Welcome to another 5 Sixers thoughts, as we kick off another week that is now just seven days away from finding out whether or not the Sixers will keep their top-six protected first-round pick.
Even without certainty regarding the potential premium draft choice, the Sixers are already formulating their strategy for yet another crucial offseason. Before any chaos ensues next week in Chicago — where the NBA Draft Lottery and Combine will take place — it is worth taking stock of the team's collection of potential trade assets.
Premium players
These players are the cream of the crop among the Sixers' roster in terms of trade value — a star that could generate a monster return and a prospect exciting enough to be a vital part of that sort of major package:
• Tyrese Maxey had a frustrating fifth NBA campaign that fell short of expectations, but he remains a 24-year-old star with blazing end-to-end speed, excellent pull-up shooting chops, an unmatched work ethic and the sort of leadership qualities that teams crave from their best players. Any team looking for a franchise cornerstone in their backcourt would call the Sixers about Maxey's potential availability. Maxey has four years and $168 million left under contract.
• Jared McCain only needed 23 games as a rookie to skyrocket from No. 16 overall to the top few spots on the board in any hypothetical redraft. His shooting was as advertised, and his on-ball scoring skills obliterated any and all expectations for what he could do as a rookie. Before a torn meniscus ended his season, McCain went on a ridiculous scoring binge while still acclimating to the NBA environment. The kicker: McCain, 21, is owed just $15 million over the next three years, and after his rookie scale deal expires, he will be a restricted free agent. If the Sixers ever put McCain on the table in a deal, the other team could be acquiring eight years of control.
MORE: McCain, Maxey relish chance to make each other's lives easier
Negative value players
These players are on contracts that, given their current abilities, are prohibitive to efficient team-building:
• Joel Embiid has four years and about $248 million left under contract. Until he has demonstrated that he is capable of playing consistently — regardless of the caliber of his play — no team will consider absorbing that massive financial commitment.
• Paul George was the highest-profile free agent available last summer. 12 months later, with three years and $162 million left on his contract, it is hard to imagine the Sixers finding takers for him without either absorbing a much lesser player also signed to a bad contract or giving up assets of their own.
Players with some value
These players are not being traded for stars or unprotected first-round picks, but they are ones that other teams would like to have if they could:
• Justin Edwards did not get much of a chance to contribute to winning as a rookie, but he demonstrated more than enough skills that can easily translate to a role on a star-laden roster. His feel powers it all, but his defensive versatility and quick trigger on threes — with good size for a wing — make him a quality prospect worth a continued investment of time. The Sixers have until June 29 to decide on the $1.9 million team option in Edwards' contract, and unless they trade him, the likeliest outcome is they decline the deal to enable a longer-term agreement.
• Adem Bona believed the final months of his rookie season would help accelerate his development, and they certainly did. The No. 41 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft looks like he could be a real option to log backup center minutes next season, which may be more valuable to the Sixers than any other team given Embiid's constant availability issues.
Salary filler
These are players whose lone utility in trades this summer would likely be balancing out the finances. They are not negative assets, but teams are not going to go out of their way to trade for them:
• Ricky Council IV might have been in the second section if his sophomore campaign looked anything like his rookie season, but Council's disappointing performance in 2024-25 could have him on the roster bubble for the Sixers, whose coaching staff clearly had very little trust in him.
• Lonnie Walker IV impressed in a 20-game audition for the Sixers down the stretch of the season, but he is still the same player that would have spent all season in Lithuania if the team nearest to his hometown of Reading, PA had not called his agent at the 11th hour. The Sixers will decide on a $2.9 million team option in Walker's contract for 2025-26, with a deadline of June 29.
• Jared Butler might draw some interest on the free agent market at a veteran's minimum salary if the Sixers decline the $2.3 million team option in his contract — the deadline for that decision is also June 29 — but if not, it is difficult to imagine anyone seeking out a trade to add the 24-year-old floor general to their ranks.
SIXERS YEAR-IN-REVIEW
Joel Embiid | Guerschon Yabusele | Paul George | Jared McCain | Tyrese Maxey | Andre Drummond | Quentin Grimes | Jared Butler | Kyle Lowry | Kelly Oubre Jr. | Justin Edwards | Ricky Council IV | Eric Gordon | Lonnie Walker IV | Adem Bona
Draft picks
And, finally, the Sixers' draft choices — with a few obvious caveats which depend on the outcome of next week's lottery:
The Sixers owe two future first-round picks to other teams, barring a cataclysmic scenario. First, they will convey a pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. If they drop at least two slots next Monday and the pick falls at No. 7 or later, it will belong to Oklahoma City. If it stays in the top six, the Sixers will keep it and instead owe a top-four protected pick to the Thunder next season. If the Sixers held onto their pick again in 2026, the top-four protection would roll over to 2027. If they held onto their pick in 2025, 2026 and 2027, the Sixers would instead convey a 2027 second-round pick to Oklahoma City.
Two years after the Sixers' obligation to Oklahoma City has been satisfied, the team will owe a first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets. That pick will be top-eight protected for two years; if it does not convey in either season, the Sixers would instead convey a 2028 second-round pick to Brooklyn.
However, there is some good news: the Sixers own the Los Angeles Clippers' 2028 unprotected first-rounder, which despite their surprise 50-win campaign this year could easily end up being an extremely valuable asset. James Harden and Kawhi Leonard will be much older at that point, if they are even playing at all. Los Angeles does not have much young talent on their roster and does not control its draft capital for quite a few years.
Additionally, the Sixers will have the right to swap 2029 first-round picks with the Clippers if Los Angeles' pick is more favorable than their own. That right to swap is top-three protected; if the Clippers' pick falls within the top three slots they will keep it.
Meanwhile, this is the Sixers' assortment of second-rounders in the years to come:
• 2025: No. 35 overall (own)
• 2026: none
• 2027: own, more favorable of Phoenix and Golden State
• 2028: Golden State, Detroit (if No. 55-60)
• 2029: own
• 2030: Washington, more favorable of Phoenix and Portland
• 2031: own
This is a strong collection of second-round picks, aided significantly by a trade deadline deal with the Washington Wizards in which the Sixers salary dumped Reggie Jackson, added Butler and swapped the least valuable first-round pick in their arsenal for four second-round picks with legitimate upside.
MORE: Possible targets at No. 35 overall
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