76ers shaking up roster with shooters via draft, trade

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Sources confirm to 6abc that the Sixers agree to a one year deal with eight-time All-Star Center Dwight Howard.

Howard spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won the 2020 NBA Championship.

He also played in Houston, for now, Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey.

Morey wasted no time shaking up the Sixers. Al Horford and Josh Richardson are traded away for Seth Curry and Danny Green and the new Sixers president drafted Tyrese Maxey and Isaiah Joe with their top two picks.

The theme: adding shooters around their stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

"When Joel and Ben have had that, it's actually insane how good those lineups and how good those teams played," said 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey.

A top building block is their top pick. Maxey is a freshman shooter from Kentucky who got emotional Wednesday night when the Sixers took him at 21st overall because he says his parents sacrificed so much to make his dream come true. Now he's dreaming big in Philadelphia.

"It's an amazing situation for myself. I was talking to my parents about how I feel like I can make an immediate impact on a contending team," Maxey tells Jeff Skversky.

Maxey is already familiar with one of his teammates, Ben Simmons. They have the same agent, Klutch Sports, and Maxey and Simmons worked out together in Los Angeles this off-season.

Maxey is living up to the motto on the t-shirt he wore to his press conference Thursday: "Fall in love with the process."

"My uncle gave me this shirt in high school and it just stuck with me. The way I work, getting up at 6 a.m," he said.

Now, Maxey is a part of the process, as the Sixers shoot for their first championship since 1983.

Maxey says the Sixers will not regret giving him a shot. As a freshman at the University of Kentucky, he averaged a team-high 19.0 points per game while shooting 43.4% from the field and 37.0% from 3 vs Ranked Top 25 teams.

"He is going to do great in (the NBA) because there's nothing he can't do. He can handle the ball, he can shoot, he has got great athleticism and he really defended as the season went on," said Kentucky coach John Calipari.

Sixers 2nd round pick Isaiah Joe from the University of Arkansas says he can compliment Simmons and Embiid as well, as Sixers are stressing the need for shooters.