NOTE: This was initially published as part of an unfinished Sixers on Ice post for their annual winter road trip, but with the recent butterfly effect going on that leads to LeBron James, I had to update and republish
August 12, 2020 might be the most important inauspicious day in Sixers history. Yes, the Sixers lost that day in the Bubble to Toronto, but this has nothing to do with them. Of course (duh), we are talking about the day the Oklahoma City Thunder played the Miami Heat and former Sixer Mike Muscala became a legend.1
Flash back to November 1, 2016. The Thunder traded a future 2020 1st round pick to the Sixers along with Ersan Ilyasova for Jerami Grant. The next offseason, dingus Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo traded that pick along with a 2020 2nd round pick to the Orlando Magic in order to draft Euro-Nobody Anzejs Pasecniks who would never play a minute for the Sixers. Orlando then traded the pick back to the Sixers with Jonathan Simmons and a 2019 2nd for sad-boy Markelle Fultz.
One thing I forgot to mention, the original pick was Top 20 protected in 2020 and would become 2nd round picks in 2022 and 2023 if it did not convey. When the Sixers originally made the Jerami Grant trade, this was still the Russell Westbrook Thunder we were talking about and a year before they would acquire Paul George. By the time the Sixers got the pick back though, the Thunder had traded George for pre-MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and were not expected to be very good. We assumed we had received basically nothing for former #1 pick Fultz.
Strange thing happened before the Bubble though, the Thunder were pretty good. Not great, but good enough to keep us all interested. By the time the team got to the Disney complex, they were in contention for a playoff spot. Entering the second to last game of the season, they were 43-27, good for the 21st best record in the NBA a half game behind the Heat and pretty damn close to a pack within a game including the Pacers, Jazz, and Sixers. A win for the Thunder meant the Sixers would get the pick. The funny thing is, the Thunder and Heat had already clinched the playoffs at this point. The game essentially meant nothing.
The meaningless game came down to the end with the Heat up 3 late in the 4th quarter. Then Mike Muscala happened. He hit a 3 to tie the game, the Heat got a 2, then he hit another 3 with 5 seconds left to win it. When the season ended, the Heat had the 20th worst record while the Thunder had the 21st. Miraculously, the pick would go to the Sixers.
Big fucking deal, right? So, we get the 21st pick, that’s not even that valuable. This was the Anthony Edwards draft. He went #1, LaMelo Ball went #3, and the Golden State Warriors selected James Wiseman at #2. Damn. Tyrese Haliburton went #12. The Sixers originally had the #19 pick, but lost it in the Tobias Harris trade. The Nets selected Villanova SF Saddiq Bey. At #20, the Heat went with Precious Achiuwa. Five point guards were already selected by the time the Sixers were on the clock.
Well, this being the Bubble year, remember that the NCAA tournament was cancelled due to Covid. This meant college players did not get the national stage to showcase their talents and big game chops. The Kentucky Wildcats that season went 25-6 and were led by sophomore Immanuel Quickley. They also had small freshman guard Tyrese Maxey who averaged an unassuming 14 and 3 that season on .292 3 point shooting. Despite the stats, the Sixers took him anyway. Our hopes were not high.
Well, we were all REALLY wrong. The word has always been that if he had played in the tournament, everyone would have seen how good he really was and would have never been available. If there is anything selfishly good to come from Covid, it was this…and of course Mike Muscala. Maxey is now nearly an MVP candidate, elite 3-point shooter, and, maybe most importantly, represented by Klutch.
Let’s talk about that last part. This offseason, the Celtics flirted with trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo. While they were more than willing to part with former Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, they did not want to give up Hugo Gonzalez. This caused discontent with Brown and eventually his trade to the Sixers on a discount for Paul George. Now with George gone and Brown in the mix it was time for our Klutch guy Maxey to do some recruiting of his agency mate, LeBron James. Now here we are.
Thank you Mike Muscala. I don’t even want to think about where the Sixers would be without you.
- I didn’t know how to fit in Muscala’s journey from the Sixers to the Thunder. In 2017 he signed a free agent contract with the Hawks. They traded him to the Sixers in 2018 as part of a big deal that sent Justin Anderson to the Hawks and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to the Thunder. The Sixers then sent him to the Clippers as part of the Tobias Harris trade. The Clippers then sent him to the Lakers for Michael Beasley and Ivica Zubac. They let him go at the end of the year and he signed with the Tunder. ↩︎
Philly front office 
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