When Jordan Mason entered the transfer portal last spring, he wanted to be part of a winning program.
It wasn’t his first time in the portal. The senior spent two seasons at Texas State before transferring to University of Illinois Chicago in 2024. He got in contact with Temple coach Adam Fisher in the portal and immediately felt at home.
Mason thought his skill set would complement Temple’s screen-heavy offense. He has since been a catalyst for the Owls.
Temple (14-8, 6-3 American Conference) lacked a true point guard for the past two years. Mason has taken over that role. He’s averaging 11.7 points and a team-leading 4.3 assists in 22 starts.
“I saw the way that the coaches interacted with each other and the way they interacted with me and my family,” Mason said. “It felt like a family right away. It felt like home. It was like I could be comfortable here. I can be myself here.”
Mason developed into a key rotational player at Texas State. As a freshman, he averaged 6.3 points in 32 games (19 starts). His numbers more than doubled as a sophomore (12.9 points per game) and 23 starts in 29 games.
He transferred to UIC for the 2024-25 season and averaged 9.6 points. Mason also was an asset defensively and as a ballhandler. He had 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game with the Flames.
“He knows when to pick and when [to] shoot,” Fisher said. “Guys enjoy playing with somebody like that, when you know that there’s an opportunity that you’re going to get shots, and he gets you easy looks.”
Jordan Mason played two seasons at Texas State and one at University of Illinois Chicago before joining Temple this offseason.
Mason quickly established himself as Temple’s main ballhandler in the season opener and created scoring opportunities for his teammates, notching six assists in the 83-65 win over Delaware State.
“Every pass I make, it seems like the shot goes in,” Mason said. “So some of it is me getting a little bit better at passing, but a lot of it is just the talent around me. They’re just really good dudes that make a lot of shots. So it makes me look good.”
His play contributed to the Owls winning seven straight from Dec. 9 to Jan. 14 — a stretch in which he also surpassed 1,000 career points. When he struggled in the middle of January, though, the team’s production took a dip.
Temple lost two straight games, but a road trip to his native Texas helped turn things around.
“He’s the heart of our team,” said guard Aiden Tobiason. “Because he’s so important. He’s really the main guy in principle every single time.”
The Owls won both games at Rice and University of Texas at San Antonio, and Mason recorded back-to-back double-digit outings, 15 points against Rice in Houston and 18 at UTSA — with his family in attendance.
“It was pretty amazing,” said Mason, who’s from San Antonio. “I’ve actually played UTSA as a freshman, and I didn’t touch the floor. That was rough for me because it was my first time playing at home, and it was, to be honest, a little embarrassing not playing. So to be able to come back, full-circle moment my senior year and play in front of everybody and beat UTSA because we lost to [them] my freshman year.”
Entering Saturday’s noon matchup at East Carolina (7-15, 2-7), Temple sits in fourth place in the American and could snatch a top-four seed in the conference tournament in March.
Mason, in his final year of eligibility, looks to make that happen.
“I want to win the conference tournament and go to the NCAA Tournament,” Mason said. “That’s the big goal for our team.”
Looking down one, the Flyers are buyers, trying to make a playoff push beyond the NHL trade deadline on March 6.
The other road is more well-trodden by this organization: the one where they are sellers. In the distance, maybe one can make out a third road, the one general manager Danny Brière has mentioned, that entails a quiet trade deadline.
But Flyers president Keith Jones and Brière have long said “the players will decide” which road the organization will take. It’s hard to gauge where things are right now.
Standing pat doesn’t make sense, but which direction are the Flyers heading? Are they the team from the beginning of the season or the team that has three wins in the past 15 games? And what about the future, with players like Porter Martone, Alex Bump, and Oliver Bonk waiting in the wings?
The Flyers closed out the unofficial first half of the season with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Jamie Drysdale scored late to tie the game after a master class by the Flyers’ six-man unit before Tim Stützle dipped the puck around Dan Vladař in overtime.
“Obviously a huge point for us,” defenseman Nick Seeler said. “But, man, it would have been great to get that extra point. But you know what? I give our group a lot of credit. Fight till the very end.”
The loss left the Flyers with a 25-20-11 record through the first 56 games, as the NHL is on a break for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. They sit eight points out of two different playoff spots — third place in the Metropolitan Division, behind the New York Islanders, and the Eastern Conference’s second wild card, which the Boston Bruins occupy. The Flyers also have two games in hand on the Islanders and one on the Bruins.
“Some good, some bad,” coach Rick Tocchet said when asked to assess the first 56 games.
It’s fair for a team that at one point boasted one of the best penalty kills, conceded among the fewest goals, and, for once, has a power play that didn’t completely stink. But after their massive January slide, the Flyers are tied for 16th on the penalty kill (79.1%), tied for 21st in goals allowed per game (3.16) — on Jan. 1, they were 10th (2.85) — and are ranked 28th on the power play (16.1%).
But like a famous ex-Phillies pitcher once said with another team that shall remain nameless, the Flyers are saying: “Ya gotta believe.”
“The season’s not over,” captain Sean Couturier told The Inquirer on Wednesday. “People seem almost like we’ve thrown in the towel, but we haven’t. We still believe in our group, and it’s really on us to just kind of step up and take our game to the next level.
“We’re still in the mix here. A little behind, but we still have [26] games left, so lots of hockey left. Anything can happen from now on, and we’ll just control what we can control.”
Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim will be playing for Canada at the upcoming Olympics in Italy.
No, Couturier hasn’t gone off the deep end. The Flyers may be a handful of points out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but they really do control their own destiny.
Of their remaining 26 games, 18 are against Eastern Conference teams, with just three against the two teams below them in the conference, the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils. After returning on Feb. 25, they have seven games against one of the 10 teams below them in the overall NHL standings.
“We’ll need to get red-hot, I think that that’s kind of it,” Drysdale said. “I think we’re capable of it. Everyone, take this break and reset — good luck to [Travis Sanheim and Vladař] and the guys who are playing in the Olympics — but we’ve got to come out swinging right away, not waste a game.”
Time is definitely not a-wastin’. It’s a bit bonkers to think that the season has just 26 games remaining and will end in 67 days on April 14 against the Canadiens. Where the Flyers will be at that moment is the biggest question mark.
