Category: Philadelphia 76ers Blog

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Will Warriors pursue Ben Simmons?

Sixers guard Ben Simmons is young, talented, but will also probably be the subject of serious trade rumors throughout the offseason. Via the Philly Voice:

The Ben Simmons rumor mill continues to churn, and the latest potential suitor is a name you should expect to hear a ton up until draft night in late July: the Golden State Warriors.

That’s the word from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who has been a source of a lot of Simmons gossip this past week…

Any trade the Warriors are making this offseason is going to be in an effort to put a stronger supporting cast around Stephen Curry in the final year of his contract next season. Curry has never said anything to suggest he wants to leave the franchise where he became a megastar, but playing elite-level basketball only to miss the playoffs entirely surely is not what he has in mind for his twilight years.

Tyrese Maxey gave Sixers a big boost in Game 6 against Hawks

The Sixers won Game 6 on the road against the Hawks Friday, 104-99. The squad received a nice boost off the bench from Tyrese Maxey, who in 29 minutes put up 16 points and seven rebounds. Via the Philly Voice:

Picture this: you’re a 20-year-old rookie, you played just 1:20 in your team’s heartbreaking Game 5 loss, and your head coach comes to you and says you need to be ready to play real minutes in a do-or-die elimination game. How exactly do you handle the news and get ready for the biggest game of your life?

“Got done with shootaround, got me some pasta, called my mom, and then I went to sleep,” Maxey said after Philly’s Game 6 win. “Woke up, and then came to the gym. Was ready to go.”

If the pressure impacted him in any way, Maxey never showed it on Friday night, pouring in 16 points off of the bench and leading the entire team in plus/minus with a +12 for the evening. That was representative of how the game changed with Maxey on the floor, who provided the spark his teammates needed with a belly full of pasta and a mother’s wisdom as the fuel.

Hawks at Sixers Game 7 is Sunday at 8PM ET.

FYI: Doc Rivers and Monty Williams remain tight

It’s always interesting knowing which coaches in the league keep in regular contact with each other. As opposed to the ones who only say hello when their teams are playing against each other. Via the Arizona Republic:

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers said he and [Phoenix Suns coach] Monty Williams “talk literally once a week at least.”

The two had something very special to discuss Thursday night after the Phoenix Suns eliminated the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers to give Williams his first career playoff series victory in seven seasons as a head coach.

“I’m just happy for Monty,” said Rivers, who was teammates with Williams in New York and coached him in Orlando. “Listen, the Suns have proven all year they’re good, they’re talented and they’re well coached. Very proud of Monty.”

Sixers sign Anthony Tolliver to 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers have signed Anthony Tolliver to a 10-day contract.

Tolliver joins the 76ers after spending last season with Memphis, Sacramento and Portland. He saw action in 55 games (13 starts) between the three teams, averaging 3.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game. He posted season highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds on Jan. 13, 2020 vs. Charlotte while with the Trail Blazers.

All told, the Springfield, Missouri native has appeared in 719 career games (105 starts) with Portland, Sacramento, Memphis, Minnesota, Detroit, Phoenix, Charlotte, Atlanta, Golden State and San Antonio. He holds career averages of 6.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game, while shooting .415 from the field, .373 from three-point range and .771 from the free-throw line.

Undrafted in the 2007 NBA Draft following a four-year collegiate career at Creighton, Tolliver began his professional career with Cleveland during the 2007-08 preseason. In addition to his time in the NBA and NBA G League, Tolliver has played professionally in Germany and Turkey. As a senior at Creighton, he captured First Team All-MVC honors, averaging 13.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 blocks in 31.6 minutes per contest. Tolliver helped lead the Bluejays to a 22-11 record and an appearance in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

Tolliver will wear No. 43 for the 76ers.

Sixers sign Paul Reed and Mason Jones

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed Paul Reed to a standard NBA contract and Mason Jones to a two-way contract.

