With the NBA free agency period opening June 30, the Philadelphia 76ers will be looking to build around 2023 MVP Joel Embiid and build a team that will finally end their NBA title drought. The Sixers' biggest question in free agency is whether they will re-sign James Harden.
Bringing back Harden will certainly take a sizable amount of cap space, and Philadelphia might want to think hard of the risks of signing a player to a big free-agent contract. The Sixers haven't always had the best luck with free agents and might be wise to look to their own history as to what the consequences could be. Here's the Sixers' five worst free-agent signings of all time.
5. Kwame Brown
We start things off with 6-foot-11 big man Kwame Brown, who many consider to be a flop as a first overall pick.
Brown was the top pick of the 2001 NBA Draft, and following an unsuccessful four-year stint with the Washington Wizards, the former Glynn Academy High School standout bounced from one team to another for the remainder of his career. For some reason, the Sixers thought it was a good idea to sign a 30-year-old Brown to a two-year, $5.7 million deal in the summer of 2012.
Simply put, things did not work out for Brown in Philly, as he averaged just 1.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in a total of 22 games played in his debut season with the team. The Sixers didn't even let him play out the second year of his contract, opting to waive Brown after his first season. They still paid him close to $3 million for Year 2, though, which obviously stunk. In fact, Brown is better at taking shots on social media than he ever did on the court with the Sixers.
4. Scott Williams
In the summer of 1994, the Sixers were looking to bring in some championship experience to their squad, which prompted them to look in the direction of Scott Williams, who was a three-time champion with the Chicago Bulls. While the 6-foot-10 big man never really made a significant impact for Chicago other than some energy off the bench, the 76ers still gambled on him on a deal that earned him upwards of $8 million in salary in five years with the squad.
What did Philadelphia get in return? Half a double-double per night, with averages of 5.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 4 1/2 seasons with the squad. The Sixers eventually realized that not even the opportunity to play alongside the great Michael Jordan made Williams anything more than a mediocre bench player. In fact, Williams might not have even been in the NBA if not for Michael Jordan.
3. Kenny Thomas
NBA fans of the early 2000s would know that Kenny Thomas was a pretty solid power forward during his heyday. However, no one in their right mind would agree that the former New Mexico standout was worth $50 million. Well, that's what the Sixers gave Thomas in the summer of 2003 when the 6-foot-7 forward became a free agent. The deal spanned for seven seasons, though, but still, we can't comprehend what the front office was thinking at that point.
Thomas averaged 12.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and a steal in 3 1/2 seasons with the Sixers, which is actually pretty decent. Then you remember that the team paid him $50 million, and all of a sudden, we're back to square one.
2. Matt Geiger
Matt Geiger's narrative is pretty similar to that of Kenny Thomas. The 7-foot big man's production wasn't bad, as he actually posted 13.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game in his first season in Philadelphia. However, what makes the Geiger acquisition an absolute head-scratcher is the fact that Philly signed him to a $51 million contract for six years.
Geiger was part of the Allen Iverson-led team that went all the way to the Finals in 2001, only to be defeated by a powerhouse Los Angeles Lakers team. Geiger didn't do much for the squad, though, averaging just 6.1 points and 4.0 rebounds throughout that memorable season. The fact that he earned $7.5 million that year for that level of production remains to be a hard pill to swallow for any Sixers fan, and his career flamed out in Year 4 with Philly.
Perhaps his best contribution to Philadelphia was Geiger preventing the Sixers from trading Allen Iverson. Geiger refused to waive a $5 million trade kicker when the Sixers were wanting to trade him and Iverson to the Detroit Pistons.
1. Elton Brand
Currently the general manager of the Sixers, Elton Brand's contributions to the franchise as a player were rather disappointing.
A former first overall pick, Rookie of the Year winner, and a two-time All-Star, Brand was a beast for the Los Angeles Clippers. That was until he suffered a career-changing Achilles' injury in 2007. Brand hit free agency the following offseason, and despite being 30 years of age at that point and coming off a major injury, Philadelphia still decided to sign him to a five-year, $82 million contract.
This would have been a good deal if they got the old Brand back, but sadly, this was never the case. The 6-foot-8 big man was still a decent contributor for the Sixers when he returned, but he was by no means able to live up to that big-money deal. Philly eventually pulled the plug on Brand, waiving him using the amnesty clause in 2012.