76ers are getting closer to answering the question that will determine their future

The Philadelphia 76ers have one of the best and most complete backcourt rotations in the NBA. Between Tyrese Maxey, who played as a Most Valuable Player candidate; VJ Edgecombe, who is in the running for the Rookie of the Year award; Quentin Grimes, who has been arguably the best sixth man in the league thus far; and Jared McCain, who just returned from injury, the backcourt is probably the least of this team’s problems.

Almost out of necessity, the 76ers have moved away from their previous dynamic where their scoring attack revolved around the individual brilliance and sheer dominance of Joel Embiid. However, their heavy design, while incredibly promising, also leaves a lot of room for potential overlaps. Can this group of talented guards co-exist? That’s the question that will soon be about the franchise.

Of the four, Grimes is likely the one the team will feel more comfortable parting with, largely due to the fact that his contract could be too expensive for their spending power. As such, the 76ers should already be imagining whether their troika of Maxey, Edgecombe and McCain can be a sustainable core of players who can actually play together.

The 76ers will soon find out if their talented guards can co-exist

Staggering players with similar skill sets is often the easiest solution to reduce potential overlaps and logjams, but the 76ers can’t simply rely on such an on-field mechanism to dictate their maneuvers going forward.

Maxey, now cemented as the franchise playerhad already signed a max contract last year, while Edgecombe will most likely reach the point where he will command significant money as well. McCain, if his return to form materializes, should also be on the same track as his upstart counterpart.

Now, the 76ers don’t have the luxury of a flexible financial role. Since they are hosting a few other albatross deals, they will most likely reach a point where concessions need to be made, and the possibility of them parting ways prematurely with one of Edgecombe and McCain is legitimate unless they find a way to call off those massive deals.

That’s why it’s vital that the 76ers enjoy what they’ll get from their triumvirate of talented backcourts when they play together. After all, if they can’t coexist on the floor, that would provide some level of justification for the front office to find a more affordable option to replace one.

So far, Nick Nurse hasn’t really given these three a chance to be on the floor together. However, once McCain is starting to fully get his mojo backhe should see some lineup combinations where he plays alongside Maxey and Edgecombe. That would finally allow the front office to see what the team has and whether they can ultimately afford to let any of them go, as unwise as that sounds given their financial climate.