News 76ers Team Notes

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Report: Sixers decline Jared Butler’s $2.3 million team option

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Jared Butler won’t be back in Philly next year, though.

Now that the 2025 NBA draft is over, the Sixers are turning their attention toward free agency. After news broke earlier Friday that Andre Drummond (unsurprisingly) intends to pick up his $5.0 million player option, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Sixers are declining their $2.3 million team option on Jared Butler.

The #Sixers are declining Jared Butler’s team option for the 2025-26 season, according to a source.

— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) June 27, 2025​

The Sixers acquired Butler and four second-round picks at February’s trade deadline for a 2026 first-round pick (the worst of the Thunder, Rockets or Clippers’ picks) and Reggie Jackson. It was effectively a salary dump of Jackson to help get them under the tax line along with a half-season flier on Butler and a way to break up one asset (what figures to be a very late first-round pick) into four smaller ones. The Sixers proceeded to convert Butler from a two-way deal to a two-year contract with a second-year team option.

Since Butler has four years of NBA experience, he’s now set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. However, declining his team option doesn’t necessarily spell the end to his time in Philadelphia. The Sixers have non-Bird rights on him, so they’re allowed to sign him to a new contract beginning as high as 120 percent of the minimum salary.

John Hollinger of The Athletic mapped out that exact strategy while previewing the top point guards in this year’s free-agent class.

“He has a team option for $2.35 million, and the Sixers are desperate for inexpensive back-end-rotation talent, but there’s a scenario where Philly declines the option and re-signs him to a longer deal as a non-Bird free agent,” Hollinger wrote.

Since Butler has four years of NBA experience, his minimum salary for next season is slightly less than $2.5 million. Non-Bird contracts can increase by only 5 percent annually, so the most they could offer him is a four-year, $10.6 million deal. The Sixers could also try to re-sign Butler with the minimum exception, although they’d be limited to only a two-year deal at most if they went that route.

Anyone whom they sign to a one-year minimum contract this summer will count as roughly $2.3 million against the salary cap, so there wouldn’t be a huge difference between that and Butler’s starting salary on a new non-Bird contract. In fact, the Sixers could make up the difference and then some if they convince Eric Gordon to decline his $3.5 million player option, even if they intend to re-sign him on a one-year min deal. That would save them roughly $1.2 million, and Gordon would stand to make an extra $165,000 by going that route. It’s a win-win!

Given the tight financial landscape around the league this offseason, it’s tough to imagine Butler receiving much more than minimum-contract offers elsewhere. Don’t be surprised if he’s back in Philly next year and this winds up being just a measure of creative bookkeeping.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Salary Swish and salary-cap information via RealGM.

Follow Bryan on Bluesky.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...-2-3-million-team-option-2025-nba-free-agency

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Sixers roster, salaries, cap space, available draft picks and more

Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

We’re partnering with SalarySwish to help answer your Sixers salary cap questions.

The first year of the “Big Three” Sixers with Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey could not have gone much worse. Injuries submarined them from the jump, and they stumbled to an embarrassing 24-58 record that kept them out of the play-in tournament, much less the playoffs.

The silver lining of that disastrous campaign was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, which the Sixers spent on Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe. While that beat the alternative—the Sixers would have sent their first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder had it fallen outside the top six—Edgecombe’s $11.1 million salary complicates the Sixers’ financial outlook heading into free agency.

In the days leading up to the new league year, Andre Drummond and Kelly Oubre Jr. picked up their player options ($5 million and $8.4 million, respectively), although Eric Gordon declined his $3.5 million one (perhaps with a slight raise in mind?). The Sixers also declined their team options on Lonnie Walker IV ($2.9 million), Jared Butler ($2.3 million) and Justin Edwards ($1.95 million), although they immediately agreed to a new deal with Edwards.

So, where does that leave the Sixers financially heading into free agency? Will they be able to re-sign Quentin Grimes and/or Guerschon Yabusele? Which mid-level exception will they have? How close are they are to the aprons? We’re partnering with SalarySwish to use their data and help answer every question you have about the Sixers’ financial situation.

We’ll make updates here as the season rolls along, so bookmark this page to keep up on the latest changes moving forward.

