthy gravity because of their shot-making ability sharing the floor is a nightmare for opposing defenses. But it will not be consistently viable until McCain — like Maxey did in the final months of 2023-24 — takes a step forward on the defensive end.During his media availability last month after the Sixers selected McCain at No. 16 overall, team President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey said that concerns about the guard’s defense are valid, but argued that over the course of his lone collegiate season, McCain went from a player consistently being hunted by opposing offenses to one of his teams more reliable defensive players on the perimeter.McCain told the media a few days later that one player he is studying as he works on his craft as a defensive player is Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet, who has a similarly uninspiring frame but uses smarts and disruptive approaches to bother opposing ball-handlers. McCain is not going to become a positive-impact defender — or even a neutral one — at any point in the near future, but the closer he can get to being passable on that end, the closer the Sixers will be to unlocking a dynamic offensive pairing with McCain and Maxey.Will Ricky Council IV look like a man amongst boys?Sort of like Spring Training in baseball, Summer League is not for accumulating impressive statistics; oftentimes it is for displaying or experimenting with new skills or techniques. A player’s shooting percentages, for example, may not be of the utmost importance in this environment.However, there are times when players believed to have major promise simply look like a small fish in a big pond, and that can cause serious alarm bells. On the other hand, each year there are a few instances in which a player is clearly too good for Summer League action, dominates all of their competition, and sometimes is even pulled from the remainder of the slate after a few games (this is what happened to Maxey in 2021).Coming off a momentum-building rookie season spent mostly on a two-way deal, Council is hoping to become a rotation regular for Sixers head coach Nick Nurse in 2024-25 — particularly with some significant holes still existing in the depth chart of a new-look team.Council is an outstanding athlete, whose leaping ability and strength make him both a threat to grab a rebound every time a shot is missed by either team and a pestering defender. He has also used those physical gifts to become a surprisingly effective slasher who goes up strong at the rim and has better touch around the basket than one would expect.

His jumpshot remains very much a work in progress; Council shot 37.5 percent from beyond the arc in his NBA minutes last season but only attempted 32 triples. The Sixers will likely ask him to be more aggressive in seeking out spot-up three-point tries, but it would also be nice to see him overwhelm the competition with his outlier athletic tools.Battle for final two-way contractThe Sixers handed out two of their three two-way contract spots within hours of the 2024 NBA Draft concluding, inking deals with former five-star recruit and Philly native Justin Edwards out of Kentucky and the late-blooming scorer out of Memphis, David Jones.That leaves one spot remaining, and with incumbent Terquavion Smith suiting up for the Portland Trail Blazers this week, his time with the Sixers is likely up.The Sixers could very well be keeping the spot open in hopes that an intriguing prospect currently on another roster falls through the cracks, but they also may be treating Summer League as an audition of sorts for a host of players looking to earn that final slot.A few options who could make sense are Judah Mintz, a guard out of Syracuse who was surprisingly undrafted — likely due to his struggles as a three-point shooter — but is a master of getting the free throw line, and Max Fiedler, an unconventional big from Rice who likes to operate as the hub of an offense. Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdamFollow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice

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Are the Sixers finally bringing back the black Allen Iverson-era jerseys?

Are the Sixers finally bringing back the black Allen Iverson-era jerseys?

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The Sixers have been giving fans everything they want so far this offseason — why not keep the hits coming?
The team on Sunday released a video capturing a tribute to Tyrese Maxey, whose five-year max extension became official earlier in the day.

The video itself is quite cool, as everyone from Joel Embiid to Dawn Staley to Dr. J heap praise on the first-time All-Star and the NBA’s Most Improved Player during a whole Maxey-centric event.
What will excite Sixers fans more though is a glimpse of a possible new (old) jersey for the 2024-25 season.

