76ers Right to Remain Patient Deciding on Deadline Approach Amid NBA Trade Rumors

To say the 2024-25 season has been a disappointment for the Philadelphia 76ers would be an understatement of massive proportions.

The team's blockbuster acquisition of Paul George in the offseason to fill out a "big three" also consisting of former league MVP Joel Embiid and superstar-in-the-making Tyrese Maxey has yielded next to no results, with all three players barely sharing the court at the same time, thanks to injury.

The result has been a 19-29 record through the start of February, including just four wins in their last 10.

While most teams would have been quick to start a fire sale amid what looks to be a lost season, Marc Stein reported the Sixers want to gauge the next week of results before making any rash deadline deals.

They are right to do so.

While 4-6 in the last 10 may not seem promising to most squads with championship aspirations, it was enough to convince the Philadelphia front office that all may not be lost in 2025; that a potential berth in the play-in tournament can still be achieved.

That is not the case if the team decides to blow things up and look to the future.

Maxey is averaging 38 minutes, 27.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, six assists, and nearly two steals a game while shooting 44.1 percent from the floor and 34.8 percent from beyond the arc. He has been as-advertised this season, while Caleb Martin has been a pleasant (and affordable) surprise in the starting lineup and Guerschon Yabusele has impressed off the bench.

Yabusele has been the topic of trade conversation, including from the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey, who has linked both the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks to the forward.

Both could conceivably play a role in the team's deadline moves, but the team is just one spot out of the play-in tournament. If they can get Embiid back on the floor consistently, and get Martin, Eric Gordon, KJ Martin, and Andre Drummond back from injury, the team is capable of going on a run.

Prized free agent acquisition George remains out with a left finger extensor ligament strain.

Maxey is playing great enough to will his team back into the playoff hunt but one or two more players stepping up or returning from injury would ultimately prove the difference between the front office's willingness to sell or hold steady and see what this team can do late into the season.

So far, holding steady has proven to be the right call as Philly has crept up the standings following an abysmal 2-12 start to this campaign. Doing so just a little longer could be the difference between a run at the postseason and a colossally disappointing lost season.