On a day like today, why would anyone want to read about anything other than the Sixers?
As we do at the start of every week, let's run through a batch of notes and tidbits about the team that is surely the talk of the town right now in 5 Sixers thoughts:
Justin Edwards' long-term outlook after conversion to standard deal
News broke over the weekend that Edwards, the undrafted rookie from Philadelphia who inked a two-way contract with the Sixers, had agreed to a standard NBA contract. Edwards, who has started eight games in a row, reportedly signed a two-year contract containing a team option for next season. Edwards will be well worth the projected $1.9 million his team option will be worth, but expect the Sixers to decline that option in order to sign Edwards to a new, longer-term deal in the summer that keeps him in the organization for years to come.
The Sixers could only offer Edwards a two-year deal because they did not have any cap space or exception money (every penny of their room mid-level exception went to Kelly Oubre Jr. over the summer). So, they wisely attached a team option to this deal so they can decline that option and use a small portion of whichever mid-level exception they have to give Edwards up to three or four years on a new deal. Expect the same to happen for two-way point guard Jared Butler if he does enough to convince Sixers brass that their gamble on him at the deadline was wise.
Long-term, the salary cap benefits of having a quality rotation player on an inexpensive multi-year deal are significant, particularly if the team has a star-laden roster. The Sixers have exactly that, with Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey all on max deals.
MORE: Daryl Morey talks trade deadline, Joel Embiid's future, team's next steps
Where do the Sixers' draft picks stand?
The Sixers did quite a bit of shuffling of future draft picks at the deadline, including a trade which swapped a 2026 first-round pick for four distant second-rounders. Their future first-round picks are in a bit of a state of limbo, as they owe protected 2025 and 2027 first-rounders that could convey in other years if the picks fall within their protected ranges.
Here is an update on where they stand over the next seven drafts in regards to second-round picks:
| Draft | Second-round picks |
| 2025 | • own |
| 2026 | none |
| 2027 | • own • more favorable of GSW/PHX |
| 2028 | • GSW • DET (top-55 protected) |
| 2029 | • own |
| 2030 | • WAS • more favorable of PHX/POR |
| 2031 | • own |
With the Sixers unlikely to keep their first-round pick this year due to an extremely light top-six protection, regaining their own second-rounder in the Quentin Grimes/Caleb Martin swap was good business. If the season ended today, that would be the No. 37 overall pick.
Ben Simmons joining Clippers
The former No. 1 overall pick of the Sixers has had a brutally unsuccessful tenure with the Brooklyn Nets since being the centerpiece of a trade package which landed the Sixers James Harden a few years back, with continued injury difficulties and ensuing surgeries zapping much of the athleticism which helped make him such a special talent. That loss of explosion plus a lack of skill development has rendered him a situational player at best.
Simmons reached a buyout agreement with the Nets to become a free agent, and after reportedly considering deals with the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers, he agreed to head out west and join the Clippers. He is now teammates with Harden, an ironic twist in what has become one of the most bizarre career paths in recent league history.
Back in 2017-18, Simmons submitted one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history. Everyone can recall the downward trajectory that he has been on since, culminating in a no-brainer max contract the Sixers gave him after his fourth NBA season becoming an albatross. What his market looks like as a free agent this summer will be jarring if he does not have a strong close to the season with the Clippers.
MORE: What to expect from Sixers' deadline acquisitions
A helpful note on Eric Gordon's contract
With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror and everyone having a clearer picture of what the Sixers' future cap sheet could look like, conversations about various decisions pertaining to the team's 2025-26 roster are beginning. (Later this week, we will have an in-depth breakdown of how the team can maximize its talent next season).
Three Sixers have player options in their contracts for next season, including Oubre for nearly $8.4 million and Andre Drummond for $5 million. The best guess right now is that Oubre would opt out with a chance to re-sign on a longer-term deal in a similar ballpark of average annual value while Drummond would opt in after a down season, but those could conceivably go either way.
Gordon, meanwhile, has a player option for next season worth $3,468,960. He signed a two-year, veteran's minimum deal this summer, giving him about $3.3 million this season with that player option in the second year. But that option is merely a formality, and if Gordon expects to even have a market at the minimum salary, he will decline his option.
When a team signs an external free agent on a two-year minimum deal, the salary in the second season can only be an increase of up to five percent from the prior year, hence Gordon's salary of $3,468,960. But if the 17-year-veteran reenters free agency this summer, the projected minimum salary for a player with his years of experience is worth over $3.6 million. Even if Gordon has interest in returning to the Sixers next year on a minimum salary, he will decline his option before re-signing — and if he returns on a one-year deal, his salary cap hit will be reduced to just under $2.3 million. This is because, while there is a sliding scale of minimum salaries that increases for players with more years of service, all minimum signings have the same cap hit to ensure teams are not inclined to stray away from signing older players.
This will all be far more relevant in June, but it's worth keeping in mind now that we have a better idea of the offseason decisions facing the Sixers.
Has Drummond fallen out of the rotation?
Drummond has only played in a small handful of games since injuring his left toe on Dec. 23, and now that he appears to finally be healthy, it is unclear if the rotation spot he vacated remains available. Edwards' emergence could enable the Sixers to keep him in the starting five and bring Guerschon Yabusele off the bench as the team's backup center. Head coach Nick Nurse has shown a clear preference to play smaller with more pace and better spacing during his time in Philadelphia, which continued on Sunday afternoon when he used all of Butler, Gordon and Kyle Lowry, but neither of Drummond and rookie center Adem Bona.
Meanwhile, on Friday night in Detroit, with Yabusele sidelined due to knee soreness it was Bona, who backed up Embiid, not the veteran Drummond, who returned to Philadelphia with the hope of stabilizing the team's infamously disastrous backup center slot. Now, the Sixers are likely crossing their fingers he does not pick up that $5 million player option for next season.
MORE: What could the Sixers have offered for Luka Dončić?
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