Philadelphia 76ers Off-Season Preview
The Philadelphia 76ers missed the postseason, so now it’s time to preview their offseason. This will be a crucial summer for the Sixers to capitalize on their championship window. Their biggest needs are getting healthy and adding depth to their wing and frontcourt positions.
I laid out the contracts, options, free agents, top priorities, draft picks and fits, free agent fits, and more to give a complete picture of what the off-season looks like for the 76ers.
Under Contract:
Joel Embiid: 4 Years Left – $248.13M (4 Years - $213.28 + 3-Year Extension - $192.91M), Last Year is Player Option
Paul George: 3 Years Left – $162.38M (4 Years - $211.58M), Last Year is Player Option
Tyrese Maxey: 4 Years Left – $168.71M (5 Years - $203.85M)
Jared McCain: 3 Years Left – $15.43M (4 Years - $19.45M, Rookie Contract), Last 2 Years are Team Options
Ricky Council IV: 2 Years Left – $4.63M (4 Years – $7.38M), Non-Guaranteed, Last Year is Team Option
Adem Bona: 3 Years Left – $6.74M (4 Years Left - $7.9M, Rookie Contract), $978K Guaranteed, Last Year is Team Option
Options:
Kelly Oubre Jr: Player Option – $8.38M
Andre Drummond: Player Option – $5.0M
Eric Gordon: Player Option – $3.47M
Lonnie Walker IV: Team Option – $2.94M
Jared Butler: Team Option – $2.35M
Justin Edwards: Team Option – $1.96M
Free Agents:
Quentin Grimes - RFA
Kyle Lowry - UFA
Guerschon Yabusele - UFA
Cap Space:
Projected Practical Cap Space: -$18.62M
Projected Maximum Cap Space: -5.58M
*According to Spotrac.com
Draft Picks:
1st Round
Projected 5th Pick
2nd Round
35th Pick
Top Priorities/Team Needs:
Health
The 76ers have the top-end talent to contend in the Eastern Conference. However, injuries derailed their season, forcing them to miss the playoffs and finish towards the bottom of the conference standings. Their big three only played 15 games together, which is a disaster for the price they are paying.
Depth
Quality depth is an issue for the Sixers, especially considering Paul George and Joel Embiid’s health concerns. Retaining Kelly Oubre and resigning Guerschon Yabusele and Quentin Grimes is a start, but they need to add depth on the wing and in the frontcourt. There were a lot of players this year who played significant minutes who may not be rotation players on a title-contending team.
Maximize the Draft Pick
This point only remains if their pick stays in the top 6, otherwise, it conveys to Oklahoma City.
There are two options with their draft pick; they can either keep the pick or trade it. If they keep the pick, they need to draft a player who can contribute immediately. If they decide to trade the pick, they need to get a veteran or two who can provide depth and value to a championship-caliber team.
Trade Assets:
I am not considering any active roster players as an asset that the 76ers are willing to trade at the moment, but for the right players, anyone outside of Maxey, Embiid, and George could be on the table.
They also have a couple of draft picks they could move as well. However, they should look at keeping these picks to add smaller contracts to their roster down the road.
Draft Fits:
Projected 5th Pick
V.J. Edgecombe
Kon Knueppel
Collin Murray-Boyles
Derik Queen
Free Agent Fits:
Guerschon Yabusele
Quentin Grimes
Larry Nance Jr.
Jake LaRavia
Bol Bol
Final Thoughts:
Last summer, the 76ers extended Joel Embiid to a three-year max deal and signed Paul George to a four-year maximum contract. They knew the injury risks involved, but the chance to put together this level of talent was hard to pass up. It has been disastrous so far, but if they can get two years of relative health and a solid playoff seeding over the next three years, this could end up being a risk worth taking.
Health is obviously the main concern here, but adding depth needs to be their transactional priority in the off-season. They are still under the first apron, so they have some space to bolster their roster. Their wing/forward/center positions are the weakest in terms of depth, and adding players behind George and Embiid would be extremely valuable, with the possibility of missing a lot of time again next season.
It would be fun, not just for Philly fans, but for all basketball fans, to watch their big three play at peak strength. They have a chance to make a deep run in the playoffs and challenge Boston and Cleveland in the Eastern Conference over the next couple of years.
The other alternative is to trade both Paul George and Joel Embiid and start fresh, but that scenario is highly unlikely.