Sixers Roster, Salaries, Draft Picks, Cap Space and More​

Here’s a table with all of the Sixers’ salary information, courtesy of our friends at SalarySwish:

That’s a lot of information to sift through, so let’s dive into a few key notes.

FAQ​

How much cap space do the Sixers have this summer?​

Unlike last offseason, where the Sixers created more than $60 million in cap space to sign George, Drummond and Caleb Martin before re-signing Oubre and Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers enter free agency well over the $154.6 million salary cap this year.

George, Maxey, Joel Embiid and Jared McCain alone are earning more than $149 million. Add in Edgecombe’s $11.1 million salary, and the Sixers would be over the cap even if they somehow managed to salary-dump every other player on their roster.

How close are the Sixers to the first and second aprons?​

The Sixers are entering free agency with nine players under contract, not counting Edgecombe’s $11.1 million cap hold. That includes Ricky Council IV, whose $2.2 million salary is fully non-guaranteed until Jan. 10. Those nine players plus Edgecombe puts the Sixers at roughly $179.8 million in total salary. Since they have fewer than 12 players under contract, they’d also have two incomplete roster charges of roughly $1.27 million each, bringing their apron total to $182.3 million.

The first apron in 2025-26 is roughly $195.9 million, so the Sixers will enter free agency around $13.6 million below that. The second apron is around $207.8 million, so the Sixers will be nearly $25.5 million below that.

Which mid-level exception will the Sixers have? ​

Well... it depends.

If the Sixers use the $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, they’d be hard-capped at the first apron. If they use the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception, they’d be hard-capped at the second apron. And if they go over the second apron at any point—say, if Grimes gets his way and lands a $25 million salary—they won’t have any mid-level exception.

Realistically, the Sixers won’t have access to the non-taxpayer MLE unless they cut salary elsewhere. Using it would put them right at the first-apron hard cap, which means they effectively wouldn’t be able to re-sign Grimes. They’re far more likely to use the taxpayer MLE and fill out the rest of their roster with minimum contracts, which would leave them somewhere between $17-18 million to spend on Grimes.

How much will the Sixers pay in luxury taxes this year?​

As of now, the Sixers are $5.55 million below the $187.9 million luxury-tax line. That’s sure to change once free agency begins, though.

The Sixers already reset the clock on the repeater tax by ducking the tax each of the past three seasons. They now can’t be subject to the repeater tax until 2028-29 at the earliest. (Teams have to stay above the luxury-tax threshold three times in a four-season span to become subject to it.)

The new CBA did spike the tax rates for both standard taxpayers and repeater taxpayers once teams get roughly $10 million over the tax line. The repeater rates become preposterous from there, which helps explain why the Boston Celtics decided to detonate their roster this offseason.

These tax rates go into effect in 2025-26.

What draft picks can the Sixers trade?​

The Sixers can currently trade first-round picks in the following drafts:

• 2026 (only if it falls in the top four)
• 2028 (their own, protected 9-30, or an unprotected LAC pick)
• 2029 OR 2030 (not both)
• 2031 (if they don’t trade 2030)
• 2032 (if they don’t trade 2031)

The Sixers owe a top-four-protected pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2026 and a top-eight-protected pick to the Brooklyn Nets in 2028. The Stepien Rule, which prohibits teams from going back-to-back drafts without a first-round pick, limits what other picks they can trade. Since they traded the 2026 first-round pick that they got in the James Harden trade (the worst of the LAC/HOU/OKC picks), they now can’t trade their own 2027 first-round pick unless they acquire another one in that year.

They also have the right to swap first-round picks with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2029 (top-three protected). With both Kawhi Leonard and James Harden’s contracts set to expire after 2026-27, those could wind up being valuable swap rights.

Additionally, the Sixers can currently trade the following second-round draft picks:

• 2027 Warriors or Suns pick (more favorable)
• 2028 Warriors pick
• 2028 Pistons pick (top-55 protected)
• 2029 Sixers pick
• 2030 Wizards pick
• 2030 Suns or Blazers pick (more favorable)
• 2031 Sixers pick
• 2032 Sixers pick

They can’t trade their 2027 or 2028 second-round picks for now because they’re tied up conditionally in the first-round picks that they owe to the Thunder and Nets. If they convey a first-round pick to the Thunder in 2026, they will be able to trade their 2027 second-round pick afterward. The same goes for their 2028 second-round pick if their 2028 first-rounder conveys to the Nets.

