We’re in the holiday spirit at Sixers On SI, so we gathered Monday to come up with a Christmas wish list for every Sixers player. You can listen to the full episode here, but we’ve transcribed our selections below.

Joel Embiid

Austin: Higher three-point shooting efficiency

Bryan: New knees

Bryan’s choice is self-explanatory. As for Austin’s, Embiid is quietly shooting a career-worst 24.1 percent from deep. He needs to become far more efficient to keep defenders honest.

Tyrese Maxey

Austin: Jared McCain finding his three-point shot

Bryan: An amnesty clause

If McCain rediscovers his rookie-year form, he’d help space the floor and give Maxey more room to operate. He also might be able to buy Maxey a few more minutes of rest each game.

Bryan’s choice is more Grinchy, but here’s the real question: If the Sixers only had one amnesty clause, which of Embiid or Paul George would they use it on?

Paul George

Austin: More off-ball screens

Bryan: A time machine

PG has shown flashes of his star upside in recent games, but Austin would like to see the Sixers run more plays specifically designed to get him open shots.

Bryan’s has multiple meanings: George could use a time machine to go back to the late 2010s, when he was smack dab in the MVP race, or he could use it to go back to July 2024. Knowing what he knows now, would he still sign with the Sixers again?

VJ Edgecombe

Austin: Better finishing at the rim, tighter handle, correct pronunciation of his last name

Bryan: Better finishing at the rim

Unsurprisingly, both Austin and Bryan highlighted Edgecombe’s finishing at the rim as the main area that he needs to improve upon. If Santa brings him a tighter handle and some Allen Iverson-esque finishes, he’ll be an All-Star by next year.

Kelly Oubre Jr.

Austin: Recovers his legs quickly when he comes back

Bryan: Playmaking chops

Oubre is a dynamic scorer and even flashed some upside as a rebounder early on this season, but he’s still not a great playmaker for others. If he added that to his game, Bryan believes he’d go from a salary in the mid-level-exception range to $20-plus million annually.

Since Oubre is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, Austin just hopes that he gets his legs back under him quickly when he returns from his LCL injury.

Quentin Grimes

Austin: Shooting consistency

Bryan: Better shot selection

These arguably go hand-in-hand. Grimes shoots the lights out some nights but goes brick-laying in other games. Cutting out some of his step-backs and long two-pointers could go a long way toward earning him a hefty paycheck this summer.

Andre Drummond

Austin: A green light from deep

Bryan: Better defensive acumen

Nick Nurse is letting Drummond occasionally attempt three-pointers, which Austin believes is key to keeping him bought in. He shouldn’t start bombing away from deep like he’s Steph Curry, but Austin hopes he keeps his green light situationally.

Adding that shot could help Drummond earn more money in free agency this offseason, but he’s still a potential defensive liability. If he became less of a target on that end of the floor, he might go from earning less than the taxpayer MLE to an eight-figure annual salary.

Jared McCain

Austin: More minutes

Bryan: Quentin Grimes signs elsewhere

These two go hand-in-hand as well. Austin wants McCain not to get lost in the Sixers’ backcourt shuffle behind Maxey, Edgecombe and Grimes so he can regain the rhythm he found before he got hurt last year. One way to solve that problem? Hoping Grimes leaves the Sixers and signs elsewhere this offseason, as Bryan noted.

Dominick Barlow

Austin: Sixers don’t trade for a PF

Bryan: Better three-point efficiency

As Austin noted Monday, Barlow has found a creative way to take advantage of defenders largely daring him to shoot from deep. But if he went from shooting 25.0 percent to the mid-to-high 30s from distance, Bryan believes that could help him secure his long-term NBA future.  

In the meantime, Austin thinks Barlow should hope that the Sixers don’t trade for a power forward—such as a reunion with Guerschon Yabusele?—since he’s been taking advantage of their dearth of reliable options at that spot.

Jabari Walker

Austin: More open corner threes

Bryan: An Eric Gordon salary dump

Walker is shooting only 29.3 percent from deep this year, but he was at nearly 39 percent last year with the Portland Trail Blazers. Austin would like to see him get more open corner three-point attempts to boost that percentage up.

Meanwhile, Bryan believes Walker should be rooting for an Eric Gordon salary dump so the Sixers have two open roster spots—enough to convert both him and Barlow from two-way deals to standard contracts.

Trendon Watford

Austin: One month of health

Bryan: No more injuries

This one was easy. Watford just hasn’t been able to stay healthy this year, although he has impressed whenever he’s on the floor. The Sixers have a $2.8 million club option on him for next year, so he’ll need to get back on the court to convince them to pick that up.

Adem Bona

Austin: Better hands

Bryan: The NBA to allow 10 fouls like it does in summer league

Fouls remain one of Bona’s main concerns, but if the NBA changed to summer league rules where players don’t foul out until they get 10 fouls, problem solved! Since that isn’t happening anytime soon, better hands for both fouling and rebounding could go a long way for him.

Justin Edwards

Austin: Staying in front of guys

Bryan: More confidence

If Edwards could become more of a lockdown defender, that would help him stay on the floor even if his shooting struggles continue. Bryan wants him to gain more confidence in general to help him get back to the form he showed last season.

Eric Gordon

Austin: Better body language coach

Bryan: A financial adviser who doesn’t try to scam him on some crypto nonsense

Gordon might not be Bench Mob material, if his body language is any indication. But since he’s in the twilight of his career, Bryan just hopes he finds a financial adviser who doesn’t bankrupt him one day by convincing him to invest in the next NFT-esque trend. Leave the Bored Apes to Tobias Harris.

Kyle Lowry

Austin: Play a game in the throwback uniforms

Bryan: The NBA to allow player-coaches

Lowry seemed fired up about the Iverson-era uniforms this season, so Austin hopes he gets to appear in at least one game with those. Bryan would like to see the NBA go back to allowing player-coaches so Lowry could still have a role on the team without taking up a valuable roster spot that could otherwise go to Barlow or Walker.

Johni Broome

Austin: Aptitude as a shooter

Bryan: To grow 2-3 inches

Broome is shooting only 26.4 percent from three-point range in the G League. That’s not going to help him stick in the NBA. You know what could? If he went from being 6’10” to an actual 7-footer.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

Follow Bryan on Bluesky.