When the majority of the team reconvenes on Feb. 17 in Voorhees for practice, it will be the same squad. There is a leaguewide trade freeze until 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 22. Across the 12 subsequent days — until 3 p.m. on March 6 — there’s a good chance teams, including the Flyers, will start wheeling and dealing.
But sellers or buyers? The recent slide, and with how poorly the Flyers have played this month, are good indicators that the team isn’t in a spot to add pieces; however, as expected, they certainly aren’t giving up inside the room.
“I think just everything we learned in this first half, kind of put it all together and go on a run,” defenseman Cam York told The Inquirer on Wednesday after the team’s final practice.
“We’re young, but we’re an experienced group at the same time, I think, and I think we all want that pressure almost and we expect to make it.”
Yes, teams can go on runs and make pushes. Heck, the St. Louis Blues were last in the NHL on Jan. 1, 2019, and then, after that fateful day in South Philly where they sang “Gloria” at The Jacks NYB, they went on a magical run ending with the team hoisting the Stanley Cup
Of course, we’re not saying the Flyers are heading there, but the point is: As much as losing streaks can happen, so can winning ones. Can the Flyers dig themselves out of the hole they dug themselves and get back to who they were just a month ago?
Flyers general manager Danny Brière will have some tough decisions to make ahead of the March 6 trade deadline.
And who will be there for that?
There is no denying that the Flyers need to make room for the future. So with a team that isn’t far outside the playoff picture, do you upset the apple cart now or wait until, what most expect, the offseason?
Regardless, it’s a tough call to make with the team kind of there but not fully there in the playoff race. While Jones and Brière have said the players will dictate how they go, right now, it’s sell. Because while the message from the players is that they believe, the play on the ice right now is telling a different story.
So, two roads diverge in Philadelphia. Will they take the one less traveled? Or the one that they’ve gone down before?
Sonny Jurgensen, the Hall of Fame quarterback whose strong arm, keen wit and affable personality made him one of the most beloved figures in Washington football history, has died. He was 91.
A Washington Commanders spokesperson confirmed Friday the team learned of Jurgensen’s death that morning from his family.
Jurgensen arrived in Washington in 1964 in a surprise quarterback swap that sent Norm Snead to the Philadelphia Eagles. Over the next 11 seasons, Jurgensen rewrote the team’s record books.
Eagles players (from left) Sonny Jurgensen, Pete Retzlaff, Timmy Brown and Tommy McDonald in 1963.
He topped 3,000 yards in a season five times, including twice with Philadelphia, in an era before rules changes opened up NFL offenses. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and remains the only Washington player to wear the No. 9 jersey in a game.
The Flyers nearly headed into the Olympic break with a whimper after they managed just 13 shots through three periods.
After what looked like a lifeless effort for much of the first two periods, the Flyers stormed back late to tie the game with their net empty. Jamie Drysdale scored in his second consecutive game, after scoring the game-winner on Tuesday.
But ultimately, Travis Konecny missed the net on another overtime breakaway, and Ottawa’s Tim Stützle came back to deliver the win for the Senators. Dan Vladař made 25 saves in the loss.
“We had the two-on-one, last game against [the Los Angeles Kings], we hit the post,” Tocchet said. “We had another two-on-one, and we missed. They get it. It’s execution, Stützle goes around and scores. It’s hard to work on that stuff. We’re getting some chances.”
Former Flyer Nick Cousins scored the first goal of the game just over halfway through the second period. Ottawa’s Shane Pinto took the first shot on Vladař, who made the save, but the puck bounced off his pad right toward Cousins, who scored in an empty net to take the 1-0 lead.
The Flyers got their best offensive possession of the game late into the second — with a little assist from Senators’ center Dylan Cozens’ skate blade, which fell off on a blocked shot, making it basically a power play.
The Flyers took eight shots on goal and missed 15 shots through two periods. Against Senators goaltender James Reimer, who entered Thursday’s game with an .862 save percentage in six appearances, the Flyers couldn’t generate enough traffic to take advantage of the weak matchup.
In the third period, Rick Tocchet put the Flyers’ lines in a blender, moving Trevor Zegras back to wing to play with Christian Dvorak and Konecny, moving Denver Barkey to center to play with Carl Grundstrom and Garnet Hathaway, and slotting Nikita Grebenkin with Sean Couturier and Owen Tippett.
Couturier drove to the net and got a one-on-one with the Ottawa goalie deep in the crease, but couldn’t get the puck past Reimer. His goal drought extended to 29 games.
“There was just a lack of support, puck support, a lot of one and dones,” Drysdale said. “They did a good job defending as well. We were able to break through at the end, but just too little too late.”
But struggling with offensive ineptitude for most of the game, the Flyers finally put it together on the 6-on-5, with Drysdale delivering on a low shot from the point, just like his game-winner on Tuesday.
Ultimately, though, the Flyers’ luck didn’t last for long. After Sanheim took down Brady Tkachuk to give the Flyers their first breakaway of overtime, Konecny could not deliver on the two-on-one, and Stützle beat Sanheim and Vladař for the win.
Breakaways
The Flyers’ two shots in the first period were tied for the fewest they’ve had in a period all season. The last time that happened was on Dec. 13 against Carolina … Drysdale scored in consecutive games for the first time since March 9 and 11, 2025, against Seattle and Ottawa … The Flyers played their third one-goal game against the Senators this season, after losing 2-1 on Oct. 23 and 3-2 in overtime on Nov. 8.
Up Next
The Flyers will break for three weeks for the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. The men’s hockey tournament will begin Feb. 11, with Rasmus Ristolainen and Finland taking on Slovakia (10:40 a.m. ET, USA Network).
The team returns to play on Feb. 25 against the Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET, NBCSP).
Over a year ago, former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez stepped inside the bare knuckle ring and competed against Jeremy Stephens at KnuckleMania V in front of Philly fans at what was then called the Wells Fargo Center. Although the Kensington native lost in the main event, he considered the night a big steppingstone for the city of Philadelphia.
“The biggest thing about Philadelphia and combat sports is that no big promoter or big name would come here,” Alvarez said. “It was disappointing because the culture of Philadelphia is fighting. It’s not baseball. It’s not hockey. It’s fighting. So, the fact that we didn’t have a large promotion to bring our local talent and showcase it was sad to me. Bare Knuckle was one of the first promotions to take that shot and take that risk, and it was barely a risk at all.”
