The Sixers are going to make a move this season. When you have a core like they do, there is nothing that should get in the way of winning the championship. Of course, there’s one big caveat: NBA Salary Cap Rules. The Sixers have very little wiggle room to change this roster, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Let’s check it out
Assets
As the season starts, the team has around $1.8m to spend below their hard cap at the 1st Apron. Why are they hardcapped? Because they spent their full, tax payer, mid level exception. Do that and you get yourself a spending limit. They can get a little breathing room by cutting Jabari Walker and his non-guaranteed $2.5m salary before January 10, but that’s not exactly desirable at the moment because Walker is a bargain. Let’s table that for now.
Something you can count on is that the core of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, and LeBron James is not going anywhere. Everyone else, including VJ Edgecombe is a possible trade candidate to some degree. This has nothing to do with VJ and I am by no means saying he’s going to get traded, but everything must be considered when trying to get this team to a championship.
Here are the salaries for the rest of the team:
- V.J. Edgecombe – $11.7m
- Dean Wade – $9m
- Anfernee Simons – $6m
- Lebaron Philon – $3.6m
- Dominick Barlow – $3.4m
- Ariel Hukporti – $3.4m
- Jabari Walker $2.6m
- KCP – $2.45m
- Justin Edwards $2.4m
- Adem Bona $2.3m
Why do you need to know them? For salary matching purposes of course! This is the key element of NBA trades, salaries have to match for the most part. You can combine them, but over the cap teams can’t send out too much more than they are taking in. It may seem crazy to trade any of these guys right now, and that may prove true, but it’s what we are working with.
One thing the Sixers do have is draft picks, 2nd round draft picks to be precise. They actually have plenty of first round picks too, but due to the Stepien Rule and a few protections and conditions, the only one they can actually trade is from 2033. Here is the stockpile of 2nds:
- 2027: 2 picks
- 2028: 3 picks
- 2029: 1 pick
- 2030: 1 pick
- 2031: 1 pick
- 2032: 1 pick
- 2033: 1 pick
Targets
Without trading from the core, it will be hard for the Sixers to dip their toes in the deep end of the trade pool. While they have draft picks to spend, they do not have the salaries, even when combined, to play with the big kids. We shouldn’t need to either. This team is about filling in the depth behind the stars to keep the big names fresh and supported. This means a backup PG, backup Center, and 3/D wings.
Here are the top options that should be available, in our price range, and how much it would take to get them.
- Herb Jones
- Pelicans
- $15m this season, starts a 3/$67.5m extension next season
- Jones would be an upgrade defensively over Dean Wade, but not by much. His offensive upside is more theoretical than it is factual considering Wade has shot considerably better from 3 the last two seasons at similar volume. However, Jones has been living in the mess that is the Pelicans while Wade the cushy 5th option role with James Harden and Donovan Mitchell giving him open looks.
- The price would be Wade, Simons, and likely a 1st round pick. It would likely be a 3 team trade though with those two going to a contender. Jones is here because he will be a popular name, but this is not an upgrade worth pursuing in my book.
- Kris Dunn
- Clippers
- $5.7m expiring
- Dunn still isn’t the best shooter in the world, but he is capable of at least hitting shots if left wide open. His utility comes as a guy who can guard opposing point guards and backup ball handling.
- The Clippers are going to want to collect as many assets as possible but getting a 1st for Dunn is not going to happen. Throw them 2nd rounders and a combination of Hukporti’s carcass and someone like Justin Edwards.
- Kel’el Ware – C
- Bucks
- $4.7m
- Ware was one of the main young assets that came back to the Bucks in the Giannis trade. He can shoot well enough for a big man and would provide defensive and offensive versatility as a high equality back up to Embiid.
- The Sixers would have to offer something pretty decent to entice the rebuilding Bucks to trade one of their young pieces. I have to think LeBaron Philon and the 2033 1st would be enough to make the deal, but that might be too rich for the Sixers’ blood. They also just drafted Brayden Burries and may not even want Philon despite trying to collect all the young talent they can handle
- Deandre Ayton – C
- Wizards
- $8.1m
- Don’t laugh! Ayton was better last year and would be a durable body to put behind Embiid who can rebound without fouling. Also, what is he doing in Washington with Alex Sarr and Anthony Davis?
- Getting to that $8m is going to be annoying. We aren’t sending Wade away in a deal like this, but perhaps Simons if it looks like the backup center position is a bigger priority than shooting. 2nd round picks from there should do it.
- Stephon Castle – PG
- Spurs
- $10m
- The odds of this happening are VERY minimal, but it would be a case of the two teams thinking the skill sets of the two guards are better suited on the opposite team. Castle is a tall point guard who doesn’t shoot as well as VJ but is a higher upside ball handler and defender. He may be better suited to be the long term partner of Maxey. Edgecombe could be seen to fit better next to ball handlers De’Aaron Fox and Dillon Harper in San Antonio.
- If you are going to throw VJ Edgcombe in any deal it would have to be something crazy like this. The Sixers could probably even ask for draft pick equity from the Spurs, possibly even a 1st round pick.
Other players will play themselves on to the trade market as the year goes on either from good play or bad and we will revisit.
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