The sky collapsed and the start! The 76ers in the new season, the worst situation is to rebuild?

As we all know, the new NBA season is coming soon.

However, just as the preseason race was about to start, bad news came from the 76ers, and it was not one.

First of all, McCain. According to Shams's report, McCain recently suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (UCL) in his right hand during training. He will undergo surgery and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks and will definitely not be able to catch up with the start of the regular season.

McCain was the 16th pick in the first round last year. Although he was not even a lottery pick, his performance was one of the best rookies last year. He averaged 25.7 minutes per game, scored 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists, with a shooting percentage of 46.0%/38.3%/87.5% in three events, and a real shooting percentage of 58.9%.

It is a bit regrettable that McCain only played 23 games last season due to the meniscus tearing of his left knee, but his potential is tangible. In the 15 games before the injury, he averaged 20 points per game, with a three-point shooting percentage of 39.5%, and once had 20+ games in a row. If he was not injured, McCain would probably be the best rookie last year.

Last year's 76ers' performance can be described as a very failure due to large-scale injuries, but McCain's existence has given fans some surprises. I thought that McCain, who was in the second grade, could continue to perform in the new season, but the preseason did not start and he fell down first, hoping that his finger injury would not have too much impact on McCain who was good at shooting.

Next is Grimes. In a deal last year, the 76ers sent Caleb Martin away, got Grimes and a second round pick, and then Grimes became another gain for the 76ers in addition to McCain:

-Before the deal, Grimes averaged 10.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in the Mavericks, with a real shooting percentage of 59.9%

-Trade Later, Grimes averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in the 76ers, with a real shooting percentage of 59.2%

- After March, Grimes averaged 25.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, with a real shooting percentage of 59.6%

Due to his outstanding performance, Grimes naturally wanted to get a satisfactory contract this summer, but the Sixers did not seem to think so. According to a report by a US reporter, the asking price/quotation gap between Grimes and the 76ers is very large. Grimes wants a contract with an annual salary of 20 million to 25 million, while the 76ers' first official offer is only 39 million in four years.

Objectively speaking, the 76ers at the end of the season are already in the bad stage, so Grimes' data does need to be discounted, but this does not deny that he is a deputy attacker with good 3D attributes, with 39 million in four years. According to Grimes' agent, the 76ers have no intention of talking seriously at all, they are just playing with Grimes' future.

The latest news is that Grimes may sign a one-year qualification offer. If this is the case, then the 76ers will most likely lose him next summer. After all, Embiid, Paul George and Maxi have three maximum salaries in the team, and in the new season, there is no guarantee that Grimes is willing to devote himself to the game.

Last and most importantly, Embiid's state.

At the previous press conference of 76ers, Embiid answered this: "There is no specific time to return for the time being. The key is to ensure that every link is foolproof. My goal is to maintain a stable appearance and avoid repeating the same mistakes." - A brief translation for everyone is that the start of the new season may not be possible.

Shin then Shams talked about the 76ers and Embiid on the show: "As far as I know, even the 76ers don't know when Embiid can play and when he can't play. The locker room and coaching staff have accumulated frustration about Embiid's attendance issues, which has caused some confusion within the team."

McCain is excellent, and Grimes is also surprised, but objectively speaking, Embiid is the upper limit of this team. Embiid in 2023 is the MVP, and Embiid in 2024 is an average of 34.7 points before being injured. However, last season, Embiid averaged only 23.8 points per game, and his true shooting percentage also dropped from 64.4% the previous year to 58.0%.

Interestingly, in ESPN's top 100 players list, Embiid's name only appeared in 47th place, and even Jarret Allen (45), Randall (42), Anunobi (41), Zubac (36) and others are higher than him, which shows that the media is very optimistic about Embiid's comeback performance.

Another very important point is that Embiid's remaining four-year salary is 55.22 million, 59.54 million, 64.3 million, and 69.07 million respectively. 76ers chose to renew his contract with him two years in advance in 2024. There is a very big risk at present - don't forget that in the same summer, 76ers also gave George a four-year maximum salary of 212 million yuan. This contract is currently a trend of becoming a premium contract.

In short, the 76ers in the new season will face many problems at the beginning. Ideally, McCain will make a healthy comeback, Grimes will renew his contract successfully, Embiid will return to the MVP level, George rebounds, and Maxi will continue to have the All-Star level, so the 76ers may be the biggest dark horse in the East.

However, another possibility is: McCain's finger injury affected the shooting, Grimes's qualification bid returns, Embiid and Paul George fell permanently, so in this way, the new season's Sixers are likely to continue to disappoint.

The worst case scenario, the 76ers may directly rebuild around Maxi, McCain, and Tanhua VJ (the 76ers' draft picks are basically in their own hands and have the capital to rebuild). Believe in the process? Maybe it's coming to an end.