Conor McGregor (left) applauds as Philadelphia fighter Eddie Alvarez steps on the scale during the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship weigh-ins for Knucklemania V at Xfinity Live! on Jan. 24, 2025.
Before Knucklemania V, the last time a major MMA promotion made its way to Philly was in 2019 for Fight Night at the Wells Fargo Center, headlined by Edson Barboza and Justin Gaethje. The card featured no hometown talent.
Now, BKFC is making its return on Saturday with KnuckleMania VI after last year’s edition was such a success — setting a modern-day combat sports record with 17,762 people in attendance. And with its return brings plenty of local talent.
“Last year’s event was just an unbelievable moment for us,” said BKFC CEO David Feldman. “For all the hard work that we put in, we were able to break the combat sports attendance record in Philadelphia last year. Now, there’s only one way to go, and we have to do that again this year. … We’re hoping to eclipse 18,000. It’s great numbers to do in the city of Philadelphia, the fight capital of the world.”
Alvarez seconds that notion. The former fighter, who now owns and manages his own gym, Underground Kings, in Newtown, hosted KnuckleMania’s VI media open workouts two weeks ahead of fight day.
BKFC fighter, Patrick Brady takes part in a training session at the Eddie Alvarez’s Underground Kings Gym in Newtown on Wednesday.
“I feel like me, Dave Feldman, and the crew of Bare Knuckle, we’re the guys to bring Bare Knuckle and introduce it to Philadelphia,” Alvarez said. “This sport to me is the greatest show on earth, and it was my pleasure to introduce it to the Philadelphia fans.
“I see the future of BKFC in Philadelphia as them coming here quarterly. I don’t think once a year is enough. I think it should be every quarter. We can fill up an arena here. That’s not too much to ask. I think the fans’ demand has proven that. Philadelphia fans want and need fighting.”
On April 7, Alvarez will get his wish: more bare-knuckle fighting in Philadelphia. They’ll be launching a new series called Bare Knuckle Fight Club, hosting 12 shows a year at the 2300 Arena.
Former UFC champ Eddie Alvarez poses inside his Underground Kings gym on Wednesday. Alvarez aided the exposure of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships in Philly.
“It’s going to be gritty,” Feldman said. “It’s going to be brutal like bare knuckle is. It’s just going to have a different look and feel to it. And I think it’s going to get people very excited. We’re only allowing like 400 people to come to it. So, it’s going to be very elite, and it’s going to be amazing.”
Feldman is also planning on opening a bare knuckle training facility in South Philly.
“I just want to put Philadelphia on the map as a fighting city and I think this will really solidify that,” Feldman said. “I’ve been to 18 different countries now. I’ve been in almost every state and Philly is the realest place I’ve ever been to in the world. Philadelphia’s real people. They will tell you if they like you and they’ll tell you if they don’t like you. If you can succeed in Philly, you can succeed anywhere in the world.”
Super Bowl LX will monopolize our attention Sunday as only the Big Game can. But once the buzzer sounds on Patriots-Seahawks, mitts will be poppin’ across Florida and Arizona.
With Phillies pitchers and catchers set for workouts beginning Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla., LX baseball notes:
I. Before the continuation of the “Is Bryce Harper still elite?” debate, another note from last season: Only one of the Phillies’ 43 biggest hits, based on Win Probability Added, belonged to Harper. He had four of their 13 biggest hits from 2019-24.
II. So, whatever you thought of Dave Dombrowski’s assessment that Harper “didn’t have an elite season like he has had in the past,” can we agree that 2025 was un-Bryce-like?
III. It’s probably giving Dombrowski too much credit to suggest he was being calculated. But the last time anyone publicly poked Harper, he homered twice in Game 3 of the 2023 division series and stared a hole through Braves shortstop “Attaboy” Orlando Arcia. A chip on Harper’s shoulder wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Phillies.
IV. Fact: Harper faced a lower rate of strikes (43%) than any hitter in baseball last season.
V. Another fact: Harper swung at 35.6% of pitches out of the strike zone, 129th among 144 qualified hitters and far above his career mark (29.3%), according to Statcast.
VI. It’s about Harper’s swing decisions, then, as much as lineup protection. “If he gets that [chase] number down to 32, just drop it 3%, now he’s swinging at better pitches, he’s going to do more damage,” hitting coach Kevin Long told The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “The onus falls on me to make sure he’s swinging at the right pitches and him to make sure he’s not expanding. No matter what, he has to control his at-bats.”
Kyle Schwarber batted in front of Bryce Harper for most of last season, when he hit 56 homers and was runner-up for NL MVP.
VII. Still, don’t be surprised if Rob Thomson puts Kyle Schwarber behind Harper in the batting order. It was the other way around for most of last season.
VIII. A month before the Mets signed Bo Bichette — out from under the Phillies’ nose, by the way — they pushed hard for Schwarber, league sources said. The Phillies re-signed Schwarber to a five-year, $150 million contract, the biggest deal ever for a full-time designated hitter.
IX. Speaking of Bichette, set a calendar reminder for June 18-21, the Mets’ first visit to South Philly.
X. The Mets lost 18½ games in the NL East standings in 108 days, missed the playoffs, then overhauled the roster … and fans bemoaned not bringing back Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, and Edwin Díaz. The Phillies won another division title, had a bad week in October, then ran back the core of the roster … and fans bemoaned keeping the band together. Strange days.
XI. BetMGM set the Phillies’ over/under win total at 90.5. Same as the Mets’.
XII. July will be a big month for business at the corner of 11th & Pattison: Futures Game (July 12), Home Run Derby (July 13), All-Star Game (July 14), Mets (July 16-19), Dodgers (July 20-22), and Yankees (July 24-26).
XIII. Schwarber has 340 homers. If he hits 32 per year — and a work stoppage doesn’t wipe out part of the 2027 season — he would reach 500 homers before his new Phillies contract runs out in 2030.
XIV. Harper has 363 homers and would need to hit 23 per year to reach 500 before the expiration of his 13-year contract in 2031.
XV. Players who hit their 500th homer with the Phillies: Mike Schmidt, on April 18, 1987.
Zack Wheeler is recovering from thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September.
XVI. After being diagnosed with a blood clot in his upper right arm, Zack Wheeler had venous thoracic outlet decompression surgery in September. The recovery for a pitcher typically takes up to eight months, Thomson said, which would put Wheeler on a May timetable.
