The Philadelphia 76ers are entering a very pivotal last few hours ahead of the NBA trade deadline. But it turns that they may have offered a hint of what is to come to none other than John Calipari.
The Kentucky head coach Calipari appeared recently on 94WIP in Philly and revealed what Sixers head coach Doc Rivers told him about the team’s trade plans — Rivers said that the Sixers will not be trading guard Tyrese Maxey.
“I love Doc, Doc’s my man,” said Calipari. “I was worried to trade Ben [Simmons], they were going to have to move Tyrese. I said, the way they could move him is, ‘I’ll take Ben, but I gotta have Tyrese.’ And I said to Doc, ‘Please tell me that’s not happening.’ He said, ‘Never happen.’ He said, ‘Look at my eyes, that’ll never happen.’ So I probably shouldn’t say that publicly.”
Maxey is one of many former Kentucky players that Calipari has successfully gotten to the NBA. Calipari also said in the interview that Maxey, who is averaging 16.9 points and 4.8 assists per game this season at age 21, will make people regret passing on him in the draft (Maxey went 21st in 2020).
Granted, Rivers does not ultimately make personnel decisions for the Sixers. Maxey is also represented by Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, just like Simmons. That led to some rumors that Paul might want both players out of Philly (though that ultimately proved to be false).
But all things considered, Maxey does appear to be safe ahead of Thursday’s deadline. The Sixers’ primary trade target seems to be James Harden, and the Brooklyn Nets, in addition to Simmons, are reportedly asking for a different Sixers player instead of Maxey.
H/T NBA Reddit
Photo: Danny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
