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‘Franchise Needs To Evolve Around Him’: Stephen A Smith Wants 76ers To Build Around Tyrese Maxey and Not Joel Embiid
Stephen A Smith didn't hold back on the Philadelphia 76ers after their first round exit against the New York Knicks and suggested that they should build around Tyrese Maxey.
The Philadelphia 76ers is one of the franchises that starts every year as one of the favorites for the NBA title but by the they reach the playoff, they barely make it count and this year was no different. They were knocked out by the New York Knicks in the first playoff round. Following their elimination, seasoned analyst Stephen A. Smith recommended that the Sixers should make a change by building around Tyrese Maxey instead of Joel Embiid.
What did Stephen A. Smith Say?
Stephen A. Smith said, “Tyrese Maxey is a superstar in this league, deserves max dollars, and the franchise needs to evolve around him.” Not because Stephen A. thinks Maxey is a better player than Embiid. Rather, Smith thought Embiid was one of the greatest Big Man ever and praised his talent highly.
However, the main problem with constructing a structure around Embiid is that "his durability is not reliable, and he is perpetually injured." According to Stephen A. Smith, the Sixers might be better off building around Maxey and letting Embiid adjust to that situation because he is younger, more dependable, and hopefully more available in the future than Embiid.
Can the 76ers Take a Bold Decision and Make Maxey the Face of Their Franchise?
Although it may seem counterintuitive to refocus attention away from a player who won MVP last season and again this year before suffering an injury, Stephen A. Smith may have a valid point. Maxey had already shown that he was a respectable player by averaging more than twenty points per game in the previous two playoffs. But when the Sixers fired James Harden and gave Maxey the reins, that's when he turned into a superstar. With that, Maxey received his first All-Star selection and saw a significant increase in his regular season scoring average to 25.9.
Maxey also showed that his performances are not just for the regular season as he dropped 46 points on Stephen A. Smith’s beloved Knicks in game 5 to force a game 6. The reports suggest that the 76ers are happy to offer a max contract to Maxey based on his performances and see him as the future of the franchise.