XVII. Bet on Wheeler to beat that projection. He began throwing from a mound this week, a source close to the 35-year-old righty said. The Phillies won’t push Wheeler, but he’s motivated to make as many starts as possible in what he has said will be his second-to-last season.
XVIII. Not every pitcher recovers at the same rate, but Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly had vTOS surgery in September 2020 and started Arizona’s second game of the 2021 season.
XIX. If Wheeler isn’t ready, top prospect Andrew Painter almost certainly will occupy a spot in the season-opening rotation. Painter, who turns 23 on April 10, could be the Phillies’ youngest starter since Ranger Suárez on Aug. 16, 2018 (22 years, 355 days).
XX.Justin Crawfordturned 22 on Jan. 13. If he makes the team out of camp, as expected, he will be the youngest position player on a Phillies opening-day roster since Freddy Galvis in 2012 and the youngest outfielder since Greg Luzinski and Mike Anderson in 1973.
XXI. Crawford’s ground-ball rate in triple A last season (59.4%) would’ve easily led the majors, topping Christian Yelich’s 56.7% mark.
XXII. But Crawford also would’ve ranked fifth with 67 bolts, defined by Statcast as sprints of at least 30 feet per second. (Trea Turner led the majors with 117 bolts.)
XXIII. Is it really so bad, then, that Crawford tends to hit a lot of balls on the ground? “Hopefully it doesn’t matter,” Lehigh Valley hitting coach Adam Lind said. “His approach works right now. He’s super fast. His swing works to where he can hit the ball all over the yard. Whenever a defender has to take one step away from first base, that usually means he’ll be safe.”
XXIV. Quiz: Crawford could be the Phillies’ eighth different opening-day center fielder in nine years. Name the others. (Answer below.)
XXV. Upon stepping down as Twins president last week, Derek Falvey cited ownership’s “different plan” for the team’s direction. If Minnesota enters a full rebuild, All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton would be widely coveted, including by the Phillies. Buxton, 32, has three years and $45 million left on his contract, plus no-trade rights.
XXVI. The Phillies’ projected luxury-tax payroll is $316.3 million, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, trailing the Dodgers ($402.5M), Mets ($376.6M), and Yankees ($335.5M). For a second consecutive year, the Phillies will pay a 110% tax on every dollar spent above $304 million, the highest of four thresholds.
XXVII. In 2025, the Phillies paid $56,062,903 in luxury taxes on a $314,329,912 payroll, the Associated Press reported. Their tax bill has risen from $2,882,657 in 2022, $6,977,345 in 2023, and $14,351,954 in 2024.
XXVIII. Owners will gather Wednesday in Palm Beach, Fla., for their quarterly meetings. Many owners are pushing for a salary cap in the next collective bargaining agreement. The players’ union has historically opposed a cap. It would take eight of 30 owners to block a salary-cap proposal. The existing CBA expires Dec. 1, with a lockout likely to follow.
XXVIX. Last month, commissioner Rob Manfred told a New York radio station that MLB has discussed schedule changes, including an in-season tournament similar to the NBA Cup. The players would need to agree to any new formats.
XXX. The Phillies will send 11 players from their 40-man roster to the World Baseball Classic: Schwarber, Harper, and Brad Keller (U.S.); Cristopher Sánchez and Johan Rojas (Dominican Republic); José Alvarado (Venezuela); Taijuan Walker (Mexico); Aaron Nola (Italy); Garrett Stubbs and Max Lazar (Israel); Edmundo Sosa (Panama). Preliminary round games begin March 5, with the final set for March 17 in Miami.
XXXI.Jesús Luzardo was invited to pitch for Venezuela and Team USA but declined. “It’s very important for my family, for me, to represent Venezuela,” Luzardo told Phillies Extra. “But just in terms of intelligent decision-making, after a long last year and looking forward to a long this year, I thought the correct decision would be to take a slow spring training and make sure everything’s along the right line to be prepared for the year.” Luzardo is eligible for free agency after this season.
XXXII. Left-handed pitcher A: 3.59 ERA, 544 strikeouts, 1.287 WHIP, 117 ERA-plus in 588⅓ innings since 2022.
XXXIII. Left-handed pitcher B: 3.83 ERA, 602 strikeouts, 1.186 WHIP, 116 ERA-plus in 529⅓ innings since 2022.
XXXIV. Suárez (Lefty A) signed a five-year, $130 million contract with the Red Sox last month that will cover his ages 30-34 seasons.
XXXV. Luzardo (Lefty B) will pitch at age-28 this season.
XXXVI. Quiz answer: Brandon Marsh (2025), Rojas (2024), Marsh (2023), Matt Vierling (2022), Adam Haseley (2021), Roman Quinn (2020), Odúbel Herrera (2019), and Aaron Altherr (2018).
Jesús Luzardo posted a 3.92 ERA in a career-high 183⅔ innings in his first season with the Phillies in 2025.
XXXVII. Sánchez threw the most changeups (1,084) in baseball last season. Among 72 pitchers who threw at least 300, he ranked ninth in opponents’ batting average (.170) and slugging (.243) against his changeup.
XXXVIII. Changeup artist Cole Hamels on why Sánchez’s is so dominant: “One thing I’ve noticed is you cannot recognize the spin. It’s the same [as the two-seamer]. So, it’s a coin flip: Am I going to try to hit 97 [mph] with sink, or am I going to hit 87 with drop-off-the-table [action]? And he’s not scared to throw it in any type of count, with anybody on.”
XXXIX. By finishing second in the Cy Young voting last year, Sánchez’s club options for 2029 and 2030 increased by $1 million apiece to $15 million and $16 million.
XL. The automated ball-strike system is coming to MLB after being tested last year in spring training and the minors. Each team is allowed two challenges per game. Thomson prefers that challenges be initiated by the catcher or batters, with specific hitters getting a green light to challenge.
XLI. Opinions about ABS are varied. “There’s a human element pitchers like with umpires,” reliever Tanner Banks said last month. “Maybe you steal [a strike] because the catcher does a great job. But at the end of the day, you want consistency. The umpires I’ve talked to are for it if it helps make the right call.”
XLII. Imagine if the Phillies could’ve challenged umpire Mark Wegner’s missed strike call on Sánchez’s 2-2 pitch to Alex Call with one out in the seventh inning of Game 4 of last year’s NL division series. Call walked on the next pitch and scored the tying run. Sánchez said Wegner admitted that he got it wrong.
