CAMDEN, N.J. -- The Philadelphia 76ers had an extremely busy summer with the additions of Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, and many others. The moves give the Sixers the star power and the depth to be able to make things happen in the Eastern Conference. When considering how talented teams are in the East, the Sixers had to stack up.
When looking at this roster on paper, the Sixers are going to give the defending champion New York Knicks a run for their money. The starting lineup of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Brown, James, and Joel Embiid will be one of the best in the league and the second unit will feature the likes of Dean Wade, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Labaron Philon Jr., Anfernee Simons, and others.
Maxey gave his thoughts on the additions the Sixers
made two days into training camp:
Maxey on Wade
"Ah, I love Dean Wade. I love Dean Wade. Great teammate, I can tell already. He’s a funny guy. Standup guy, but he’s also somebody who knows how to play a role, and he knows how to star in his role, too. He doesn’t deviate. Imma be on him this year about shooting the ball. I want him to shoot a lot of threes. He can shoot the ball. He can defend. He’s picking up the ball here, rebounding, cutting. He’s doing a lot. And I didn’t know he was this tall. You play against a guy two or three times a year, but you don’t really realize until you’re seeing somebody every day, he’s tall. He’s really tall. I think he’s gonna really help us on the defensive glass. Defensively period, and then just creating space and cutting. He’s a great teammate, too. We need great teammates around right now."
Maxey on if he's learned anything new on Brown
"I think you just see it up close now. I’ve seen it, like you said, a million times. I feel like I’ve played against Jaylen so many times, but when you’re with somebody every single day, it’s different. Like what I just said about Dean Wade, when you’re with somebody every single day, you notice small things like, man, Dean Wade’s legit almost 6-foot-10. JB’s like physically a freak of nature. He’s just stronger than you. He jumps higher than you. He’s faster than you and he’s very talented. Those are the things that you see every single day. And I think what’s stood out to me so far is his communication and he’s willing to pick up the ball defensively, kind of just do whatever coach needs him to do right now, and he’s just figuring it out. Of course, this is very foreign to him, imagine being somewhere for (10) years and coming here, the team that you’re trained to hate, probably. It’s been great. Especially (since) we just beat them, it’s kind of crazy."
Maxey on Caldwell-Pope
"He's been fantastic the past two days, honestly. He's in shape, he's picking up the ball, he's shooting the ball really well. I think he's going to be a great addition for us. I also think he's going to be great for guys like Justin (Edwards). Like, really, really, really good. You know what I mean? That's a two-time champion that Justin can look at and see kind of in the same role a little bit, but a wing defender, a shooter. Justin can score a little bit, too. So I think that's a good vet for us and a good vet for him to look at. So, KCP's been great."
Maxey on having more ball-handlers like Philon and Simons around
"It unlocks everything. It unlocks me being a catch-and-shoot guy. I feel like I’m a pretty good catch-and-shoot guy. Anfernee Simons being a catch-and-shoot guy. He doesn’t have to be on the ball to get shots. He can create shots off the dribble, but if Jaylen Brown’s getting into the paint and teams are collapsing, kick it out to Ant for a wide-open three. I think LeBron, now he can play off cuts. He does not have to always on the ball. Joel doesn’t always have to be in the post or whatever. He can roll. Me, I don’t have to play on the ball every single possession. I can do a lot of different things. That’s where it gets really good for us. JB is, like, an awesome cutter, so he doesn’t have to create on the ball all the time, and that’s gonna be what’s really good for us. I think that’s why multiple ball-handlers is a plus."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Tyrese Maxey gives thoughts on new Sixers additions as camp continues
