The Philadelphia 76ers will have a tough choice to make, likely forced to decide between keeping Jimmy Butler or Tobias Harris on a max contract this summer. Yet the headaches will keep coming for this front office, which will now have to find a way to build a bench with little ways to avoid luxury tax hell over the next few seasons.
The Sixers could opt for Harris and immediately shift their focus to the wing, hoping to re-sign J.J. Redick, who is coming off back-to-back one-year deals and likely looking for long-term security. After that, options like Terrence Ross and Danny Green become available, though the Sixers will have to be careful not to overspend for bright names and rather spread the wealth to build a quality bench.
“I’ve come to believe that’s the best way of doing it if you’re a team that’s going to compete for a championship,” a former NBA GM told Jordan Brenner of The Athletic. “It’s really hard to do it with three guys and a bunch of veteran minimums, unless you have a bunch of guys on rookie contracts. But they don’t really have that.”
Another source counters that very train of thought.
“The only issue in building the bench with $4-$5 million players it that those guys aren’t much better than replacement level.”
The Sixers might resort to filling the end of their bench with guys on minimum contracts, but they will be staring at the luxury tax, regardless of how they choose to arm their weapons.
“If they’re willing to put the money in, what does it matter?” the GM said. “Golden State doesn’t care about paying the tax if they win.”
Follow Us
Subscribe