XLIII. A catcher’s game-calling is among the last skills that are largely immeasurable through analytics, which explains why it took so long for the Phillies and J.T. Realmuto to reach an agreement in free agency. At 35, amid three years of declining offense, Realmuto’s value is tied to his intangible impact on the pitching staff.
XLIV. Since 2023, opponents had a .682 OPS and Phillies pitchers had a 3.75 ERA with Realmuto behind the plate. The major-league averages were .722 and 4.18.
XLV. “In my opinion, catchers are undervalued as far as contracts and dollars go,” said Realmuto, who eventually accepted a three-year, $45 million offer. “I truly believe it’s one of, if not the most important position on the field, and I just enjoy fighting for that.”
XLVI. Quiz: Realmuto started a career-high 132 games behind the plate last season. In the last 80 years, how many catchers started that many games at age 34 or older? (Answer below.)
XLVII. Player A: .260/.306/.426, 121 doubles, 82 homers, 100 OPS-plus in 2,477 plate appearances.
XLVIII. Player B: .237/.296/.441, 118 doubles, 110 homers, 107 OPS-plus in 2,473 plate appearances.
LIX.Nick Castellanos (Player A) in four seasons with the Phillies (ages 30-33).
L.Adolis García (Player B) in the last four seasons with the Rangers (ages 29-32).
LI. Castellanos ranked last among all outfielders in defensive runs saved (minus-41) since 2022; Garcia was tied for ninth (plus-23).
LII.Bryson Stott lowered his hands, moved them closer to his body, and batted .294 with an .855 OPS after the All-Star break last season. It’s one reason Phillies officials are confident in running back almost the same lineup.
LIII. Here’s another: Marsh batted .303 with an .836 OPS after May 1.
LIV. If depth is a factor, and it usually is, the open seats in the bullpen could go to Rule 5 pick Zach McCambley and Zach Pop, who is out of minor league options. But Thomson is talking up Kyle Backhus, a lefty with a low arm slot who was acquired in a trade with Arizona.
LV. Righty-hitting outfielder Bryan De La Cruz will be in camp as a nonroster invitee after signing a minor-league contract in November. De La Cruz, 29, has major-league experience, mostly with the Marlins. He was MVP of the Dominican Winter League, batting .301 with eight homers and an .888 OPS in 46 games.
Chase Utley is getting closer to being elected to the Hall of Fame.
LVI. Lefty reliever Génesis Cabrera also will be in camp as a nonroster invitee. Once a promising reliever with the Cardinals, Cabrera hit Harper in the face with a 97 mph fastball in 2021. The Phillies will be his sixth team since 2024.
LVII. It’s clear that Chase Utley will eventually get elected to the Hall of Fame after reaching 59.1%, 68 votes shy of the requisite three-quarter majority, in his third year on the ballot. But will it take one more voting cycle or two for him to get to the 75% mark?
LVIII. The electorate changes each year, depending on how many writers join the process upon reaching 10 years of membership in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. But consider Carlos Beltrán’s path to election: 57.1% in 2024, 70.3% in 2025, and finally 84.2% this year. So, pencil in Utley for the Class of 2028 … and maybe book a hotel in Cooperstown for 2027 just in case.
LIX. Quiz answer: Six. Realmuto (2025), Yadier Molina (2017), Jason Kendall (2008), Tony Peña (1991), Elston Howard (1964), and Bob Boone (1982-86).
When Taylor Wray made the move from coaching St. Joseph’s men’s lacrosse team to Penn’s squad this past summer, he got to bring in a whole new staff.
Longtime Hawks assistant Scott Meehan had the option to follow, but he decided to throw his name in the candidate pool to be the next Hawks head coach.
“Jill Bodensteiner our [athletic director] basically called me up after she heard from Coach Wray that he was going to be taking the UPenn job,” Meehan said. “I was very fortunate because I was definitely preparing for an interview process. Other candidates are coming in, and [I] have to put my best foot forward in the interview process. But fortunately, [I] didn’t have to go through that.”
A few hours after Wray’s announced departure, Meehan was promoted to take over on Hawk Hill. He spent the next 30 minutes talking about the role with Charles Giunta, a former St. Joe’s player Meehan brought on as associate head coach.
Now, with the season opener set for Saturday at Syracuse (noon, ACC Network Extra), Meehan is feeling more “comfortable” in his role and hopes to cultivate a winning culture.
“Our goals are generally pretty simple,” Meehan said. “We want to qualify for the Atlantic 10 tournament every year — that gives us a shot to win an A-10 championship. With an A-10 championship, you get a berth to the NCAA Tournament. … One wants to be able to play late into May. You want to have a chance at it all.”
Meehan played attack, at Washington and Lee University in Virginia. As a senior in 2012, he led the team in points (53), assists (23), and was second on the team in goals (30).
When his playing career ended, Meehan says he wanted to combine his love for lacrosse with teaching.
“I think education has always kind of been in my blood,” said Meehan, whose parents are retired teachers. “It just kind of felt right to get into coaching. The game of lacrosse, and team sports in general, has done a lot for me over my lifespan, and I learned a lot in the classroom with sports, and [I] definitely wasn’t ready to be done with athletics.”
He landed at Franklin & Marshall College for three years and oversaw the Diplomats’ offense and picking the brain of head coach Todd Cavallaro, who became a mentor.
After three other coaching stops, Meehan arrived on Hawk Hill in 2019 as an offensive coordinator.
During his first year, Meehan met Giunta, who was the team’s graduate assistant. They lived together for a few months in Manayunk and became close friends.
Giunta left for Fairfield after the 2019 season. He spent six seasons there, until he got that call from Meehan.
“As soon as I got that phone call, it took me a couple of days to really think it over, but it was an easy decision to come back and to join him,” Giunta said. “He’s an awesome friend of mine. I think he’s a great coach.”
Meehan also added Jack Tortolani to his staff as an assistant. Tortolani played five years at Denver, where he made the Final Four in 2024. He initially was hired before Wray left, but Meehan made it one of his first orders of business to officially bring Tortolani aboard.
Jared McMahon, who played at Mount St. Mary’s and spent last year on Michigan’s staff, rounded out Meehan’s staff.
St. Joe’s is two years removed from an NCAA Tournament appearance, after winning the A-10 tournament championship in 2024. Last season, the Hawks finished 9-6 and were eliminated in the first round of the conference tournament by High Point.
