Inside Sixers: Why Tyrese Maxey believes ‘anybody can get traded’ at the deadline, and a final Reggie Jackson lesson

As Andre Drummond left the 76ers’ locker room late Wednesday, he dapped up the attendants responsible for gathering laundry and other duties. Ricky Council IV, meanwhile, shook hands with teammates still at their stalls on his way out.

Those gestures are common as players depart following a game. But they held a little more weight this night, given the looming trade deadline that had already seen a flurry of big-time moves. On Wednesday night alone, Jimmy Butler was dealt to the Golden State Warriors during the Sixers’ matchup against the Miami Heat, while the Toronto Raptors acquired Brandon Ingram during Paul George’s postgame news conference.

“For who?!” the Sixers’ star wing asked the group when notified as he stepped off the podium.

Thursday, though, was relatively quiet for the Sixers and league-wide.

The Sixers’ only (not-previously-reported) move was sending veteran reserve guard Reggie Jackson and a first-round draft pick to the Washington Wizards for young swingman Jared Butler and four future second-round draft picks. That deal came after the Sixers on Tuesday traded versatile forward Caleb Martin to the Dallas Mavericks for young guard Quentin Grimes and a second-round pick, and on Wednesday had agreed to send athletic forward KJ Martin and two second-round picks to the Detroit Pistons (Martin was then rerouted to the Utah Jazz) in a salary dump.

» READ MORE: Caleb Martin was traded to Dallas — and he didn’t even have to leave the building

Like much from this season that began with championship aspirations but has descended into a 20-30 disappointment, this transaction window did not become an opportunity for the Sixers to sharpen the roster for a playoff push. Instead, they got under the luxury tax line and added some younger talent.

Still, coach Nick Nurse believed Thursday would be “a little bit strange” for the Sixers. Because they were coming off back-to-back home games agains the Mavericks and Heat, they did not formally gather at the facility for a practice or film session and instead met at the plane to fly to Detroit for Friday’s game at the Pistons.

“I’ll probably be checking in with Daryl [Morey] and Elton [Brand] as the day goes on to see what’s going on,” Nurse said following Wednesday’s game. “Watching that news, like you guys.”

Star guard Tyrese Maxey added that he was “definitely going to check” his phone throughout Thursday and would “probably get a few texts from Jo [Embiid], him checking as well.” George, meanwhile, said the trade deadline made him “sad” earlier in his career, when he was “naive to the league and what the business was, and wet behind the ears thinking that these guys are my teammates forever.”

Now? “If I’m traded, I’m traded,” said George, whom the Inquirer reported earlier this week had drawn interest from multiple teams leading into the deadline.

“There’s nothing I can do about it, so I don’t put too much towards that,” George said. “But at the same time, who doesn’t like a little drama to see what’s going on around the league?”

Those two stars, along with Drummond and Council, remained Sixers on Thursday afternoon. Here are some additional notes and nuggets from being around the team leading into the deadline.

Even after a slew of other significant moves, the NBA ecosystem is still reeling from the shocking Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade. And it reminded Maxey that, “if Luka gets traded at 25 [years old], anybody can get traded, right?”

“As soon as I stepped in the league, after like Game 10, I was in trade talks,” Maxey said following the Sixers’ loss to the Heat Wednesday night.

That was primarily earlier in Maxey’s career, when he was viewed as a promising young talent and not an All-Star-level player capable of ripping off seven consecutive 30-point games. Still, Maxey stressed the importance that “you’ve just got to go out there and do your job” and cannot worry about the potential to be dealt.

“Cherish the moments that you have with each organization,” Maxey said. “Don’t burn any bridges. Be a good person. Make sure you speak to everybody. Those things mean a lot. People notice those things. You never know what could happen, and you never know where you could end up.”

George — who was once involved in his own stunning late-night trade, when he went from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Los Angeles Clippers to team up with Kawhi Leonard in the summer of 2019 — also called the Doncic-Davis move “insanity.”

“When you look at it, holistically, I think it’s a win-win on both sides,” George said. “But [that] doesn’t make it … that was a crazy deal that went down.”