Could it be? Will the Sixers finally bring back the black jerseys from the Allen Iverson era?
As we’re all painfully aware, the Sixers took a big swing and a miss on the last black jerseys they produced in 2020-21, which featured Boathouse Row. To make matters worse, they teased the jerseys and used Iverson in the campaign, only to reveal … those. It would’ve been a great year to bring the original black uniforms back too. It was the 20th anniversary of the 2000-01 team Iverson dragged to the NBA Finals.
While there is nothing official here, teasing the fans by flashing these pictures around and not coming through would be crazy. It appears there’s a good chance we get to see Maxey, Embiid and Paul George rocking the jerseys that A.I. once made look so cool.

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Sixers Notes: Embiid, George, McCain, Depth

Sixers Notes: Embiid, George, McCain, Depth

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A few weeks after working together on ESPN’s coverage of the NBA Finals, Joel Embiid and Paul George are Sixers teammates, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid dropped a not-so-subtle hint during that broadcast, saying that Philadelphia needed to upgrade its roster and glancing at George, who was involved in extension negotiations with the Clippers at the time that ultimately collapsed and resulted in his free agency.
Speaking to reporters Saturday after Team USA’s first practice to prepare for the Summer Olympics, Embiid talked about what a difference it will make to have another All-Star joining him and Tyrese Maxey in Philadelphia.
“My focus is on helping [my teammates] as much as possible,” Embiid said. “Making the game easy for them, so I don’t have to do a lot, like in the past years. It was exciting [getting George]. Obviously, that’s a great job that [the front office] did. But we’ve still got to go on the court and try to win.”
Embiid has been one of the league’s most dominant players over the last two years, winning MVP honors in 2023 and possibly heading for a repeat before being sidelined with a torn meniscus in January. However, he has also frequently broken down in the playoffs and should benefit from not having to carry the team as much during the regular season.
The addition of George, along with Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond, has the Sixers looking like legitimate title contenders, but Embiid cautioned that everything might not click right away.
“Obviously, everybody always has the mindset [of] winning a championship, and that’s the goal,” he said. “But you’ve also got to understand it’s going to take a while for everybody to be on the same page. Hopefully it doesn’t take us a while and we just [have it] from the beginning, but that’s kind of rare.”
There’s more on the Sixers:

First-round pick Jared McCain plans to turn to Maxey as a mentor as he adjusts to the NBA game, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey notes that both players fell out of the lottery even though they were coming off productive seasons at traditional college powers. “Whether it’s the work ethic, how is transition was from college to the NBA, I’m going to try to learn everything I can from (Maxey),” McCain said. “He’s an All-Star now. Everything I can, I’m going to try and figure it out and learn from him.”
While the Sixers have been very active in adding players in free agency, they also lost several veterans and currently only have nine players on standard contracts, including Ricky Council‘s non-guaranteed salary for 2024/25. David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer takes a look at how the team might fill out the rest of its roster.
In case you missed it, the Sixers have officially signed former Heat wing Caleb Martin to a four-year contract. They also waived big man Paul Reed, who was on a non-guaranteed deal, to create cap room for Martin’s addition.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

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Joel Embiid commends Sixers’ front office on landing Paul George, and hopes it eases the load

Joel Embiid commends Sixers’ front office on landing Paul George, and hopes it eases the load