“He was here before; he’s not coming in and implementing entirely new systems,” said senior defenseman Liam Quinn, “and trying to reinvent the wheel and create a new team culture. I think Coach Meehan knows exactly what makes our program go and what separates us from other people.”
Joel Embiid with teammates Tyrese Maxey and Paul George.
One factor complicating any deal at the trade deadline was Daryl Morey and the front office considered the team’s core – Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and rookie VJ Edgecombe – “as close to untouchable players as you might have in this league.”
“We really think it’s a very good core,” Morey told reporters Friday. “Obviously we need to prove that on the court, and I think we think lately we have been proving it to a higher level.”
Morey said at the trade deadline, the Sixers were focused on finding a player who could fill in for Paul, who is serving a 25-day suspension for violating the league’s drug policy. But Morey didn’t see any available players that could contribute more than Dominick Barlow has during Paul’s absence.
Sixers were willing to go into the luxury tax, Morey says
The Sixers moved under the luxury tax by trading away Jared McCain and Eric Gordon, but Daryl Morey said that wasn’t the primary reason behind the moves.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Morey said the team would’ve been willing to go above the luxury tax threshold – “We’ve done it several times” – but didn’t see a deal or player that justified the numbers.
“For sure, if we had found a trade and were going to end up higher, we’d have ended up above it,” Morey said.
Despite that, Morey said he understands the perception among fans and even Joel Embiid the team just wanted to save money.
“I hope to defeat it by finding a deal that I can go to ownership and say, ‘We think this move is the right move to do for that and create the apron issues that it would create,’” Morey said. “But I haven’t been able to recommend that move yet.”
Morey defends trading Jared McCain without another deal in place
Daryl Morey was pressed on why the Sixers traded Jared McCain without having another deal in place, rather than waiting until the offseason.
“I am quite confident we were selling high,” Morey told reporters Friday. “Obviously, time will tell.”
Morey said the Sixers weren’t considering trading away McCain until teams approached with “aggressive offers,” and that the draft picks will help the team down the road.
“We thought this return was above the future value for our franchise,” Morey said. “The only higher point would have been during his run last season. But otherwise, we feel like we did time this well.”
“The bottom line is Jared’s a great future bet, and we wish him luck,” Morey added. “We feel like this return sets us up better in the future.”
Sixers tried to improve the roster but ‘nothing materialized,’ Morey says
Speaking to reporters Friday, Daryl Morey, the Sixers’ president of basketball operations, said he understands why fans might be disappointed the team didn’t add any players at the trade deadline.
“I understand the reaction of the fans, but I feel like that comes from folks being excited about this team,” Morey said. “That’s why we had this reaction. And they should be excited.”
Morey said the front office tried to make additions to improve the team using some of the draft picks landed in the Jared McCain trade, but “nothing materialized.”
“I do want folks to know that this team, we think, can make a deep playoff run, as one of the top teams in the East,” Morey said.
Timberwolves re-signing Mike Conley Jr. after trading him: ESPN
Free agent guard Mike Conley Jr. plans to return to the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources tell ESPN. The sides are working on timing of him re-signing. Conley was traded twice this week – to Chicago, then to Charlotte – before being released and allowed to rejoin the Wolves. pic.twitter.com/ht6HVIIqm4
Joel Embiid defends the rim against Deandre Ayton during the Sixers’ loss to the Lakers Thursday.
With three games left before the All-Star break, the Sixers are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, solidly in the playoff picture after missing the postseason last season.
Thursday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers certainly didn’t help, breaking a five-game winning streak. They’ll face the second-place New York Knicks on Wednesday, who added former New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado to their roster at the NBA trade deadline.
Eastern Conference standings
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Upcoming Sixers schedule
Sixers at Suns: Saturday, 9 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia, 97.5 The Fanatic)
Sixers at Trailblazers: Monday, 10 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia, 97.5 The Fanatic)
Knicks at Sixers: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN, 97.5 The Fanatic)
Daryl Morey will speak to reporters Friday following the NBA trade deadline.
Daryl Morey, the Sixers’ president of basketball operations, will speak to reporters Friday afternoon after the team made no additions at the NBA trade deadline, not even to fill in during Paul George’s 25-game suspension.
Morey is scheduled to speak at noon at the Sixers’ training facility in Camden, N.J.
On Thursday, the Sixers traded Eric Gordon to the Memphis Grizzlies in a salary dump. Wednesday they parted ways with Jared McCain, the 2024 No. 16 overall pick. In exchange, team landed a bunch of second-round picks and the Houston Rockets’ 2026 first-round pick.
They did manage to dodge the luxury tax by shedding McCain and Gordon’s salaries.
Joel Embiid carefully comments on Sixers trade deadline moves
Joel Embiid during Thursday night’s loss to the Lakers.
LOS ANGELES — When asked to assess the 76ers’ approach and execution at the trade deadline, Joel Embiid kept his words politically correct.
But his multiple pauses to look to his right at a team public relations staffer observing his postgame media session — not out of nervousness, but as if this was the way he could make his desired point — spoke volumes.
“The only thing I’ll say, I believe in myself,” Embiid said late Thursday, after the Sixers dealt guards Jared McCain and Eric Gordon and did not add any players. “I believe in Tyrese [Maxey]. I believe in everybody in this locker room. But the main thing is I believe in myself.
“So no matter what, we’re going to go out there and compete and still try to win it.”
Those comments came exactly one week after Embiid said publicly that he hoped the Sixers (29-22) would not make moves purely to duck the luxury tax and would instead try to bolster a roster that, after Thursday’s 119-115 loss at the Los Angeles Lakers, sat in sixth place in a crowded Eastern Conference.
“Hopefully, we keep the same team,” Embiid said then. “ … We’ve got a good group of guys in this locker room and the vibes are great. … Hopefully, we think about improving, because we have a chance.”
When those previous comments were referenced to Embiid following Thursday’s game, the standout center coyly quipped, “I don’t remember what I said.”
Sixers fans will have to wait and see after a uninspiring trade deadline.
The shaping of the 76ers took a step backward this week … perhaps just momentarily.
The team moved on from Jared McCain, a fan favorite and 2025 Rookie of the Year front-runner, and seldom-used veteran guard Eric Gordon before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. In return, the Sixers acquired a first-round pick, three second-rounders, and a second-round pick swap.