Reed, who signed a two-way contract with the 76ers on Nov. 28, 2020, was named the 2021 NBA G League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year earlier this week. He was the only player to average at least 22 points and 11 rebounds per game during the G League season, while leading the Delaware Blue Coats to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Reed led the G League with 12 double-doubles in 15 games and was the first player in Delaware franchise history to earn either MVP or Rookie of the Year honors.

The No. 58 overall selection in the 2020 NBA Draft by Philadelphia, Reed shot .588 from the field, .444 from three-point range and .789 from the free-throw line for the Blue Coats as he was named to the All-NBA G League First Team, All-Rookie Team and All-Defensive Team. He was the only player among the G League’s top-10 in total rebounds with at least 20 three-pointers made (24). In addition to his time in the G League, Reed has seen action in eight games at the NBA level with the 76ers, scoring a career-high six points on two occasions.

Jones, a rookie from Arkansas, appeared in 26 games for Houston earlier this season while on a two-way contract. With the Rockets, he averaged 5.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 11.8 minutes per game. Jones played his sophomore and junior seasons at Arkansas after beginning his collegiate career at Connors State College. Following the 2019-20 season, he was named SEC Co-Player of the Year after averaging 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game, leading the Razorbacks to a 20-12 record. He was also named to the All-SEC First Team and was the only player in the conference to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.

In both of his collegiate seasons, Jones was teammates with 76ers rookie Isaiah Joe, whom Philadelphia selected with the No. 49 selection in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Three-team trade sends George Hill to Sixers, Austin Rivers to Thunder, Terrance Ferguson to Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey announced today that the team has acquired George Hill from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Ignas Brazdeikis from the New York Knicks in a three-team trade.

Philadelphia sent Tony Bradley and two second-round picks (2025 and 2026) to Oklahoma City and Terrance Ferguson, Vincent Poirier, the rights to Emir Preldžić, a 2021 second-round pick and Miami’s 2024 second-round pick (protected Nos. 31-55) to New York.

The Knicks also traded Austin Rivers to Oklahoma City as part of the deal.

In his 13th NBA season, Hill has appeared in 14 games (all starts) with the Thunder, averaging 11.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 26.3 minutes per game. He’s shot .508 from the field, .386 from beyond the arc and .840 from the free-throw line. Hill posted a season-high 22 points on Jan. 24 at the L.A. Clippers, shooting 9-12 from the field and 3-4 from three-point range and has scored in double figures in nine of his 14 contests this season.

All told, Hill has seen action in 799 career games (463 starts) with Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Sacramento, Utah, Indiana and San Antonio, averaging 11.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 27.7 minutes per contest. Last season’s NBA leader in three-point percentage (.460), he’s shot .384 from beyond the arc in his career. A two-way talent, Hill has collected more than 700 steals in his career and is one of nine active players shooting at least 38-percent from three-point range in 20,000-or-more career minutes. Hill’s teams have made the playoffs in 11 of his 12 NBA seasons as he’s seen action in 127 postseason games (91 starts), boosting his scoring average to 12.1 points in those contests.

A native of Indianapolis, Hill played collegiately at IUPUI, earning Summit League Player of the Year honors in his final season, before he was selected by San Antonio with the No. 26 overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Brazdeikis has played in 13 NBA games over two seasons with New York. Most recently, he appeared in 12 NBA G League games with the Westchester Knicks during single-site play at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando. With Westchester, Brazdeikis averaged 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 34.1 minutes per game. He and the 76ers’ Paul Reed were the only two players to average at least 20 points and nine rebounds during the 2021 NBA G League season.

Brazdeikis was originally selected by Sacramento with the No. 47 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, following a standout 2018-19 season at Michigan, during which he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He averaged 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 29.6 minutes per game as he helped lead the Wolverines to a 30-7 record and an appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Originally from Lithuania, Brazdeikis grew up in Canada and has represented the country internationally, earning a silver medal at the 2015 FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship.

Bradley, Ferguson and Poirier were acquired by Philadelphia prior to the 2020-21 season. Bradley has played in 20 games this season, Ferguson has seen action in 13 and Poirier has appeared in 10. The rights to Emir Preldžić were originally acquired by Philadelphia on Feb. 6, 2019.

