Stay or go: Predicting what Sixers will do with their 5 free agents
As the Philadelphia 76ers navigate the offseason, there are only so many avenues the team can use to improve.
At the moment, the Sixers have the $6.4 million taxpayer mid-level exception they can use in free agency. They could also gain the full $10.3 million mid-level exception if they cut Danny Green. Such a move would make sense since Green will miss most, if not all, of the upcoming season due to a torn ACL and LCL.
There is also the big James Harden dilemma. The Sixers acquired the future Hall of Famer at the deadline. He has a $47 million player option for the 2022-23 season, but can the Sixers negotiate with him to get a deal done that can also improve the roster?
Free agency in the NBA will begin sometime around when the new league year begins on July 1 — no official date has been given yet — and the Sixers have five free agents according to Spotrac.
We predict who stays and who goes:
James Harden: Player option
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
President Daryl Morey and the Sixers remain committed to Harden. It makes sense considering he is still an elite playmaker. He made a big difference for Philadelphia in being able to run the offense and get organized at that end of the court. He also had some big moments, as seen in Game 4 against the Miami Heat.
He will most likely opt in to his $47 million player option for the 2022-23 season, but then what happens in the 2023 offseason? Do the Sixers give him that four-year $200 million supermax deal after a clunker in the elimination loss to the Heat? Or do they work something out?
A contract similar to Chris Paul’s has been suggested frequently in media circles. That is somewhere around four-years and $120 million. It would give Harden his money while allowing Philadelphia to make some smaller moves to improve the roster.
Prediction: Stays
DeAndre Jordan
Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
The Jordan minutes were not great. He had a few solid moments backing up Joel Embiid, but, overall, the Sixers were bad on defense when he was in the game. He is clearly not the dominant center he once was when he made an All-Star appearance and was named to the All-NBA first team.
Coach Doc Rivers likes veterans off the bench, but it would be tough to justify bringing Jordan back. The emergence of young Paul Reed has made a difference there and that should influence Philadelphia’s decision here.
Prediction: Goes
Shake Milton: Club option
Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
Milton had an up and down season. He began the season with an ankle injury that set him back before testing positive for COVID-19 in December. When he returned, he suffered a back contusion in January that kept him out for a long time.
He still managed to average 8.2 points and he shot 42.9%, but he struggled to shoot from deep (32.3% on 2.4 attempts). He has a $1.6 million club option for the 2022-23 season, and the Sixers figure to pick that up.
Prediction: Stays
Paul Millsap
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Millsap was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in the Harden deal. He played only nine regular-season games and one playoff game. One has to respect Millsap for being a four-time All-Star and for carving out a long and successful NBA career, but he most likely will not be back.
Rivers mentioned Millsap possibly retiring after the team was eliminated in Game 6 by the Heat.
“I want to say this without getting emotional,” said Rivers. “Paul Millsap, maybe his last game of his career. I think people after losses think it’s just me or Joel, or James have taken it harder. Man, I’m looking at this guy, he’s given his whole career to basketball, and he’s in there crying after the game. So, for me, that was really sad. So many of these guys, they give it to the city, they give everything they have, and sometimes it’s just not good enough. I came to the conclusion that by the end of this game, we were not good enough to beat Miami. I can accept that we’re not and that’s a tough thing to say, but we were not.”
Prediction: Goes
Myles Powell
AP Photo/Nick Wass
Give Powell credit. When the Sixers were hit hard by COVID-19 in December, Philadelphia brought him in on a two-way deal and he gave the team a solid ball-handler in 11 games. The Sixers had him with their G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, for a bit to help get the necessary court time he needs to develop. One can see him sticking around on another two-way deal for the 2022-23 season.
Prediction: Stays
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