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Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/24100956/sixers-roster-salaries-cap-space-draft-picks

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Finally! WNBA announces expansion team for Philadelphia

Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images

The WNBA announced on Monday that the league will expand with three more teams, including one in Philadelphia.

In the words of the great LeBron James, it’s about damn time.

The WNBA announced Monday that the league will have three new expansion franchise, including one in Philadelphia.

The Philly team will begin play in 2030, which makes perfect sense. Earlier this year, HBSE and Comcast announced they’re working together to get a new arena built with the hopes of jointly owning a WNBA team. That arena, which will replace the Wells Fargo Center/soon-to-be-named Xfinity Mobile Arena, is set to open in 2031. According to a press release from the Sixers, HBSE will own and operate the team while Comcast has a minority stake.

a new home team. pic.twitter.com/d7Sque4161

— PhilaWNBA (@philawnba) June 30, 2025​

Before Philly’s team takes the court, other franchise will begin play in Cleveland (2028) and Detroit (2029). WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the news in a press conference Monday. Per the AP:

“The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher, and we are thrilled to welcome Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia to the WNBA family,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league’s extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game, and the surging demand for investment in women’s professional basketball.”

The article also quotes managing partner Josh Harris, who said the hope is the new arena could be ready for the WNBA team by 2030, but if it’s not, the team will simply play at Xfinity Mobile Arena during its inaugural season.

“We tell the city it’s going to open in 2031. We’re hoping for 2030,” said Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Managing Partner and co-founder Josh Harris, who owns the 76ers. “So we’re trying to underpromise and overdeliver. But, right now it’s 2031, so that we have a year gap, you know. We’ve got the Xfinity center, the Wells Fargo, they’ll play there.”

The WNBA currently has 13 teams, including the expansion Golden State Valkyries, who began play this season. The league is also set to have new franchises in Toronto and Portland. The Philadelphia team will give the WNBA 18 total teams.

Important question for the comments: what should they name the team?

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...on-team-philadelphia-sixers-comcast-new-arena

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Guerschon Yabusele reportedly to sign with Knicks, ending Sixers tenure

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Guerschon Yabusele is heading North and reportedly signing with the New York Knicks.

Adieu, Dancing Bear.

Guerschon Yabusele has reportedly agreed to terms on a two-year, $6 million deal with the New York Knicks, thus ending the Frenchman’s tenure with the Sixers. ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report the deal.

Yabusele was exceptional in his return to the NBA. After spending five years overseas, the hulking forward returned stateside to bet on himself and prove he belonged. He did that — in a much bigger role than anyone would’ve anticipated.

While the team signed Yabusele hoping he’d fill a void at the 4, he wound up spending the bulk of the season playing small-ball 5. With Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond missing significant time, Yabusele filled in admirably at the center position. For the season, he averaged 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 38.0% from deep in 70 games.

Yabusele was a big asset to the team’s locker room as well. He battled multiple injuries and his minutes were at times sporadic when Embiid or Drummond were able to suit up. Through it all, Yabusele never complained and was an exemplary teammate. He played hard every night and gave the Sixers all he had, despite being part of a completely lost season. He became an easy fan favorite.

While the Sixers could’ve matched this offer using their taxpayer midlevel exception, it would’ve been tricky without knowing how much restricted free agent Quentin Grimes was going to command. Though Grimes’ options appear to be dwindling, re-signing the soon-to-be 30-year-old Yabusele and somehow losing the 25-year-old Grimes would’ve been a much worse scenario.

The team did agree to terms with forward Trendon Watford on a minimum deal, so the TPLME ($5.7 million) is still in play for the Sixers.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...-free-agency-guerschon-yabusele-knicks-sixers

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Sixers can replace Yabusele’s production, but replacing his intangibles will be much harder

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Guerschon Yabusele had a productive return to the NBA with the Sixers. As he heads to New York, it will be his personality and mindset that are more difficult to replace.

