After acquiring Buddy Hield and Cameron Payne at the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline and signing Kyle Lowry off the buyout market shortly thereafter, the Sixers suddenly had a glut of playable guards heading into the All-Star break. Those three were set to join first-time All-Star Tyrese Maxey and De’Anthony Melton to round out the Sixers’ backcourt.
However, Melton recently missed a month of action with a back injury, and he left Tuesday’s loss to the Boston Celtics because of the same injury. After the game, head coach Nick Nurse told reporters that he was concerned about Melton’s status moving forward.