Ferguson, 6-6, 190-pounds, has appeared in 204 NBA games (124 starts), averaging 4.5 points and 1.3 rebounds over 19.6 minutes in four seasons with Oklahoma City and Philadelphia. He has appeared in 13 games for Philadelphia this season. The Tulsa-OK native, was originally selected by Oklahoma City with the 21st overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Poirier, 7-0, 235-pounds, has appeared in 32 games, averaging 1.5 points and 1.8 rebounds over two seasons with Boston and Philadelphia. The Clamart, France native was originally signed by Boston as a free agent on July 15, 2019.

Brazdeikis, 6-7, 214-pounds appeared in 13 games for New York, averaging 1.5 points over 4.6 minutes over two seasons. He was originally selected by Sacramento in the second round (47th overall) of the 2019 NBA Draft and had his draft rights traded to New York.

Rivers, 6-4, 204-pounds appeared in 21 games (two starts) for New York this season, averaging 7.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists over 21.0 minutes. He was originally acquired by New York from Houston on November 27, 2020.

Bradley (6-10, 260) has appeared in 20 games (eight starts) with the 76ers this season, recording averages of 5.5 points and a career-high 5.2 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per contest, shooting a career-best 68.0 percent from the floor. The UNC product has made appearances in 90 career games (11 starts) and averaged 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 11.3 minutes, shooting 64.6 percent from the field.

Forward Paul Reed wins 2020-21 G League MVP and Rookie of Year awards

Delaware Blue Coats forward Paul Reed has been named the 2020-21 NBA G League Most Valuable Player and NBA G League Rookie of the Year, the NBA G League announced today. He becomes the third player to win both awards in the same season, joining Tim Frazier (2014-15) and Devin Brown (2002-03).

A two-way player with the Philadelphia 76ers, Reed (6-9, 210, DePaul) averaged 22.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.93 steals and 1.80 blocks while shooting 58.8% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range in 15 regular-season games with the Blue Coats. Among qualified players, Reed ranked third in the NBA G League in scoring and rebounding and tied for third in steals. He also recorded a league-high 12 double-doubles.

Among rookies, Reed was the league leader in rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game (4.6), and he ranked second in scoring, tied for second in steals and seventh in blocks. Reed equaled a rookie season high with 35 points in Delaware’s 129-114 loss to the Oklahoma City Blue on Feb. 27, a total matched only by Raptors 905 guard Malachi Flynn.

Reed led the Blue Coats to a franchise-best seven-game winning streak to start the season, a stretch in which he averaged 22.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.29 steals and 1.43 blocks. He was named the NBA G League Player of the Week for Week 1 of the season.

Behind Reed, Delaware posted a 10-5 record in the regular season and earned the fourth seed in the 2021 NBA G League Playoffs. The Blue Coats won two playoff games before losing to the Lakeland Magic 97-78 in the NBA G League Final presented by YouTube TV on March 11.

The 76ers selected Reed with the 58th overall pick in the NBA Draft 2020 presented by State Farm. Reed, who signed a two-way contract with Philadelphia on Nov. 27, 2020, has appeared in seven games for the 76ers this season.

NBA G League head coaches and general managers whose teams participated in single-site play at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla., voted for both the MVP and Rookie of the Year awards.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers guard Kevin Porter Jr., who was on assignment from the Houston Rockets, finished in second place in voting for NBA G League MVP. Raptors 905 forward Henry Ellenson finished third.

In NBA G League Rookie of the Year voting, Lakeland forward Mamadi Diakite and Canton Charge guard Brodric Thomas finished in second and third place, respectively.

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons will miss the 2021 NBA All-Star game

Prior to traveling to Atlanta, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons had contact with an individual (reportedly a barber) who is confirmed today to have tested positive for the coronavirus. As a result, Embiid (Team Durant) and Simmons (Team LeBron) will not play in tonight’s NBA All-Star Game.

Participation for other All-Stars and members of the 76ers coaching staff in Atlanta is not affected because they were not exposed to the individual in Philadelphia.