As Guerschon Yabusele settled onto a courtside chair next to me within the Sixers’ practice facility last December, I couldn’t help but notice a sizable scratch on his neck — the price of doing business when you stand 6-foot-8 and weigh 260 pounds, and you make your living jostling with other large men within a 94-by-50-foot rectangle.

By his recollection, the wound had been incurred in a game two or three weeks earlier.

“It was crazy, because I didn’t see,” he said. “And then I look in the mirror, and it was red, but like, really open.”

Then he pointed to another scar on his left shoulder, further evidence that he was fully immersed in the NBA experience in his second go-round. The Frenchman had flunked a two-year trial with Boston a few seasons earlier, but after playing overseas for a time and starring for his native country in the Olympics last summer, he returned to the Association in the fall more fully formed, more prepared for the task at hand.

And now he’s gone. Gone to the Knicks, reportedly on a modest two-year, $12 million deal. Those well-versed in salary capology have noted that in order to retain the $20 million or so it will take to re-sign restricted free agent Quentin Grimes, his deal would have had to get done before that of Yabusele, who was unrestricted. Instead, New York intervened, and he now joins a big-man rotation that also includes Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson.

The fit seemed just as good here, though, in every sense. Yabusele’s willingness to scratch and claw — combined with his shooting, screening and sharing — made him as beloved in the locker room as he was in the stands. Then-Sixer Caleb Martin told me in January that Yabu was “one of the biggest bright spots to our team,” and given the injuries and the losing, who could argue?

And more than that, there was the joy he brought to a dreary season. His corner of the locker room, which he shared with the likes of Ricky Council IV and Jeff Dowtin Jr., always seemed like a brighter, happier place. And when the man long ago dubbed the Dancing Bear showed off his surprising agility during a game — when he romped the length of the court for a dunk or slipped a deft pass to a teammate — others were quick to celebrate him.

“He’s just a good person, man,” Tyrese Maxey told me in January. “You like to see good people like that succeed.”

That feeling extended beyond Philadelphia. Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson was an assistant on France’s Olympic team last summer. And when he brought the Cavaliers to town in January, he mentioned that Yabusele had had “a lotta lightbulb moments” in Paris — none bigger than a dunk on LeBron James in the gold-medal game.

Atkinson went on to say that Yabu was “FIBA tough,” and that he had “performed stupendously” for the Sixers.

“Happy for him,” Atkinson said. “Great guy.”

In truth there was a certain innocence about Yabusele, more than you might expect from a married 29-year-old father of two. He seemed overjoyed about his journey, gratified that he had finally figured the NBA game out.

So while his production — 11 points and not quite six rebounds a game — is replaceable, it would have been interesting to see how things would have played out for him here, as part of a group with which he had such obvious chemistry. Because when it comes down to it, you feel like there’s even more there. That he was, you should pardon the expression, just scratching the surface of what he could be.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...ele-sixers-tyrese-maxey-kenny-atkinson-knicks

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Why the Sixers let Guerschon Yabusele get away

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

The New York Knicks reportedly plan to sign Yabu to a two-year deal using the taxpayer mid-level exception. Why didn’t the Sixers match that price?

The Dancing Bear is dancing his way up I-95.

On Tuesday, the New York Knicks agreed to sign Guerschon Yabusele to a two-year, $11.7 million deal via what appears to be the taxpayer mid-level exception, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Jason Dumas of 6ABC reported the Sixers had “informal talks” with Yabusele but never made a formal offer, and he “never followed up with the Sixers for a chance to match the Knicks’ offer.”

If the Knicks did indeed use the taxpayer MLE to sign Yabusele, they’ll be hard-capped at the $207.8 million second apron for the remainder of the season. They’re currently only $3.5 million below the second apron with 12 players under contract, according to Yossi Gozlan’s indispensable CapSheets.com, which suggests they have at least one salary-shedding move still to come.

So, why did the Sixers reportedly balk at making Yabusele a concrete offer? Quentin Grimes’ ongoing free-agency saga is likely to blame.

Had the Sixers used the taxpayer MLE on Yabusele like the Knicks did, they also would have hard-capped themselves at the second apron. At the moment, with 13 players under contract (including Ricky Council’s fully non-guaranteed $2.2 million salary), they’re at roughly $185.8 million in salary, which leaves them $22 million below the second apron. From there, start working backwards and it should quickly become clear why they were reluctant to spend the taxpayer MLE at this early juncture in free agency.

