As Mike Gansey left Saturday’s Sixers Blue x White Scrimmage, fans gathered alongside the fence greeted him with a big cheer.
The Sixers’ new general manager made a massive splash in his first summer in charge, swinging a trade for Jaylen Brown and following it up by signing LeBron James.
On Saturday, fans finally got their first look at this year’s squad, but for Gansey, it’s been a few days of watching the star-studded team he assembled face one another in camp.
“I’ve been in a lot of training camps, and at least like the first four or five days, the intensity, I mean, LeBron’s diving on the loose floor for balls,” Gansey said. “He’s 41 years old. It’s just stuff like that, like he’s really set the tone, and everyone’s been doing the same.”
Even with all the new faces, the Sixers are still relying on their long-time veterans, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. Gansey said back in Cleveland, he referred to Maxey as the “Cavs killer,” and since coming to Philadelphia, he’s seen Maxey develop both as a player and as a leader.
“[He] and Joel are like the elder statesmen here with the team,” Gansey said. “With Jaylen, LeBron and all the other new guys in here, I think he’s trying to take on a vocal leadership role with our group because, you know, the talent, the skill level, I mean, some of the stuff he does in practice, it’s like ‘Whoa,’ you know, like, ‘I’ve never seen that before.’”
Gansey also provided insight into the future of first-round pick Labaron Philon Jr., who, after the Sixers’ big summer, has a much tougher road to significant playing time. That doesn’t mean he’s not factored into the Sixers’ long-term plans.
Philon started on the White Team, defending against the Sixers’ ideal starting lineup with James, Embiid, Maxey, Edgecombe, and Brown. He stayed aggressive on defense and hit a few tough contested baskets.
“Being a point guard in this league, I think that’s the hardest position for a rookie to come in, and it’s going to take some time,” Gansey said. “But he’s a worker.”
The big story of the scrimmage, though, was seeing that starting five all on the floor together. The Sixers have a lot of skill and personality in the locker room. They’re counting on that high level of skill to win a lot of games, but as this team knows from past experiences, it takes more than talent to win games.
But based on what Gansey has seen so far during training camp, he’s confident the Sixers will figure it out. They’re not starting from zero, given James and Embiid’s experience at the Olympics, and Maxey and James’ time as training partners.
“We have so many good veterans that they’re just kind of figuring it out,” Gansey said. “Like, there’s been a lot of scrimmages we’ve had where we don’t even have to run a play. They just kind of figure it out, and I think that’s what it’s really going to be moving forward. Practice is obviously important this week, and then obviously when the games start, we’ll try to figure it out.”