The night prior, Embiid joked that he was aggressive early in his return game from a month-long absence due to foot and knee issues because “I was scared of getting traded.” That, of course, was impossible this season because of the max contract extension he signed in September.

When Adem Bona walked into the locker room Tuesday evening, he was taken aback when he noticed Caleb Martin’s nameplate and jersey had already been switched out for Grimes’.

“That was fast,” the rookie thought to himself.

Martin had a unique spot within the lockers’ configuration, placed in between rookies Bona and Justin Edwards who have recently been thrust into key rotation roles. Martin said Monday that he enjoyed seeing how they would joke and chat across him “like brothers” — while also peppering Martin with thoughtful questions.

“They’re very receptive,” Martin said following what turned out to be his final practice as a Sixer on Monday. “ … I’m just really happy [that] those guys are playing well.”

» READ MORE: On Luka Dončić, Joel Embiid, and a wild start to the NBA trade deadline

Bona said he sent Martin an “I appreciate you” text after Tuesday’s deal went down. Next, he will work to quickly build a new connection with Grimes, who will sit to his left for the remainder of the season.

It is all part of Bona’s first dose of the trade deadline’s reality.

“It’s kind of weird, coming from college,” he told The Inquirer. “Your teammates are your teammates through the end of the year, and then you get new freshmen. But now it’s like, boom, he’s gone mid-practice or mid-game.”

The Jackson trade Thursday means that the recently formed “Unc” backcourt with him and Kyle Lowry is no more.

Jackson, a late free-agency addition last summer, never gained traction as a consistent rotation player in Philly. But he had found some synergy in the reserve backcourt alongside fellow 30-something Lowry, sometimes even sharing the floor with Maxey in a three-guard lineup. Jackson scored 10 points and made all four of his shot attempts in Wednesday’s loss to the Heat.

“As Reggie would say, just old guys that are trying to make sure these young guys are successful,” Lowry said last week of the tandem with Jackson. “Honestly, we just go out there and try to play good team basketball.”

At past stops, Jackson has been an instant-offense scorer and respected locker-room presence. Late Wednesday, he spent extra time with Bona, demonstrating how he wanted the rookie big man to set screens.

“Reggie does that a lot,” Bona said when asked about the exchange. “He was like, ‘We know you’re playing really fast. You can get out of the screen quick. Sometimes, you have to hold the screen to gain an advantage to be run down to the paint faster.’”

The Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers were teams for Sixers followers to track at the deadline, because of their positions in the standings. The Sixers entered Thursday 2 1/2 games behind ninth-place Atlanta. If the Sixers are able to slide into the 9-10 play-in game by the end of the regular season, then win twice to earn the eighth seed, their first-round matchup would likely be against Cleveland.

How about those squads reportedly pulling off a trade involving Philly native De’Andre Hunter, and former Sixers fan favorite Georges Niang?

Per ESPN, Hunter will join a Cavaliers team that holds the top spot in the Eastern Conference, but could use a bigger wing to defend players such as the Boston Celtics’ stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in a hypothetical playoff matchup.

» READ MORE: Despite roster changes amid NBA trade deadline, the Sixers still have an important area to address

The Hawks, who are reeling after Jalen Johnson’s breakout season was derailed by a season-ending shoulder injury, receive the sharpshooting Niang along with Caris Levert, three second-round draft picks, and two pick swaps. The move also reunites Niang with Quin Snyder, who coached him in Utah.

The Hawks were the NBA’s most active team Thursday. They also reportedly traded Bogdan Bogdanovic and three second-round draft picks to the Los Angeles Clippers for Bones Hyland (a Wilmington native) and Terance Mann. And they reportedly sent Cody Zeller and a second-round pick to the Houston Rockets. Those moves came after The Inquirer reported earlier in the week that Atlanta had expressed interest in George.

The Chicago Bulls, who entered Thursday a game up on the Sixers for 10th place in the East standings, were also worth monitoring.

They (finally) traded star guard Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, as part of the blockbuster deal that also sent De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs. But the Bulls kept Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, and Lonzo Ball, who on Wednesday night agreed to a contract extension.