Shedding those players’ salaries gives the Sixers just over $7.6 million in cap space under the first apron. That means they can sign players on the buyout market in addition to using up to $8 million in a trade exception to acquire a player.
After the deadline, the Sixers signed forward Patrick Baldwin to a 10-day contract and center Charles Bassey to his second 10-day stint, giving the Sixers 14 standard contracts. And 48 minutes before Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the team announced it converted starting power forward Dominick Barlow’s two-way contract to a standard deal.
That enabled Barlow remain active for the remainder of the season.
But for now, they’re not in a good situation.
The buyout market could be key for the Sixers if they don’t sign Baldwin and Bassey for the remainder of the season.
Since then, the Sixers traded away players who were well-liked in the locker room for what on the surface appear to be moves to help them get below the luxury tax threshold.
But it’s still too early to fully judge the moves that were made.
McCain was exceptional in his rookie season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in December 2024. But he struggled with consistency this season, leaving him out of the rotation. Gordon played in only six games, with his last appearance coming Dec. 23 against the Brooklyn Nets.
So these moves were made on the margins and will only be crystalized once we see how they affect the roster this season and what they do with their draft picks in the future.
But in the interim, the Sixers got a little worse over two days while several contenders in the East improved.
Jared McCain, the Sixers’ 2024 first-round pick, was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
Sixers president Daryl Morey is scheduled to meet with the media on Friday, so we’ll have to wait to hear the official defense of the team’s decision to trade 2024 first-round pick Jared McCain to the Thunder for what is most likely to be a low-value first round draft (plus the obligatory smattering of second round picks). We don’t have to wait to judge the optics of the thing.
The optics are poor, and will remain true even if the thing ends up making more sense than we can immediately glean.
The Sixers didn’t trade McCain for a player who is more likely to help them contend for championship, be it this year or beyond. They didn’t trade him for a pick that they then flipped for a player who can help them capitalize on their momentum this season. Everywhere else, teams got better, and many of them did so in ways beyond this season. The Timberwolves can re-sign Ayo Dosunmu. The Pacers can pair Ivica Zubac with Tyrese Haliburton next season. The Sixers can hope that a late first round pick is worth something in June.
A good way to judge the optics of a move is to attempt to write an executive summary of it in as favorable a way as possible. That’s an extraordinarily difficult task, in this case.
The Sixers just traded away a guy who they drafted at No. 16 barely a year-and-a-half ago and who would probably be drafted higher in a redo. In exchange, they received a pick that currently projects as the No. 24 pick in the 2026 draft, three picks later than where the Sixers grabbed Tyrese Maxey six years ago. It is a range of the draft that rarely yields starters, let alone stars. It is a range where the odds say you are more likely to draft a player who never cracks a first-division rotation than one who becomes a meaningful starter.
Just look at the track record. Of the 42 players drafted with the last seven picks of the first round since 2020, only 17 have started more than 17 NBA games. Just eyeballing it, you’d be hard-pressed to identify 10 of those 42 who’ve turned out to be better than the median potential outcome of even this year’s version of McCain. Jaden McDaniels and Desmond Bane are stars. They are followed by Payton Pritchard, Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes and Santi Aldama. Beyond that: Peyton Watson and Cam Thomas, and then Bones Hyland, Day’Ron Sharpe, Nikola Jovic and Kyshawn George. You get the picture.
With the Philly region still covered in snow, it shouldn’t take much imagination to get in the mood for the Winter Olympics, which officially begin Friday across Italy.
NBC will televise the opening ceremony live from San Siro Stadium (slated to be demolished after the Games) in Milan starting Friday at 2 p.m. Philadelphia time. It will also be streamed live via Peacock, NBC’s subscription streaming platform, and on NBCOlympics.com for free with TV provider authentication.
With Mike Tirico in Santa Clara, Calif., to call Super Bowl LX on Sunday, NBC’s broadcast will be hosted by Mary Carillo and Terry Gannon, who will be joined by three‑time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White.
Other venues will also be on display Friday night, with the Parade of Athletes featuring athletes marching from three other locations across Italy: Livigno, Predazzo, and Cortina d’Ampezzo (which has its own Olympic cauldron, a first for the Games). Team USA’s flag bearers will be 2022 speed skating gold medalist Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca.
Greece, where the Olympics originated, will lead the parade. From there it will go alphabetically until the end. The United States, which is hosting the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, will enter third from last (country No. 90, if you’re counting at home), followed by 2030 Winter Olympics host France and this year’s host country, Italy.
The U.S. has the largest group of athletes — 235, including three alternates. Canada is second with 211 athletes, followed by Italy with 195. All told, more than 2,900 athletes are expected to compete in the 2026 Games.
There are also plenty of veterans on Team USA, including four-time Olympian Lindsey Vonn, who will attempt to ski on a ruptured ACL. Other U.S. athletes back to compete in their fifth Olympics are bobsledders Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor, snowboarders Nick Baumgartner and Faye Thelen, figure skater Evan Bates, and hockey player Hilary Knight.
As far as local athletes, there’s South Jersey’s Isabeau Levito, a 18-year-old figure skater looking for gold after winning the silver medal in the 2024 World Figure Skating Championships. Curling team member Taylor Anderson-Heide is a Philly native, speedskater Andrew Heo grew up in Warrington, and Summer Britcher — the all-time singles leader in U.S. luge history — was raised in Glen Rock, Pa., in York County.
There’s also hockey star Sarah Nurse, who plays for Team Canada but also happens to be the niece of former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Ahead of the opening ceremony, some sports have already gotten underway. Curling began Wednesday, while the U.S. women’s hockey team began its quest for gold Thursday with a 5-1 win over Czechia.
Friday’s Olympic TV schedule
As a general rule, our schedules include all live broadcasts on TV, but not tape-delayed broadcasts on cable channels. We’ll let you know what’s on NBC’s broadcasts, whether they’re live or not.
NBC
Noon: Team figure skating — rhythm dance
12:30 p.m.: Team figure skating — pairs short
1 p.m.: Team figure skating — women’s short
2 p.m.: Opening ceremony
8 p.m.: Prime-time replay of opening ceremony
USA Network
7:35 a.m.: Team figure skating — women’s short
8:55 a.m.: Curling mixed doubles — Czechia vs. United States
How to watch the Olympics on TV and stream online
NBC’s TV coverage will have live events from noon to 5 p.m. Philadelphia time on weekdays and starting in the mornings on the weekends. There’s a six-hour time difference from Italy and here. The traditional prime time coverage will have highlights of the day and storytelling features.