Had the Sixers re-signed Yabu at that same price point, they’d be up to $191.5 million in salary, which would leave them only $16.3 million below the second apron with 14 players under contract. They could waive RC4 and leave his roster spot open, as team president Daryl Morey has typically done since he took over in Philly, which would leave the Sixers with roughly $18.5 million in flexibility below the second apron.

That might sound like plenty, especially with players such as Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Duncan Robinson, Dennis Schröder and Caris LeVert all settling for contracts in the $14-15 million/year range. However, in the days leading up to free agency, Tony Jones of The Athletic reported Grimes was “looking for a contract that averages $25 million per season.” (His agent apparently failed to warn him about the looming free-agent recession.)

Had the Sixers come to terms with Grimes quickly, they’d know exactly how far away they were from the second apron and whether they had enough wiggle room to use the taxpayer MLE. But had they re-signed Yabu first and hard-capped themselves, they’d leave themselves open to getting blindsided, much like the Milwaukee Bucks seemingly just did to the Indiana Pacers with Myles Turner on Tuesday.

While losing Yabu to a division rival stings, the good news is that financial flexibility is quickly drying up around the league. The Nets took on a ton of additional salary by acquiring Terance Mann in the Kristaps Porzingis trade and trading Cam Johnson to the Denver Nuggets for Michael Porter Jr. and a fully unprotected 2032 first-round pick. The Atlanta Hawks theoretically could have tried to arrange a sign-and-trade of Grimes using their $25.3 million trade exception from last summer’s Dejounte Murray deal—although base-year compensation rules would have complicated that—but they appear to have burned most of that on Alexander-Walker.

No one in their right mind woke up Tuesday and imagined the Bucks would waive and stretch Damian Lillard, so we can’t rule out a total wild card jumping into the Grimes mix if negotiations go on much longer. However, leverage is clearly on the Sixers’ side for now. If the two sides remain too far apart, Grimes might even decide to take his $8.7 million qualifying offer to become an unrestricted free agent next year, although that wouldn’t give the Sixers access to the $14.1 million non-taxpayer MLE.

Long story short, the Sixers were a victim of timing here. Free agency tends to move quickly in the opening hours and days, as players want to lock up their bags before the game of musical chairs runs out on them. Since the Sixers had to be wary of hard-capping themselves before resolving Grimes’ situation, the Knicks were able to swoop in and sign Yabusele for the same deal that the Sixers could have offered him.

With Yabu gone, potential taxpayer MLE targets are drying up—four of my favorites are already off the board—although the likes of Chris Boucher, Trey Lyles and Precious Achiuwa remain available. If the Utah Jazz eventually buy out KJ Martin, whose $8.0 million salary is fully non-guaranteed until Jan. 10, the Sixers could always pursue a reunion with him as well. Maybe they’d make better use of his balloon deal this time, too.

The Sixers allowing Yabusele to walk isn’t necessarily a sign that they won’t use their taxpayer MLE this offseason. (Even if they don’t, they could use it as an in-season trade exception.) They just needed to resolve Grimes’ free agency first, and the clock to re-sign Yabu ran out on them.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Salary Swish and salary-cap information via RealGM.

Follow Bryan on Bluesky.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...ks-sixers-quentin-grimes-contract-daryl-morey

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Report: Sixers to sign Jabari Walker to two-way deal

Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images

With their second two-way deal of the summer, the Sixers take a flier on a wing with some NBA experience.

Hey, look at that, a wing signing.

ESPN’s Shams Charania has reported that the Sixers will be signing Jabari Walker to a two-way contract.

Free agent forward Jabari Walker has agreed to a two-way NBA deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, source tells ESPN. Walker spent his first three NBA seasons in Portland, appearing in 188 games.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 4, 2025​

This is the second two-way deal Philadelphia has signed this offseason, reportedly using the first on undrafted free agent Hunter Sallis. With Alex Reese signed as well, the Sixers have all three two-way spots occupied.

