‘It Can’t Get Any Worse’: Takeaways from 76ers’ Exit Interviews

The final buzzer sounded in the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday afternoon, marking the official end of the Philadelphia 76ers’ disastrous 2024-25 season. The Sixers suffered another defeat, this time a 122-102 loss to the Chicago Bulls. However, the action on the court did not receive much attention. Instead, all eyes were on the exit interviews taking place both before and after yet another meaningless loss. Here are some takeaways from what the players and coaches said at the conclusion of the Sixers’ 24-58 season:

‘I Think We All Needed a Mental Break’

Those were the words spoken by Tyrese Maxey, the man typically known for his cheery and optimistic attitude. However, all the injuries as well as the team’s poor play clearly wore him down. Joel Embiid and Paul George each missed large portions of the season, putting more of a burden on Maxey to carry the load. While his production on paper remained the same, his efficiency took a major hit. The 24-year old shot 43.7% from the field and 33.7% from 3-point range while committing a career-worst 2.4 turnovers per game. Then, the injury bug bit Maxey. He was eventually forced out of the lineup after attempting to play through a finger sprain. The last game he played was back on March 3.

The Sixers came into this season with the expectation to compete for a championship. They signed George to a massive four-year, $211.6 million contract with the belief they were forming a formidable trio at the heart of the roster. However, things quickly went off the rails. Injuries prevented the Sixers’ big three from ever establishing themselves together on the court. Embiid, George and Maxey would go on to miss a combined 134 games. A season that began with huge expectations quickly went down the drain.

Both the lost season and the plethora of injuries would take a toll on even the most optimistic of personalities. For Maxey, this was the first time in his professional career he was on a losing team. He came away from this season talking about the importance of focusing only on what is in his control.

“Honestly, the biggest thing was just me being at peace with myself, me being at peace with the game, me being at peace with like, talking to guys and coaches and everything … We need a mental reset, figure out how this franchise moves forward from this. The best thing I could possibly say is, the best thing we could do is go up, we can’t go any further [down] than this.”

The idea of the Sixers being unable to “go any further down than this” was a common theme amongst the players during their exit interviews. Kelly Oubre Jr., when asked about what positives he can take away from this season, answered saying “It can’t get any worse.” That might be the case, but a large piece of determining if the Sixers can recover from this disastrous season will be the ability of the star players to stay healthy.

George, after being shut down for the season in early March due to finger, groin and knee injuries, said he is “feeling healthier” but he is also taking things slowly. When asked about his plans for the summer, George responded by saying “there shouldn’t be any limitations” in his ability to train throughout the offseason.

While George appears to be making progress in his return to health, the future for Embiid remains up in the air. He managed to play in just 19 games this season due to recurring issues with his left knee. Embiid successfully underwent an arthroscopic knee surgery on Friday and is set to be re-evaluated in six weeks. Sixers’ president of basketball operations Daryl Morey spoke with optimism about Embiid’s health moving forward:

“Dr. Glashow, who did the surgery, is very, very optimistic about [Embiid’s] prognosis. We love that after a lot of work, working with over 10 doctors, six in-person examined him and a long process to get to the right answer, we feel great that Dr. Glashow was the right answer and that the surgery went so well. And we like that Dr. Glashow is going to do a lot of the early rehab with Joel in-person, and he has a great track record with a lot of great players in this league to have them come back strong. So if everything sets up well, we’ll have a younger, more dynamic roster around a healthy Joel, Tyrese and Paul.”

Embiid has battled through left knee issues, playing in just 58 out of the 164 games over the past two seasons. Will Morey’s optimism be proven correct? Will this arthroscopic knee surgery result in a noticeable improvement to Embiid’s health and ability to get back on the court? Or will this most recent surgery be yet another failed attempt at getting Embiid back closer to 100%? The answer to those questions will be one of the top storylines to pay attention to in the months to come.

Regardless of what happens on the health front, this offseason should serve as an effective reset for the Sixers. This was a disastrous season on multiple fronts. However, it is time to put it in the past. The offseason should be spent by the entire organization reflecting and focusing on what areas can be improved upon.

“Everybody in this room, no matter if they come back here or if you’re not here, you should have a different type of edge about yourself,” Maxey said. “You should go into the summer with a lot to work on and a lot to prove. Myself included.”

