Sixers' Tyrese Maxey Kept in Touch With Ben Simmons, Danny Green During Offseason

Several members of the Philadelphia 76ers' roster appeared on the floor on Monday for their first matchup of the NBA Summer League. Second-year guard Tyrese Maxey, who made his Summer League debut after his unusual rookie season, led the Sixers to victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

In 25 minutes of action, Maxey established himself as one of the best players on the floor. As he drained 53-percent of his shots from the field, collecting a team-high of 21 points, Maxey picked up right where he left off last season.

During his exit interview back in June, Maxey mentioned he'd be right back in the gym after taking a few days off. As he wanted to get "one percent better" each and every day, Maxey was motivated to keep up the momentum before entering year two.

As the soon-to-be second-year guard embarked on his first "normal" NBA offseason, some of the Sixers' key players kept in touch with the young point guard throughout the summer. Following his impressive performance on Monday afternoon in Vegas, Maxey revealed the three players he talked to quite often during the offseason.

Matisse Thybulle, Danny Green, and surprisingly, Ben Simmons.

"Those are great vets," Maxey said Monday. "They talk to me all the time. I literally just talked to 'Tisse and congratulated him. Ben, I talk to him all the time. Danny Green texted us before the game and was just telling us to go out there, go hard, and compete."

Maxey and Thybulle communicating during the offseason is far from shocking. Considering they are both young, budding standouts on the Sixers, it comes as no surprise they've grown close over the past season.

As for Danny Green, he's been a huge supporter of Philly's young prospects since joining the team last season. As the Sixers' G League affiliate the Delaware Blue Coats made it to the G League Championship last year, Green made sure to motivate the developmental squad heading into their big game.

Knowing Green went out of his way to text the Sixers' young squad ahead of their Summer League debut is more expected than surprising. The only shocking detail Maxey threw out there was that he talks to Ben Simmons all the time.

As Simmons has been painted as a disgruntled star who has cut off all communication with the Sixers' organization and their star center Joel Embiid, many assumed nobody has talked to the three-time All-Star since Philly's Game 7 loss against the Hawks.

But according to Maxey, that's not the case. As surprising as it seems, Simmons and Maxey communicating all the time shouldn't shock many. 

Not only do the two young standouts share the same agent, but they both workout with the same trainer. As Maxey has split time back and forth with the Sixers' Summer League squad and his personal training team, it's far from surprising to know that he had communication with Simmons this offseason. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.