In order to get Harden, the 76ers gave away a lot of chips, in addition to Simmons, there are also little Curry and others. However, with so much leverage, the 76ers were reluctant to send Maxi to the Nets. In fact, 76ers and many teams have discussed a deal about Simmons, many teams hope that the 76ers will send Maxi, it is because the 76ers are unwilling, so the transaction has not happened, even if the final discussion with the Nets, 76 people are not willing to let go, which shows how much the 76ers attach importance to Maxi. And now the 76ers are undoubtedly the right bet, Maxi is now playing better and better, and harden's chemistry is also very good.
Maxi is just a player with the 21st pick in the first round, and the draft pick is not very high, so is there anything wrong with him? In the first season, Maxie averaged only 8 points, 1.7 boards and 2 assists per game, which was indeed mediocre, just the little brothers around Simmons and Embiid. But this season he has ushered in a transformation, averaging only 17.6 points, 3.6 boards and 4.5 assists per game, averaging 42.3% of three-point shooting per game and 48.3% of overall shooting. Such scoring efficiency can be said to be very high, if you give Maxi more ball, I believe he can even average more than 25 points per game, which is already a quasi-star data.
Especially after Harden joined, Maxi played better. Now Harden plays very selflessly, often feeding the team pie, as long as you are active and have strong finishing ability, you can have a lot of opportunities. And Maxie did it, against the Timberwolves, he got 28 points, 4 steals, 12 of 16 shooting, against the Knicks, he was able to get 25 points, 7 of 12, against the Cavaliers, he had 33 points and 5 assists, 10 of 15 shooting. In the few games with Harden, Maxi can basically get more than 20 points per game, such a performance, as if it is already the "third big" of the 76ers.
After watching Maxi's performance, I can understand why the 76ers are reluctant to change to the Nets, they are really betting right. The attitude of the 76ers at that time was obvious, Embiid and Maxi could send them away, and everyone else could communicate and directly put Maxi on the level of Embiid. In fact, Maxi also deserves to be treated like this by the 76ers, although he is not in high draft picks, but he is very capable, and has a positive attitude, and his playing style is also very suitable for Harden, when he and Harden play together, the 76ers' offensive efficiency is very high, and Maxi has become a perfect match for Harden.
Maxie is more suitable for Harden than Irving, although Maxi's personal ability is not as good as Owen's, but Maxie can play without the ball, actively run position, play selflessly, and will not blindly attack himself. You say he's a role player, he has super scoring ability, you say he's a star, but he's actively running and doing a lot of role player work. These are undoubtedly Owen's reluctance to do, Maxi is still young, many things he is willing to do, and do a good job, play will not be a big card, eat cake around Harden, such an attitude is the most suitable for Harden!
So you can also see that after Harden came to the 76ers, personal data also looked a lot better, not only the score rose, even the assists are also rising, and it is easier to take a triple-double. Now Maxi has also played a value, to know that this is only Maxi's second season, personal data and last season directly doubled more than doubled, can impact the fastest improving players. By next season, Maxi even has a chance to average more than 20 points per game, and has clearly become the third big man of the 76ers. By the end of his contract year, the 76ers could prepare a big contract.