As far as the TV channels, the Olympics are airing on NBC, USA, CNBC, and NBCSN. Spanish coverage can be found on Telemundo and Universo.
NBCSN is carrying the Gold Zone whip-around show that was so popular during the Summer Olympics in 2024, with hosts including Scott Hanson of NFL RedZone. It used to be just on Peacock, NBC’s online streaming service, but now is on TV, too.
Every event is available to stream live on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app. You’ll have to log in with your pay-TV provider, whether cable, satellite, or streaming platforms including YouTube TV, FuboTV, and Sling TV.
On Peacock, the events are on the platform’s premium subscription tier, which starts at $10.99 per month or $109.99 per year.
A week ago, Joel Embiid decided to spend a little bit of the organizational capital he reaccrued in recent months. In response to a question about the Sixers’ approach to the upcoming NBA trade deadline, Embiid pointedly expressed his hope that the team would be looking to add talent rather than cut costs.
“Obviously, we’ve been ducking the tax past couple of years, so hopefully, we’ll keep the same team,” Embiid said. “I love all the guys that are here. I think we got a shot.
I don’t know what they’re going to do, but I hope we get a chance to just go out and compete because we’ve got a good group of guys in this locker room. The vibes are great. Like I said, in the past we’ve been, I guess, ducking the tax, so hopefully, we think about improving because I think we have a chance.”
Embiid was surprisingly — some might say ungraciously — candid in noting the Sixers’ recent prioritization of shedding salary at the trade deadline to avoid paying the NBA’s luxury tax (and, thereby, to receive a share of the pooled taxpayer dollars). But he also was prescient, and unfortunately so.
Sixers president Daryl Morey is scheduled to meet with the media on Friday, so we’ll have to wait to hear the official defense of the team’s decision to trade 2024 first-round pick Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for what most likely will be a low-value first-rounder (plus the obligatory smattering of second-round picks). We don’t have to wait to judge the optics of the thing.
The optics are poor, and that will remain true even if the thing ends up making more sense than we can immediately glean. The Sixers didn’t trade McCain for a player who is more likely to help them contend for a championship, be it this year or beyond. They didn’t trade him for a pick that they then flipped for a player who can help them capitalize on their momentum this season. Everywhere else, teams got better, and many of them did so in ways beyond this season. The Minnesota Timberwolves can re-sign Ayo Dosunmu. The Indiana Pacers can pair Ivica Zubac with Tyrese Haliburton next season. The Sixers can hope a late first-round pick is worth something in June.
Jared McCain (right) only played in 60 games with the Sixers after being selected in the first round of the 2024 draft.
A good way to judge the optics of a move is to attempt to write an executive summary of it in as favorable a way as possible. That’s an extraordinarily difficult task in this case. The Sixers just traded away a guy who they drafted at No. 16 barely a year and a half ago and who probably would be drafted higher in a redo. In exchange, they received a pick that currently projects as the No. 23 pick in the 2026 draft, two picks later than where the Sixers grabbed Tyrese Maxey almost six years ago. It is a range of the draft that rarely yields starters, let alone stars. It is a range where the odds say you are more likely to draft a player who never cracks a first-division rotation than one who becomes a meaningful starter.
Just look at the track record. Of the 42 players drafted with the last seven picks of the first round since 2020, only 17 have started more than 17 NBA games. Just eyeballing it, you’d be hard-pressed to identify 10 of those 42 who’ve turned out to be better than the median potential outcome of even this year’s version of McCain. Jaden McDaniels and Desmond Bane are stars. They are followed by Payton Pritchard, Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, and Santi Aldama. Beyond that: Peyton Watson and Cam Thomas, and then Bones Hyland, Day’Ron Sharpe, Nikola Jović, and Kyshawn George. You get the picture.
Risk vs. certainty is the name of the game. The Sixers traded McCain for a first-round pick that will be uncertain, even on draft day. Let alone five months before. Whatever negative certainty they felt about McCain’s mid-to-long-term trajectory, it can’t possibly be greater than the negative uncertainty of a draft-day replacement. Which is why, optically speaking, the move looks like one that was inordinately influenced by the cost-cutting benefits.
The Sixers surely will point to optionality as a variable. On draft day, they will have another opportunity to flip the McCain first-rounder for an established NBA player or include the pick in a package. If that influenced the move, then the bet they are making is that the pick will be more in a draft-day trade than McCain would have been himself. There’s a decent chance that is true, given how far McCain has fallen on the depth chart and how little opportunity he could have to reestablish value.
It just rings a little bit hollow to anybody who has bought into the commendable shift we’ve seen from the Sixers in their roster-building strategy over the last year. And it rings especially hollow when you consider that the team that traded for McCain is one of the best and brightest roster-builders in the modern NBA. As somebody said the other day, when Sam Presti wants one of your guys, it’s a good reason to think a few more thoughts about whether you should want to get rid of him.
Barely a year and a half has passed since the Sixers made McCain the No. 16 pick in the 2024 draft. In that year and a half, we’ve seen McCain:
Play 23 games in which he looked like one of the top five players in the class, forcing his way into the starting lineup and then averaging 19.1 points while shooting 39.7% from three-point range in the 16 games before he suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Play 25 games where he looked like a player working his way back from a broken thumb that he suffered while working his way back from knee surgery.
Play 11 games in a 15-game stretch in which he logged just 132 minutes.
In the Sixers’ defense, they’ve seen much more of McCain than the television cameras capture. Nobody can have a more informed opinion on where he projects within the context of their roster. But it wasn’t long ago that McCain looked like a player who could eventually transcend questions of fit. His ceiling never was close to VJ Edgecombe’s, and his probable reality was always short of Maxey’s. Again, though. The Thunder have a lot of guards. They are built on a two-way mentality. It makes you wonder.
What it comes down to is that the Sixers better be right in their evaluation of McCain. Whatever the marching orders from ownership regarding the luxury tax, there is a level of player even Scrooge McDuck wouldn’t deem an appropriate cost-savings measure. McCain isn’t that player now. The Sixers could be accurate in their judgment of the odds that he ever becomes one. The question is whether they are accurate in their judgment of their risk of being wrong.
