The SIXTH team eliminated from post-season contention is the Philadelphia 76ers.
Previous threads:
Spoiler:
Time of death: March 29, 2025
Record at elimination: 23-51
Head coach: Nick Nurse
https://www.spotrac.com/nba/philadelphia-76ers/yearly
Contract summary:
*Big 3 locked in through 27-28 minimum*
Embiid - 4-year Max at ~60M continues through 27-28, $69M PO in 28-29 [injured-knee for this season]
George - 2-years at $53M, $56M PO in 27-28 [injured-adductor, out for season]
Maxey - 4-year 160M runs through 28-29
Oubre - 8M PO
Drummond - 5M PO
Eric Gordon - 3.5M PO [injured, re-eval in months]
Guerschon Yabusele - UFA
Lowry - UFA [injured, no timetable]
Rookie Scale/minimums (varies on 2-4 years remaining):
Quentin Grimes - RFA
Jared McCain - will enter 2nd year of Rookie Scale contract [injured-knee, out for season]
Ricky Council IV - non-guaranteed 2M, TO year 2
Adem Bona - non-guaranteed 2nd round contract, TO is 3 years out
Lonnie Walker IV - 2.9M TO
Jared Butler - 2.3M TO
Jusin Edwards - 1.9M TO
Chuma Okeke (10-day)
Marcus Bagley (10-day)
Phillip Wheeler (10-day)
TW
Jeff Dowtin
Jalen Hood-Schifino
Alex Reese
Dead-cap - none retained NEXT season, <$500k off the books this season from previous 10-day contracts.
25-26 Capspace - 18M until 1st Apron, over the cap non-tax team.
PICKS for 2025 draft:
PHL 1st (if 7-30, conveys to OKC). Protected 1-4 NEXT two seasons if not already conveyed to OKC [Al Horford trade]
PHL 2nd [more favourable of PHL and DEN]
A SMALL SEASON REVIEW:
https://www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/phi/philadelphia-76ers
Well, this season was a rollercoaster for the Sixers safe to say. There's plenty of talking points from this year to hit on, I'll just run through some basic recap I guess, sorry if I ramble a bit.... The story really begins in the offseason where the Sixers were part of not only a 6-team trade, but also a very active Free Agency period. That trade, just for quick reference, was Hield/Josh Green/Reggie Jackson/Klay Thompson/Kyle Anderson deal [with some S/T players in there.] Sixers received a 31 2nd (DAL) out of it while sending Hield to GSW.
The next day, Paul George and Maxey signed their multi-year extensions. Followed soon by Oubre, Drummond, Gordon, Lowry to fill out the rotation. The stage was set for a roster with a former-MVP Embiid, George, and Maxey's big time guard play from the previous season to fight for at least home court in the playoffs. In addition, there were solid veteran presences as backups, and newly drafted Jared McCain, this roster was definitely trending upwards.
Summer came and went, Embiid played in the Olympics, and had been nursing injuries from last-season's playoffs but joined Team USA, and played decent. However, in September/October Embiid was ruled out at the beginning of the NBA season for knee issues, and this began a trend in the wrong direction for players up and down the roster. The season started, and Philly was quickly out of top-table contention [4-14 by December], other injuries to key players limited the Sixers' ability to play all three on the court at the same time (only 15 games, and just under 300 minutes for the George/Maxey/Embiid 3-man lineup on court all season). PG also was not in top health this season, being quoted to have been taking pain medication before games to manage, and eventually was ruled out for the season with an adductor injury. Embiid gave it an effort to play, but knee issues eventually ended his season.
If the Sixers were looking to youth to carry the team, well, Rookie of the Year candidate McCain also had a knee issue causing him to be ruled out for the season after a promising 23 game start to his career.
Maxey has only played in 52 games as of today, PG only 41, Embiid only 19. Lowry and Gordon combined for 72. Drummond only 40. If you look up and down the roster, only 2 players CURRENTLY qualify for the 65 games played threshold for end-of-season awards. With less than 10 games remaining on the schedule, only Oubre, Council IV, and Yabusele will actually be able to cross that threshold (though none will receive end-of-season awards). It's a stark reminder how fickle injuries can be in the NBA. We might need to talk about Morey signing these extensions because long-term, it could be pretty dire. Repeat seasons like these end team's Championship timeline quickly.
We were expecting to talk about Philadelphia in the playoffs, but now they will be forced to look for a draft - and this also brings uncertainty as their pick has been traded, but retains protections. 1-6 protected this year [to OKC otherwise] (and PHL is on a knife's edge for that spot). Lottery luck is needed for a top-4 selection, and no teams can leapfrog PHL, dropping them to 7th or lower. Also, after this 24-25 season, in 25-26, and 26-27, it is 1-4 protected. There's a pick going to OKC eventually because I really cannot see the Sixers being bottom 4 for two more years after this.
What went well ? For me it's McCain's emergence as a scorer and overall two-way player. He's got a lot of potential and its a shame he got hurt. It's also the chance to pick at top-6 in a good draft and reverse the hurt of this year. PHL won in BOS on Christmas, reminding us that there's still a ceiling PHL can reach. Maxey had huge scoring nights and next year is big for him. I liked what Yabusele did, it was an admiral job holding down the post-rotation most nights. And finally, Grimes (picked up by trading Caleb Martin to DAL) was a good move, he's played well, too. PHL got some future picks in trading Jackson and Caleb Martin to boot.
I think replacing Lowry and Gordon, even if they are vets they were not great performers this year, with more minimum level contracts for younger prospects or undrafted FAs is the way to go. The Sixers need assurances that their roster can suit up for more than 75 games next year. What does everyone think about this year and what PHL will do this offseason ? Sixers fans, hopefully next season goes better for you and we get more games with your top guys on the court.
