Four Steps Towards the Sixers Having Good Vibes

When the Sixers' summer is done, MOC just wants to have fun. Here's how.

Trying to feel out the Sixers’ vibe around this time of year is always tricky. Around this time a year ago, I probably would’ve said I was pretty ecstatic for the upcoming season, which of course turned into a disaster very quickly. If you talked to me around this time two years ago, I would have been absolutely disgusted by the thought of Sixers basketball being right around the corner, but then they started the year 8-1, and I was back to liking them again.

Things change quickly with this team. So, even if I felt like I had a strong sense of what the vibes would be for the 2025-26 Sixers – good or bad – it probably wouldn’t mean very much.

So, rather than make a prediction for how the vibes will be this year, I figured it would be a better idea to discuss some hypothetical ways that the Sixers could turn themselves into a fun hang this year.

Because really, that’s all we can ask for, right? The days of championship-or-bust are over for any sane Sixers fan. This year, a more reasonable goal than a top-3 seed or a Conference Finals appearance is simply having a team that is enjoyable to watch on a nightly basis. So, let’s think about how they might be able to make that happen.

Jared McCain and V.J. Edgecombe vibe-proof the team

Any time I see someone put the Sixers in the discussion of teams that have the bleakest futures in the NBA, I have to wonder if they have simply forgotten that Edgecombe and McCain exist. If these two guys are as good as projected, no version of the Sixers’ next five years could really be that bad. How many teams have two players under 21 who are this good?

On top of how good they are, they are both delightful to root for and watch. No matter how the Sixers’ guard rotation shakes out this year – these two might both be limited to 20ish minutes per game – the flashes that we see from them should likely be enough to prevent us from ever truly hating the 2025-26 Sixers.

I have high expectations for both of these guys; I think McCain should be a 6MOY candidate, and I think Edgecombe’s athleticism and defensive IQ will help lead to obvious improvements over last year’s defense. But even if the overall impact isn’t quite where I expect it to be, I do think that the sheer delightfulness of these two will be the biggest thing preventing the vibes from being too downtrodden this season.

The organization figures out how to decenter Joel Embiid’s health status from the daily discourse

I can’t properly emphasize how important this is – regardless of whether Embiid plays 55 games or 25 games, it is absolutely crucial that the team figures out how to make sure that the season isn’t plagued by inconsistent messaging, leaving the media to have to badger Nick Nurse on a daily basis in regards to what is happening with Embiid.

“What is going on with Embiid?” should not be a daily question we are all asking ourselves.

A good way to get started on the right foot here would be for the team to properly communicate whether or not Embiid is participating in training camp. We should not have to wait until the end of Day 1 – or later – to find out if Embiid is a full go or not.

I can already imagine what the exchange between Nurse and the media will be after Day 1 of camp.

“Was Joel a full participant in camp today?” – media

“Well, y’know, he was around. Did some stuff, had some good moments. Just trying to ramp up a bit, get back in the flow of the things. I would say overall we’re happy with where he’s at, we just want to be smart about things. So, we’ll see how he responds and hopefully we’ll have more updates as time goes along.” – Nurse

I already want to pull my hair out just thinking about it.

All I can realistically ask for is the team to take as cautious an approach as possible in communicating. The goal should be to undersell and hopefully overdeliver. If Embiid is unlikely to participate in training camp, tell us! If he’s likely to miss the start of the season, tell us! It could all be so simple!

We'll Know Very Early This Season If Nick Nurse Has Learned Anything

Paul George looks solid and resuscitates his trade value

It really is hard to overstate how important this Paul George season is for both the Sixers’ present and future. I’m not exaggerating when I say that George being good this season will alter the course of their next half-decade.

For starters, it would be huge for the Sixers’ young guards to be able to develop alongside a half-decent wing rotation that includes PG, rather than a bunch of undersized minimum contract guys – I want their developmental years to take place with a roster that makes sense, rather than one where they are forced into all sorts of weird roles.

Secondly, if George can prove himself valuable enough to have roughly neutral trade value at the deadline or in the off-season, that would be a lifesaver for the Sixers’ future. Assuming Embiid’s contract stays on the books long term, being able to dump George would open up real long term flexibility before they have to pay McCain and Edgecombe their rookie extensions. If they were somehow able to trade George for expiring deals at this upcoming trade deadline, they could potentially open up $30 million or more in cap space for the summer of 2026, depending on what Quentin Grimes’ deal looks like. At that point, if Embiid is still chronically injured, it may be worth having a conversation about stretching his contract in order to open up max space for that summer.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. The bottom line is that George being viewed as somewhat valuable in a trade would make a massive difference for the Sixers’ long term flexibility. Being stuck eating two $50 million contracts is death; the Sixers would be completely cap strapped through 2029. If George plays himself into tradeable territory, their future looks a lot different, and their present becomes far more palatable.

One player from the fringes of the roster exceeds expectations

Purely from a vibes perspective, the idea of someone like Trendon Watford or Jabari Walker coming in from the fringes of the league and establishing themselves as a real NBA player would be thrilling to watch. But really, the Sixers need that to happen for more than just the thrill – they are incredibly thin on the wing, and one of Watford or Walker becoming a real dude would help the roster seem more properly sized. If that does wind up happening, it would be a major step towards the Sixers being a serious basketball team rather than just an oddly balanced collection of young talent.

To be clear, though, I do love the feeling of seeing a player explode onto the scene, even if the team itself is incredibly boring. I have fond memories of Jodie Meeks making six threes in the first quarter against the Bobcats, even if we all knew that team was going nowhere. Can we get something similar out of this group? Can we get a Watford triple double in early November? Something like that coming to fruition would go a long way towards sewing good vibes.

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Mike O’Connor is the best O’Connor in basketball writing. Previously of The Athletic, you can find Mike on Twitter @MOConnor_NBA. Mike’s writing is brought to you by Body Bio, supplements based on science, focusing on your gut and brain health.