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LAS VEGAS — Joel Embiid referenced his television appearance during the NBA Finals, when the superstar big man said he hoped the 76ers could improve their roster this summer while side-eyeing Paul George next to him on the ESPN desk.Naturally, Embiid now believes the Sixers accomplished that goal after landing George, the perennial All-Star forward, on the first night of free agency. And now, Embiid hopes George’s firepower means the 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player will no longer need to be arguably the league’s statistically most dominant player.“My focus is on helping [my teammates] as much as possible,” Embiid told a small group of reporters following Team USA’s first practice to prepare for the 2024 Olympics. “Making the game easy for them, so I don’t have to do a lot, like in the past years.“It was exciting [getting George]. Obviously, that’s a great job that [the front office] did. But we’ve still got to go on the court and try to win.”George appears to be a seamless fit alongside Embiid, the imposing and skilled big man, and Tyrese Maxey, the explosive guard with deep shooting range who became a first-time All-Star last season. George boasts the size and versatility to be a standout wing on both ends of the floor, averaging 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting a career-high 41.3% from three-point range for the Los Angeles Clippers last season.Embiid, meanwhile, led the NBA in scoring in back-to-back seasons from 2021-23, and averaged a career-high 34.7 points during a 2023-24 regular season that was interrupted by a two-month recovery from knee surgery. Embiid has also developed as a playmaker in recent seasons, averaging 5.6 assists last season in coach Nick Nurse’s system that thrives on ball movement.But Embiid has struggled to be at full health during the playoffs, including last season while coming off a torn meniscus and dealing with a mild case of Bell’s palsy. The Sixers tumbled from the third to the seventh seed during his regular-season absence, then lost a six-game first-round playoff series to the New York Knicks.Embiid also noted that George is not the Sixers’ only offseason addition so far. Their signing of forward Caleb Martin became official Saturday. They also agreed to terms to bring back reserve center Andre Drummond, who left in the 2022 trade for James Harden, and to sign veteran sharpshooter Eric Gordon. Athletic wing Kelly Oubre Jr. will also return on a two-year deal, while Maxey agreed in principle to a five-year max extension.» READ MORE: With playoff dynamo Caleb Martin, Sixers go from Big Three to Legit FiveYet Embiid cautioned that this immense roster turnover means it could take time for the Sixers to gain the on-court chemistry required to challenge the defending-champion Boston Celtics and Knicks at the top of the Eastern Conference. The Sixers also have already lost Tobias Harris, Nico Batum, De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, Paul Reed, and Mo Bamba during this transaction cycle.“Obviously, everybody always has the mindset [of] winning a championship, and that’s the goal,” Embiid said. “But you’ve also got to understand it’s going to take a while for everybody to be on the same page.“Hopefully it doesn’t take us a while and we just [have it] from the beginning, but that’s kind of rare.”

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Sixers Finalizing Deal With Caleb Martin, Will Waive Paul Reed

Sixers Finalizing Deal With Caleb Martin, Will Waive Paul Reed

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11:45am: Martin’s deal with the Sixers is indeed guaranteed for roughly $32MM and can reach up to $40MM with bonuses, Scotto clarifies (Twitter link).

9:23am: Free agent forward Caleb Martin is planning to sign with the Sixers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). In order to help make space for the veteran forward, the 76ers are planning to waive Paul Reed‘s non-guaranteed contract, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).
In a follow-up story, Wojnarowski writes that Martin will sign a four-year contract that includes more than $32MM in guaranteed money. Meanwhile, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports Martin’s deal is worth $40MM over four years (Twitter link). We’ll see where the final numbers come in, but it’s possible both reports are accurate — for instance, there might be $32MM+ in guarantees, with additional incentives that could push the overall value higher.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype adds that Martin’s fourth year will be a player option (Twitter link).
Martin, who will bring extensive playoff experience to Philadelphia, could easily fit the roster off the bench or in the starting lineup at power forward. Over the past three seasons with Miami, Martin has averaged 9.6 points and 4.4 rebounds across 195 games (84 starts).
He was especially critical to the Heat’s run to the NBA Finals in 2022/23, when he averaged 19.3 points on 60.2% shooting from the field and 48.9% from deep in the seven-game Eastern Conference Finals against Boston. He nearly came away with the Conference Finals MVP award for that performance.
As Wojnarowski observes, Martin’s 13.6 points per game against the Celtics for his career (playoffs and regular season) are his most against any Eastern Conference opponent. As the Sixers continue to revamp their roster around superstar Joel Embiid, they’re adding a player who has given the reigning NBA champs problems throughout his career.
Philadelphia’s interest in Martin has been reported multiple times since free agency began. However, those reports suggested he was seeking more than what the Sixers were capable of offering.
The Heat also had interest in bringing back the 28-year-old forward, proposing a four-year extension on top of his $7.1MM player option before he decided to turn down that option. According to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald (Twitter link), Miami’s original offer would have been for four years and about $58MM, beginning in 2025/26, for a total of $65MM-ish over five years. However, once Martin declined his option, the Heat could no longer make that offer (they were limited to 8% raises in a free agent contract, rather than the bigger second-year jump they could have included in an extension).
Meanwhile, the Sixers are moving on from Reed, their former No. 58 overall draft pick in 2020. Reed has evolved into a serviceable backup in the frontcourt over the past few seasons. In ’23/24, he averaged 7.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 1.0 blocks, appearing in all 82 of Philadelphia’s regular season games.
However, his $7.7MM contract for next season was fully non-guaranteed, so he was always viewed as a candidate to be traded or released as the 76ers looked to maximize their cap room.