Walker, a forward listed at 6-foot-9 on Basketball Reference, was a late second-round pick in 2022 who spent the first three seasons of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers. He’s averaged 5.2 points per and 3.5 rebounds per game for his career.

Per Cleaning the Glass, he spent the majority of his minutes at power forward his first two years in the league. Last season though, the Blazers moved him around a lot as he played 60% of his minutes at center as opposed to 40% at the four.

That would explain him averaging over 10 rebounds per 36 minutes in the last two seasons. He won’t protect the rim in the traditional sense though, averaging just 0.5 blocks per 36 for his career.

Offensively, he is someone who’ll take the majority of their shots right at the basket, but he did shoot it well from outside last season, albeit on an extremely low volume. He’s only averaged 1.4 three-point attempts. After shooting in the low 20s from three in his first two seasons, he made 38.9% of the threes he took.

As far as two-way swings go, Walker offers a nice blend of NBA experience and potential upside for Philadelphia.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...report-sixers-sign-jabari-walker-two-way-deal

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Trendon Watford is ready to show his versatile and fiery style of play to Philly

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Free-agent signee Trendon Watford has a combination of size, skill and intensity that should help the Sixers and play well with Philly fans.

Trendon Watford is going to talk trash.

It doesn’t matter if your his hated opponent or one of his best friends like Tyrese Maxey — if Watford gets the better of you, be prepared to hear about it.

“It’s always been a part of my game, man,” Watford said during his first meeting with the Philly media. “Growing up, just me having an older brother — 10 years older than me, that played in college and professionally — so it wasn’t easy. I had to get it, so I think that’s just what’s in me. Being that guy that mixes it up and not afraid to take wherever we gotta take it to.”

Sounds like the type of player who will be at home in the City of Brotherly Love.

Beyond the fiery style of play, Watford offers great size and versatility, two things the Sixers will miss with the departure of Guerschon Yabusele. The 24-year-old Watford stands at 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan.

While he started his career with the Portland Trail Blazers as a small-ball five, he spent the last two years as a Brooklyn Net and getting minutes as the team’s backup point guard. That type of varied skillset was ingrained in him by his father. While he was growing up, his dad would never let him be a post player, even when he was the tallest kid out there.

Watford also credits his first four years in the NBA with rounding out his game even further. As a rookie, he got to share the floor with nine-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard. In Brooklyn, his experience being the team’s de facto backup point guard only added more layers to his game.

He’s eager to play alongside Maxey and two other stars in Joel Embiid and Paul George.

“Just being able to use my IQ to play off of them,” he said. “I played with a great guard in Damian Lillard when I was in Portland, so just being able to play off some great players that I’ve played with already. And just valuing my IQ. … I think they’re obviously three great players and they’re going to be the three guys leading our team. I think it’s just finding where I can fit in, using my IQ and using what I can do to be out on the court.”

In a bit of a surprise, it wasn’t Maxey who made the initial recruiting pitch. That duty went to head coach Nick Nurse, who called Watford immediately once the free agency period began Monday night. That spoke volumes to Watford, who was eager to come to Philly.

The phone call from Maxey came immediately after.

Watford and Maxey have been friends since they met at a basketball camp in ninth grade. Their parents became friends and the players roomed together for the McDonald’s All-American Game back in 2019. Funny enough — even in that game — the two have never been teammates.

It took four years into Watford’s NBA career and five years into Maxey’s to make it happen.

But here we are.

“Man, it’s great,” Watford said. “We can’t believe it, honestly. We’re still in shock. He called me right before this and was like, ‘Man, I can’t believe you’re in Philly and going to go to the facility.’ It’s crazy. It’s crazy to be on the team right now.”

Watford is by no means a 1-for-1 replacement for Yabusele. There’s some overlap, but you’d put Watford more into the category of a combo forward and Yabusele more as a combo big.

One commonality — they both wear their emotions on their sleeve on the court, something that endeared Yabusele to the Philly faithful.

“I can’t wait. I’m ready to get it going,” Watford said. “I know how much the team means to the city and talking to Tyrese, how the Philly fans are, so I think we’re gonna get along well and I look forward to bringing what I bring to the city.”