Doc Rivers will coach Team Durant in 2021 NBA All-Star Game

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers and his staff will coach Team Durant in the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, which will be played on Sunday, March 7 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

With tonight’s 112-105 home victory over the Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia (20-10, .667) clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 21, earning Rivers a spot as an NBA All-Star Game head coach for the third time. He guided the Eastern Conference in the 2008 and 2011 NBA All-Star Games as the Boston Celtics’ head coach.

Each head coach in the 2021 NBA All-Star Game will lead the team that includes the captain from the same conference. Rivers and his staff will coach the All-Star team captained by the Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant. As previously announced, Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder and his staff will coach the All-Star team captained by the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James.

Rivers is in his first season as the 76ers’ head coach after spending the previous seven seasons as the LA Clippers’ head coach. He is Philadelphia’s first NBA All-Star Game head coach since Larry Brown in 2001. Rivers ranks 10th on the league’s career wins list with a record of 963-691 (.582) in 22 NBA seasons. He led the Celtics to the NBA championship in the 2007-08 season.

The 70th NBA All-Star Game is part of NBA All-Star 2021, which will be held on one night, March 7. TNT’s NBA All-Star coverage will begin at 5 p.m. ET with TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax, followed by the Taco Bell® Skills Challenge and MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. Coverage of the NBA All-Star Game will begin at 8 p.m. ET, with AT&T Slam Dunk taking place at halftime.

Joel Embiid named a 2021 NBA All-Star Game starter

The NBA announced today that Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers was named an Eastern Conference starter for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. It’s Embiid’s fourth consecutive All-Star selection after being named a starter in each of the past three seasons.

He’s the first 76ers player to be named a starter in four straight All-Star Games since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson started seven straight from 2000-06.

Embiid is also the seventh player in franchise history to be named an All-Star starter at least four times. The only 76ers with more starting selections are Hall of Famers Julius Erving (11), Dolph Schayes (11) and Iverson (eight).

Embiid, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James are the only players to be named starters in each of the last four All-Star Games. In his fifth NBA season, Embiid has helped lead the 76ers to an Eastern Conference-best 19-10 record, holding averages of 29.7 points (fourth in the NBA, second in the East), 10.8 rebounds (12th in the NBA, seventh in the East), 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks in 32.5 minutes per game. No player in NBA history has posted such averages for a full season.

Over his last 12 games, Embiid has scored no fewer than 25 points, joining Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Iverson as the only 76ers ever to score 25 plus in a dozen-or-more consecutive games. Over that span, Embiid is averaging 34.0 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, while shooting .543 from the field and .400 from three-point range.

Embiid leads the league with averages of 9.7 free throws made and 11.3 free throws attempted per game. Just eight players have ever made better than 9.7 free throws per game for a full season, all Hall of Famers. His 222 made free throws are second in the NBA to Atlanta’s Trae Young, while the two are the only NBA players to make at least 200 free throws.

He and fellow 2021 All-Star starters Antetokounmpo and Denver’s Nikola Jokić are the only NBA players averaging at least 25 points and 10 rebounds this season. Embiid posted such averages in 2018-19 and is seeking to become the second 76er in franchise history to do so in multiple seasons, joining Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. The last 76er to average 29-plus points in a season was Iverson in 2005-06, while he and Chamberlain are the only Philadelphia players to do so.

Embiid leads the team with 20 20-point games, 12 30-point performances and two 40-point nights. His 15 double-doubles are 11th in the NBA and tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference, while his seven 30-point, 10-rebound outings are tied for the most in the NBA.

In the Eastern Conference frontcourt, Embiid finished second in media voting and third in both fan and player voting.

Fans accounted for 50 percent of the vote to determine the NBA All-Star Game starters, while current NBA players and a media panel accounted for 25 percent each.

After all votes were tallied, players were ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups – fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player’s score was calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes. The two guards and three frontcourt players with the best score in each conference were named NBA All-Star Game starters.

TNT will announce the NBA All-Star reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 23. The head coaches of each All-Star team will be the coaches of the teams with the best record in each conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 21.