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DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Ingram, Buddy Hield, Trade Talks

DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Ingram, Buddy Hield, Trade Talks

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Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
The Mikal Bridges trade signaled the start of a rebuild for Brooklyn, and that sentiment was only enhanced when the Nets re-acquired their first-round draft picks from the James Harden trade with the Houston Rockets. 
As previously reported by HoopsHype, Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith is among the notable trade candidates. 
The Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers are among the teams with interest in trading for Finney-Smith, league sources told HoopsHype. 
The 76ers have been scouring the trade market for a forward who could potentially start for them, league sources say, and Finney-Smith would fit that criteria. 
As noted above, Philadelphia has also expressed interest in a pair of Miami Heat small forwards on the free agent market, Caleb Martin and Haywood Highsmith, league sources told HoopsHype, and as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer. For now, Philadelphia believes Martin is holding out for more money elsewhere, but the 76ers seemingly remain interested in signing him until he’s off the market. 
The Cavaliers have admired Finney-Smith and have kept tabs on him since the Nets acquired him, league sources said. 
Amid Cleveland’s interest in Finney-Smith, it’s worth noting that Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro is a potential sign-and-trade candidate to monitor in restricted free agency, league sources told HoopsHype, and as ESPN’s Bobby Marks recently noted. 
As Cavaliers beat writer Chris Fedor said during an appearance on The HoopsHype Podcast, ”In many ways, it feels like the Cavaliers have outgrown Okoro.”
A potential offer for Okoro above the non-taxpayer mid-level exception could make Cleveland think twice about retaining the 23-year-old stout defender, who’s coming off a career-high 39.1 percent from 3-point range, with Evan Mobley eligible for an extension and Caris LeVert entering the final year of his contract. 

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Free Agent Notes: Cancar, Suns, Lowry, Sixers, Martin, Hield

Free Agent Notes: Cancar, Suns, Lowry, Sixers, Martin, Hield

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When the Nuggets declined their team option on Vlatko Cancar for the 2024/25 season, multiple reports indicated that the two sides would likely work out a new minimum-salary deal that would both increase the forward’s salary (from the $2.35MM the option would have paid to $2.43MM) and reduce Denver’s cap hit (from $2.35MM to $2.09MM).
That deal hasn’t happened yet, but Cancar – who is representing Slovenia at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece after missing the 2023/24 season with a torn ACL – expressed a desire to return to Denver, per Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops.
“I’m still waiting on their decision, We’ll see,” Cancar said. “… I want to be back. My goal is to be back. Hopefully there’s room.”
As Harris Stavrou of SPORTS24 tweets, Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth was at the Olympic qualifiers on Thursday watching Cancar and the Slovenians secure a spot in the semifinals by defeating New Zealand. Nuggets scout Marty Pocius was also in attendance with Booth, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports.
Here are a few more notes on free agency:

Even after signing Monte Morris, the Suns are still believed to have interest in veteran point guard Kyle Lowry, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7. However, Gambadoro says Lowry may be a long shot for Phoenix since the team can only offer the veteran’s minimum to outside free agents. The Suns are also still working on a new deal for their own free agent Josh Okogie, Gambadoro adds.
The Sixers definitely have interest in free agent forward Caleb Martin, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link), but he may be out of range of what they can realistically offer him. Philadelphia is expected to continue to monitor Martin’s market, says Neubeck.
The Pistons and Lakers were among Buddy Hield‘s other free agent suitors before he decided to join the Warriors, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. According to Charania, the veteran sharpshooter chose Golden State “because of the opportunity to win.”