Yeah, Watford should fit right in.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...nba-free-agency-nick-nurse-guerschon-yabusele

 

[Philadelphia 76ers]

Let’s calm down on the ‘Sixers back in contention’ talk

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Teams don’t often go fifth-worst to first, and despite some reasons to be excited about this Sixers group, I wouldn’t anticipate a season to remember.

With the initial wave of NBA free agency behind us, a strange narrative is developing within the discourse: the idea of the Philadelphia 76ers as Eastern Conference contenders. Yes, the same Philadelphia 76ers franchise that finished 24-58 last season, good for the fifth-worst record in the league. It’s true! Here’s an article on SB Nation (a terrific site!) on Tuesday, titled, “The Sixers might have accidentally stumbled back into championship contention.”

The national folks are spinning that same yarn, as well. On this recent ESPN segment covering the Sixers, Tim Legler says (4:18 mark), “The bottom line is, the talent is there and if they’re healthy, they’re going to make noise in the Eastern Conference.” Brian Windhorst later adds (5:38 mark), “With their level of talent, with Embiid, George, and Maxey...why shouldn’t this team be regarded as a contender in the Eastern Conference?”

Now, I understand the argument. The Eastern Conference is absolutely off the rails. Boston, Indiana and Milwaukee have all lost stars to achilles injuries (with the Bucks even making the decision to waive-and-stretch Damian Lillard). New York has a new coach. The pecking order in the East is basically Cleveland and then a collective shrug. Following productive offseason moves, people are pushing Orlando and Atlanta as big risers. Yes, the Hawks!

So with the Sixers penciling in an All-Star, an All-NBA player and an MVP in their starting lineup, it’s tempting to squint and see the path forward for Philadelphia next spring. After all, just 12 months ago, we were all basically saying the Sixers were just a tier below Boston in the East with essentially the same roster.

But let’s pause and really think through things. Joel Embiid only played 19 games last season, after just 39 games the year before. There’s a very real possibility that his knees are not going to consistently play NBA basketball at a high level ever again. Even an optimistic scenario for his return likely entails him taking a step back and doing less on the court in an effort to remain available for multiple games at a time. It’s extremely hard to envision Embiid carrying a team through a grueling playoff run. In a less drastic but similar vein, Paul George just turned 35 years old and has one year playing 60 or more games across the last six seasons. It’s easy to say “if healthy” with these guys, but that phrase is carrying the heaviest bucket of water imaginable.

Then, from a pure roster construction standpoint, the Sixers are still very undersized, which was a huge problem last season when they were dead-last in the league with a 47.1 rebounding percentage. They’re likely looking at a lot of three-guard lineups, and I imagine George, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Justin Edwards will soak up plenty of minutes at the four spot, with new signing Trendon Watford getting some burn off the bench. Even at his peak, I’d argue Embiid was never an exceptional rebounder, and the recent version of him without a spring in his step is a below-average one. I don’t expect him, Andre Drummond, who will be 32 years old when the season starts, or young guys like Adem Bona and Johni Broome to overcome the size disparity elsewhere on the court and alleviate the rebounding concerns.

Finally, the four guards (Maxey, Jared McCain, VJ Edgecombe, and Quentin Grimes whenever his agents realize literally no other team can pay him $25 million per year and they need to lower their asking price) will undoubtedly be the most exciting part of the team. And I love what that group could mean for the future of the franchise. But you’re talking about Grimes being the elder statesman at 25 years old. Oklahoma City just won the title with an extremely young roster, but that was more the exception than the rule. Guys generally need to go through some playoff growing pains, and other than Maxey and nine games for Grimes, this group hasn’t had that experience. Plus, McCain just had a major knee surgery, and I know we’re all supposed to be optimistic about the meniscus because he had the full repair, but it’s still something reasonable to be concerned about it.

So will the Sixers be better than last year? Certainly. Nearly everything that could have gone wrong, did, and very few branches in the multiverse would see Philadelphia go through a season like last one again. Also, feel free to go ahead and be hopeful about the future of the franchise. The Sixers have a number of exciting young pieces and a decent collection of draft assets ahead. But contention this season? If the last two decades of Sixers basketball have taught me anything, I don’t see it in the cards.

Source: https://www.libertyballers.com/2025...ack-in-contention-talk-philadelphia-76ers-nba