The Philadelphia 76ers are another team that enters directly into the select group of franchises whose health has changed the course of the season. They say goodbye in the first round, after losing in six against the Knicks in a series where Joel Embiid arrived physically depleted and New York ended up being better.
Year One of the Nick Nurse Project Ends Earlybut there is material to think that these Sixers can continue competing.
The good thing is that of all the great teams eliminated (Lakers, Suns, Bucks, Heat…), The Sixers are the only ones who have their finances up to date. They are not tied by salary, they have financial flexibility and could give a blow in this off-season.
What’s more, they present themselves with the option of being able to sign a free agent in the summer. They are the team in the entire NBA that has the least money guaranteed for players next year, with only about $63.2 million. They could have almost $64 million in cap space, although it is projected to be around $55.5 million. Enough to sign a star to pair with Joel Embiidand subsequently renew a Tyrese Maxey who will be a restricted free agent in the summer.
Philadelphia 76ers contracts, free agents and assets for 2024-25
The Sixers have been thinking about the month of July 2024 for years. Because when the season officially ends, Philadelphia will only have four players under contract; and only Embiid with a guaranteed contract. The Cameroonian, with ~$150 million pending in the coming years, is the only guarantee on the list. The most curious case is Paul Reed, who has a salary of $7.7 million, but it was guaranteed if the Sixers won the first round of the playoffs, something that evidently has not happened.
- Joel Embiid: $55,415,938 (contract until 2027)
- Paul Reed: $7,723,000 (not guaranteed, 2026)
- Jeff Dowtin: $2,196,970 (equipment option, 2025)
- Ricky Council IV: $1,891,857 (not guaranteed, 2027)
The question that many people will ask: Why if they only have ~$65M in salaries, don’t they have $90M in cap space? For the cap holds. This is a generated figure that serves to reserve a space on the salary limit. It serves to prevent teams from using salary space before renewing the players for whom Bird controls the rights, as is the case with the Sixers. If they want to use all the salary space they will have to renounce the rights of their free agents, losing the opportunity to renew them above the salary limit, so they would have to use salary space to sign him. Complexities of the NBA to make summers more entertaining.
Where are the rest of the players? Well, almost all of them are free agents.
10 players are out of contract with Philadelphia, with several names standing out for good and bad reasons. The first is Tobias Harris, who signs a five-year, $180 million contract. The second, Tyrese Maxey. The shooting guard and the franchise decided not to renew last year, when they were able to sign an extension, which was a risky bet by Philadelphia will have to put a maximum on the table after the playoffs they have made. The luck for the Sixers is that Maxey’s cap hold is $13 million, so they can afford to sign free agents before re-signing him.
- Tobias Harris
- Buddy Hield
- Nicolas Batum
- Robert Covington
- De’Anthony Melton
- Tyrese Maxey (RFA)
- Kyle Lowry
- Kelly Oubre Jr
- Cam Payne
- I am Bamba
There are great successes on the list. The arrival of Kelly Oubre Jr for a minimum last summer or getting Kyle Lowry in the buyout market in February has helped reach the sixth game of the first round.
On the contrary, Melton’s loss has prevented a better performance. Some will remain in Philadelphia, which controls the Bird rights to Melton, Batum, Hield and Harris, but most could be replaced. It will be the last priority for the Sixers who enter free agency with almost $60 million in space and who do not want to use it on basic wardrobe pieces. The one who will surely not continue, seeing the relationship between the fans and the player, is Tobias Harris.
The Sixers have five first rounds to transfer starting on draft night, enough assets to try to make a hit. They control their 2024 pick and have, among those that came from Los Angeles and other movements, a first of 2026, 2028 and 2029 (almost all from the Clippers). They do, however, owe a pick to Oklahoma (for the transfer of Horford) and another to the Nets (for Harden).
More post-elimination panoramas: Lakers | Suns | Heat | bucks
The big question: how to get a star?
The Sixers’ latest decisions have all pointed towards the same place: getting another star. Not renewing Maxey first, Harden’s move to the Clippers and not converting all the players who arrived (Batum, Covington…) into assets that could serve in the short term. The accumulation of rounds and the release of salaries suggest that, if an All Star asks for a transfer, Daryl Morey will be there. And the great advantage that the Sixers have is that they can get him either as a free agent or with a move. They have created enough flexibility to be that team that is available in case Paul George (a name that has already been heard) wants to leave the Clippers. Are there big stars in free agency? Not really.
The best names are, in addition to Paul George and Tobias Harris, players with a player option like LeBron James or James Harden (whom I don’t think they want to get back), or recently traded players like OG Anunoby (player option) or Pascal Siakam. Other names are Klay Thompson, Gordon Hayward, DeMar DeRozan. Looking at the market, the most realistic option is to try to find a disgruntled star who has asked out. Devin Booker has already been associated with New York, for example, although the reality is that the profile they are looking for should complement what they already have. Trae Young and Dejounte Murray have been at the starting gate for months and Chicago has the sale sign. In any of them you can find that third sword alongside Embiid and Maxey.
The third option is the continuous one, thinking about February. No star arrives, Maxey signs a maximum of $205 million for five years and they repeat the project. The key will not be the contract that Maxey signs, but how and when. Because they can use what is left over to keep their free agents and in the short term future, use them by adding salaries to get the All Star via transfer before the market closes. All of them are scenarios in which Philadelphia decides to continue with the project, despite going 23 years without reaching the conference finals. Because it is still too early to consider the option of transferring Joel Embiid.
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2024-05-03 06:00:41
#Contracts #future #free #agents