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Sixers sending Buddy Hield to Golden State Warriors via sign-and-trade

Sixers sending Buddy Hield to Golden State Warriors via sign-and-trade

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Buddy Hield’s brief tenure with the 76ers is over.The team has agreed to send the shooting guard to the Golden State Warriors via a sign-and-trade, sources confirm. The Sixers will receive the Dallas Mavericks’ 2031 second-round pick in return.Hield failed to live up to lofty expectations after the Sixers acquired him from the Indiana Pacers in a three-team trade on Feb. 8.» READ MORE: Sources: Sixers express interest in bringing back Philly native Marcus Morris Sr.“Look, with Joel [Embiid] and Tyrese [Maxey], he puts the fear of God in other teams,” Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said at the time. “The shots are coming. They’re coming in transition. They’re coming deep. They’re coming off actions.“You need to pay a lot of attention to Buddy Hield on the court … and that’s super valuable with Joel and Tyrese in opening up things up for them,” Morey had said.Hield did put the fear into the New York Knicks before intermission of Game 6 in their first-round matchup against the Sixers at Wells Fargo Center.Trailing, 36-22, in the second quarter, the Sixers brought him in.It was a gutsy move by coach Nick Nurse, considering that Hield was benched after failing to score on 0-for-2 shooting during a 3-minute, 57-second stint off the bench in the first quarter of the Sixers’ 125-114 Game 3 victory.At that time, he was shooting 1-for-7 — including 0-for-4 from three — in the best-of-seven series. Hield even blew two layups the exact same way in Games 1 and 2.He averaged 12.2 points and shot 38.9% on three-pointers in 32 games as a Sixer. But at times, the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder looked afraid to shoot and passed up scoring opportunities that he would have previously seized.He definitely wasn’t afraid of the moment in Game 6.And the Sixers went into the locker room up, 54-51, after Hield hit his fifth three-pointer. Led by Hield’s 17 second-quarter points, Philly closed out the half on a 43-18 run. Hield finished the game with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from three, though New York ultimately prevailed, 118-115, to clinch the series in six games.But aside from that game, Hield was a major disappointment.» READ MORE: Paul Reed’s days in Philly look done as Sixers seek cap space and reload at backup centerThe Sixers would have been better off keeping Marcus Morris Sr., whom they shipped to the San Antonio Spurs as part of the three-team deal. After being bought out by the Spurs, Morris shot 41.4% on three-pointers in 12 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers.Morey even conceded after the season that the acquisition didn’t live up to the hype.“Yeah, I think at no fault of Buddy’s, the fit was less good than I thought,” Morey said. “He got, you know, obviously, most of his time was without Joel [who had been sidelined with a knee injury]. But I thought when Joel was back, that his impact and his shooting, that he’d get more open shots. He didn’t. And so that’s on me that it didn’t work out as we hoped. I still think it was one of the better acquisitions.”As a free agent, Hield wasn’t expected to return to the Sixers. But with their help, he’s getting another chance to show what he can do, with the Warriors.McCain, Edwards signThe Sixers announced Thursday that they have signed first-round pick Jared McCain and undrafted rookie Justin Edwards to contracts.McCain, the 16th pick in last week’s NBA draft, signed his standard rookie deal. The 6-foot-2 combo guard out of Duke will make $4 million this upcoming season.Edwards signed a two-way deal. The former Imhotep Charter and Kentucky standout will split time this season between the Sixers and the Delaware Blue Coats, their NBA G League affiliate.Two-way players are eligible to be active for up to 50 NBA regular-season games. Last season, players on two-way deals earned $559,782, which was half the standard-contract rookie minimum.

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