The Philadelphia 76ers earlier completely departed their plans of having Jahlil Okafor beyond this season when they decided not to pick up their fourth-year option on the beleaguered big man.
Philly would’ve been scheduled to pay the former Duke Blue Devil $6.3 million if they failed to act before the deadline on Tuesday, but with Okafor bound for free agency, the Sixers have carved up some more breathing room in their salary cap for next season.
What this also means is that the Sixers now have a bigger financial muscle to keep forward Robert Covington, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Philadelphia will create $6.3M in cap space next year by not exercising the 4th year team option for Jahlil Okafor. Because the 4th year option was declined, any team looking to acquire Okafor in a trade would be restricted to paying him $6.3M, the amount of the 4th year. Philadelphia now projects to have $39M in cap space next summer, a figure that could change in 2 weeks (Nov. 15) when Robert Covington is eligible to have his contract renegotiated.
Covington’s current deal with the Sixers will expire next year and he’ll surely be demanding a higher price when he becomes eligible for at least an extension talk with Philadelphia, especially with the way he’s been playing. The 26-year-old is paid just $1.5 million this season.
Robert Covington is averaging a career-high 13.6 points per game while shooting an insane 46.7 percent from deep so far this campaign. He’s not going to be that hot from the three-point area the rest of the season, but that would help him on the negotiation table.
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