Sixers’ Offseason Plans Centered Around Getting Younger

One of the core takeaways from the Sixers’ exit interviews was their stated desire to get younger and more athletic. The Sixers have tried many different team-building strategies around Embiid over the years. Last season, Morey’s focus was on adding veteran players in the anticipation of making a deep playoff run. During his exit interview, Morey spoke about recognizing his mistake and the need to inject more youth into the roster.

“I was very focused on finding veteran-type players who generally perform very well in the playoffs, and I didn’t put enough emphasis on the team getting through the regular season. Next season, for sure, we’ll be a younger, more dynamic group.”

Both Morey and head coach Nick Nurse delved deeper into their reasoning behind wanting to transform the roster into a younger, more athletic group.

“I think that the game keeps getting faster and faster and more dynamic,” Nurse said. “Just for like, really basic things, like defensive transition, or defensive rebounding, we need to be a little bigger, longer, stronger, more athletic, just to get that basic thing kind of under control.”

“But the regular season has turned into really high effort, to call out one area coach mentioned, it used to be every team was just dropping back after their shot,” Morey added. “Now teams are with length and athleticism, with high effort, both attacking the offensive glass and able to get back in transition. And it’s just a very high effort regular season. So that’s why we need to deliver a deeper, younger, more athletic, longer roster around our three main guys.”

The Sixers have limited flexibility to make additions to the roster. The big three of Embiid, George and Maxey are accounting for roughly $144.9 million in salary cap space next season. Most of the infusion of youth will have to come from players already on the roster.

Quentin Grimes was acquired from the Dallas Mavericks at the trade deadline. He stepped into an increased role due to all the injuries, serving as the team’s top scoring option for much of the last few months of the season. The 24-year old averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 28 games in a Sixers uniform. Grimes is a restricted free agent, meaning the Sixers have the rights to match any potential offer he receives from another team. Morey shouted out Grimes and made it clear retaining him is a top priority.

“I did want to mention Quentin Grimes. I think he was a real bright spot. We’re excited for him to come back. We’ve positioned ourselves to bring him back. He had multiple 40-point performances. His defense we think really fits well with Tyrese. We think he’s a very good fit there. And we think with Joel, Paul and Tyrese, he’s a very good fit.”

Jared McCain, the Sixers’ standout rookie first-round pick, should also be a significant piece of the rotation. He averaged 15.3 points per game while shooting 46.0% from the field and 38.3% from 3-point range. The 21-year old was limited to just 23 games after tearing his meniscus in mid-December. When speaking to reporters on Sunday, McCain said he has started to get back on the court and has progressed to doing some jumping without being in pain.

The Sixers also received positive production from rookie second-round pick Adem Bona and undrafted free agent Justin Edwards. Bona impressed when given extended opportunity over the last several weeks of the season. He averaged 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.1 steals per game over his final 15 games. The Nigerian native led the league in blocks per game since March 9.

Edwards is another player who earned his way into the Sixers’ rotation. He averaged 10.1 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 36.3% from 3-point range. Originally signed to a two-way contract after going undrafted, Edwards’ strong play led to the Sixers giving him a two-year contract extension back in February. While his deal includes a team option for next season, it is a near certainty the Sixers will choose to accept his option. Both Bona and Edwards are examples of young players capable of stepping into key roles for the Sixers off the bench next season.

Perhaps the biggest potential path to the Sixers adding an infusion of youth is through the draft. The Sixers finished the season with a 24-58 record, giving them the fifth best lottery odds. Philadelphia will only be able to keep their pick if it lands inside the top-6 due to a prior trade from back in 2020. Having the fifth best lottery odds gives the Sixers a 63.9% chance of retaining their pick and a 10.5% chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick. If the Sixers do retain their first-round pick, Morey said they will go the path of drafting the best player available rather than drafting for a specific positional need.

“Definitely best player available. It has to be that high in the draft for sure. But we see the pick as sort of a tool to upgrade the team and obviously it’ll depend, you know, it’ll matter if it’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or we just have the pick in the future … So it’s just a tool to make the team better, but obviously there’s a good chance we’ll take someone. In that case it will just be the best player. Yeah, I’ve never shied from that.”

Whether it is through the draft, re-signing players or developing some of their younger players, the Sixers have multiple pathways to achieving their goal of injecting youth and athleticism into the roster.