Entering the 2024 NBA free agency period with more cap space than any good team is the Philadelphia 76ers. They have a lot riding on this summer — nothing short of their ability to be title contenders for the rest of Joel Embiid's prime — but they have the resources to make some noise.
On top of signing Tyrese Maxey to an extension, the 76ers have to fill out their roster. They can open up $53 million in cap space if they renounce all of their cap holds besides Maxey's (which they can’t do), giving them enough space to add a player on a max contract. Daryl Morey has hoped for a star to come along ever since he traded James Harden but he could sign some inflated deals this offseason if he can’t land the right one. Whatever happens in Philly, it's bound to be interesting.
Here are three predictions for what the 76ers will do in 2024 free agency.
76ers win the Paul George sweepstakes
George declined his player option and will reportedly take meetings with three teams: The Los Angeles Clippers, Orlando Magic, and the 76ers. Unless leaving the West Coast is truly not something George wants any part of at this point in his career, Philly seems most likely to land the player who will likely be the biggest name to change teams this summer,
George and the Clippers have been on the outs for a while now. Talks of a contract negotiation stalled as LA refused to offer a fourth year, mirroring their offer with the one that Kawhi Leonard previously agreed to. With other good teams seemingly ready to offer him more, PG-13 isn’t any closer to blinking in negotiations and accepting that offer now. Leaving his hometown and the team he spent the past five seasons with would be a major change but it seems like that’s what he will have to do in order to make the most of his final big payday.
The Orlando Magic are also an intriguing option but they don’t give George the most immediate upside to compete for a championship. While Orlando's youthful roster gives the team a potentially longer window of being competitive as well as the ammo in future trades to upgrade further, no one on that team is as good as Embiid or Maxey. Building strength in numbers is tougher when another team has two legitimate All-NBA talents to flaunt. The immediate upside of playing with an arguably-best-active-player level of superstar in Embiid should supersede the Magic's future upside for a 34-year-old like George.
George isn’t the stellar defender he once was, has a worrisome injury history and is going to sign a gargantuan contract that will almost certainly become a negative asset in its final seasons. But of all the available options left, George is the one who can make the biggest impact on the 76ers with his fantastic three-point shooting, on-ball scoring and his ability to leverage both strengths to set up teammates for scoring opportunities.
The Sixers are running out of high-level players that they could acquire this offseason. Several have either been traded (Mikal Bridges, Dejounte Murray, and Alex Caruso) or tentatively agreed to re-sign with their current teams (LeBron James, OG Anunoby). Trade candidates like Jimmy Butler and Lauri Markkanen are not going to be relinquished easily and Philly could easily get outbid by other teams.
George is far from the perfect addition but with the remaining feasible options being free agents DeMar DeRozan or Klay Thompson or trade possibility Brandon Ingram, he’s the best the Sixers can do right now. Can they stomach another season where they put another temporary roster around Embiid in the hopes of the perfect star becoming available, even if that roster has better role players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope? And if one does become available, do they even have the assets to compete in trades with other teams? George's fit with Embiid and Maxey is really good and he should at least still be a star-level contributor for a few more seasons.
Kyle Lowry and Kelly Oubre Jr. re-sign in Philly
The 76ers may be losing most of its roster to unrestricted free agency but that doesn’t mean they won’t keep at least a few players. Lowry and Oubre represent two of the most likely players to want to stay and who could sign contracts that still allow Philly to keep its cap space.
Minimum contracts not counting toward a team’s cap makes them a lot more valuable under the new CBA. Lowry seems likely to sign one if he’s back with the 76ers, which is almost surely his preferred destination. Whatever the former All-Star has left in the tank in his age-38 season will be helpful for Philly, though the team can’t depend on him as heavily as it did last season.
Oubre, meanwhile, could sign a contract that comes from the 76ers' mid-level exception worth just over $8 million. He may command more than that from another team but he greatly enjoyed being a Sixer and may not have a better shot at playing real minutes on other teams at Philly’s level. His improving defense, athleticism and scoring confidence are quite helpful though, just like with Lowry, the Sixers should try to find more dependable players for their starting lineup and bring Oubre off the bench.
Nico Batum is someone the Sixers should have an interest in bringing back, though given his potential decision to retire, it’s harder to read into whether he’ll be back. Lowry and Oubre seem like the safest bets to return to Philadelphia.
76ers trade Paul Reed, sign backup center on cheap contract
With the selection of Adem Bona in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, the 76ers may feel more inclined to trade Reed. He makes $7.7 million this upcoming season, which is reasonable for his age and talent, but they might value the additional cap space and draft pick(s) they could get in a trade more. The Daryl Morey regime may have drafted Reed but they did not agree to this contact with him. He signed it as an offer sheet that was later matched.
With Bona in the fold, the 76ers have another young, athletic, high-motor center to utilize off the bench. They could decide to sign the rookie to a two-way, keeping a roster spot open for a player more likely to be a contributor this season while Bona develops in the G League. But if Reed can be flipped for a draft pick or two to use in other trades (or be flipped for a player with a more premium skill set), Philly seems likely to make that move and then sign someone to hold down the fort until Bona is ready.
Andre Drummond, a former Sixer who has said a lot of good things about the team since being traded, remains a likely option. Philly tried to trade for him at the deadline and can now sign him to be Embiid's backup again. Jonas Valanciunas could also be an option for Philly. He's a lumbering, uber-strong center with more of a back-to-the-basket, muscle-his-way-into-offensive-boards type of game, similar to Drummond.
Of all the potential backup center options that might not cost much, Goga Bitadze and Jalen Smith may not only be among the best but the ones with the most upside. Both are just 24 years old and very productive rebounders on both ends of the floor, particularly on the offensive end, which would offset the loss of Reed's knack for fighting for extra possessions. Bitadze has a great feel for playmaking and blocking shots while Smith is a very solid three-point shooter.
Reed struggled as a starter last season but still made strides in his game and remains the most dependable backup Embiid has ever had. Continuity is something Philly has lacked and losing Reed, even though he has only played very sparingly with Embiid, cuts further into that. But the Sixers only have so much wiggle room, making Bball Paul a trade candidate.
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