The Sixers are in the kind of spot where the smartest move might be no move at all.
The latest wrinkle came from The Stein Line, which reported that the Portland Trail Blazers will not buy out the final two years of Jrue Holiday’s four-year, $134.4 million contract. That shuts the door on the wave of speculation - and the false reporting - that had some fans expecting Holiday to wash out of Portland and land back in Philadelphia.
“league sources say Portland is not about to just usher Holiday onto the open market.”
That leaves the Sixers exactly where their cap sheet says they are: boxed in. Philadelphia has one open roster spot, but it is $1.83 million below the first apron, and that matters because the team used the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons. That exception triggers a hard cap at the apron, which means the Sixers can’t just keep adding salary.
Even a veteran minimum deal is off the table. The source of the problem is simple: a minimum contract would add at least $2 million to the payroll, which would push Philadelphia over that hard cap. The one narrow exception would be signing an undrafted rookie to a minimum deal, which would cost just $1.36 million, but the better play would be a two-way contract instead.
There is one path to more breathing room, and it would require waiving Jabari Walker. Only $250,000 of his nearly $2.6 million salary is guaranteed, and cutting him would put the Sixers $4.16 million below the first apron.
That would be enough room for a veteran minimum signing. The question is whether anyone available is worth opening that space.
For some fans, the answer is Nick Richards. The 28-year-old center is viewed as one of the better remaining big men on the market, and he would give Philadelphia a lob threat and some help on the glass.
Last season with the Chicago Bulls, he posted 9.4 points and 7.6 rebounds in 20 games. But the fit comes with real concerns, especially his decision-making and rim protection.
That’s why the better route may be patience. The Sixers can look at Adem Bona, Ariel Hukporti, and five-out looks before they sacrifice flexibility for a stopgap. They also have another avenue to improve later, since they can combine salaries in a trade and hold nine second-round picks to work with at the February deadline.
Beyond Richards, the market does not offer much that changes the picture. Nicolas Batum is still out there, but he’ll turn 38 this season, and even with a game that isn’t built on athleticism, there’s fair reason to wonder how much he has left. If Philadelphia didn’t have to waive Walker, a Batum reunion would at least be worth discussing.
For now, the offseason has mostly settled into the usual background noise: two-way signings, training camp deals, and the broader restricted free agency mess that Philadelphia was fortunate to avoid this summer. The front office’s final two-way spot is the place to watch, with Rayan Rupert and Caleb Love already occupying the other two.
In other words, the Sixers are probably done. And at this stage, that may be exactly how it should be.
In Other News...
Sixers Already Have A Real Anfernee Simons Problem
The Sixers offseason overhaul has already created a tricky fit for Anfernee Simons, even before the roster starts taking shape in real games. With Jaylen Brown and LeBron James now soaking up a heavy share of the offense, there may simply not be enough on-ball opportunity left for a guard whose value has long been tied to volume, rhythm and touches.
That makes Simons more than just another name on the depth chart. Philadelphia may eventually view him as a movable contract if it wants to plug other holes, and the front office already has a better sense of where the roster could use help after the addition of another similar young guard. For now, though, the larger issue is less about what Simons can do and more about where he fits, which is a problem the Sixers will have to sort out sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Nurse Said One LeBron Moment Hit The Sixers Differently
Nick Nurse had a front-row view of the kind of offseason move that changes the temperature around an entire franchise. The 76ers signed four-time NBA champion LeBron James to a two-year contract, instantly giving a roster already built around Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe a different kind of gravity. For a coach who has already won a title himself, it also added another layer to a team that is openly lining up its push toward the 2026-27 championship picture.
Nurses own reaction only underscored how big the moment felt inside the organization. He was away in Rome when he learned of the deal, a reminder that even in the offseason, the leagues biggest names can reshape the conversation in a hurry. The signing gave Philadelphia a headline-grabbing jolt, but it also left the practical questions that always follow a move like this, starting with how all of that talent is supposed to fit when the games begin to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Former Sixers Fan Favorite Suddenly Has A Real NBA Lifeline
Georges Niang has spent the past year in an awkward holding pattern, bouncing through a pair of trades last summer before being waived and then waiting for a clean basketball landing spot. The former 76ers fan favorite is now back in the conversation, with his name surfacing as a free-agent option for a team looking to round out its roster.
For Philadelphia fans, Niang is still an easy one to remember from his time in the city, which is part of why his next move carries a little extra interest. He also missed all of last season while recovering from a foot injury, so any opportunity now would be about more than just finding a new uniform. It would be a chance to prove there is still real NBA value left in his game. [Read more 🡒]