For the second week in a row, my call for Sixers mailbag questions was met with so many topics that we will have a bonus mailbag later in the week.
But for now, here is the standard Tuesday morning mailbag, with a focus on Joel Embiid before pivoting to a complex offseason scenario:
From @Jack_Michael17: Is there any path forward for the Sixers to build without focusing on a youth movement type rebuild? Is there a path to contention if Joel Embiid is never really himself again?
Rebuilding around young talent is viable insofar as the Sixers are slated to add whichever prospect they select at No. 3 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft to a group of players 25 and under which includes Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, Quentin Grimes, Justin Edwards and Adem Bona. But trading the older talent on this team – namely Embiid and Paul George – is much easier said than done. In fact, shedding either of those players' massive contracts could cost the Sixers the assets which otherwise could be used to continue collecting young talent.
The Sixers can do their best to keep a focus on acquiring younger players with upward mobility, but they cannot wave a magic wand and be the youngest team in the NBA. All things considered, their base of young talent and draft picks is significantly better than what one would expect from a team with such massive commitments to older players. But this situation is what it is.
Furthermore, answering the second part of your question, there is almost certainly no path to genuine championship contention while Embiid is under contract if he is not healthy and playing at a level even somewhat resembling what fans had grown used to before his nightmarish 2024-25 campaign. In today's salary cap environment in the NBA, every dollar is precious. Contending with any bad contracts is a major challenge. If the Sixers are not getting anything close to their money's worth on this deal, there is just a hard ceiling on what they can achieve:
Joel Embiid's contract after this season (2026-2029 salaries estimated based on cap projections):
– 2025-26 (age 31/32): $55,224,526
– 2026-27 (age 32/33): $59,539,200
– 2027-28 (age 33/34): $64,302,336
– 2028-29 (age 34/35): $69,065,472 (player option)
4 years, $248,131,534.— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) February 28, 2025
The next four years of the organization's well-being are depending on Embiid's health. Speaking of that…
MORE: Mock draft 1.0, with trades + first prediction of what Sixers do at No. 3
From @rich_schwenk: What is the status of Embiid's recovery? Does anyone have an update?
To answer your first question: it is unclear.
To answer your second question: no.
The last update regarding Embiid’s health came on April 11, when the Sixers said he had undergone surgery two days earlier. The statement said that Embiid’s arthroscopic left knee surgery was a success, and that he would be re-evaluated in approximately six weeks.
As of Tuesday, June 10, we are 60 days removed from that statement. Surely, Embiid has been re-evaluated many times over as his rehabilitation process has continued, but there has been no update provided.
Embiid’s injuries have long been scrutinized, and as a result his health status has been protected more intensely. It is not a secret that Embiid does not want his medical information out there. While that is entirely understandable in isolation, the NBA does have rules about injury disclosures and media availabilities that have on occasion been broken dating back to the early stages of the 2024-25 season.
To a large degree, deciding what information is conveyed publicly has become Embiid's prerogative when it comes to his health. Nobody would struggle to understand his natural inclination to aim for privacy. But it is a dynamic that greatly contributes to the continued lack of public trust in an organization desperate for any sort of goodwill locally.
MORE: Identifying targets for Sixers at No. 35 based on Daryl Morey's draft history
From @JohnHenryBryant: If they think a guard is the best player available at No. 3, is it possible they do a sign-and-trade with Quentin Grimes for more wing/PF depth?
The Sixers pulling off a sign-and-trade of Grimes is theoretically possible, yes – and if the Sixers draft a guard, it could benefit Grimes as a way to maximize his earnings and minutes. But it is extremely complicated due to several salary cap restrictions for the team acquiring the player being signed and traded, enough that it is a very unlikely proposition.
On the Sixers' end, the team would be hard-capped at the second apron if they received any players back in exchange for Grimes. Assuming they do not make any draft trades, I project the Sixers to have in the range of $21 million below the second apron before re-signing Grimes or Guerschon Yabusele. If Yabusele takes the taxpayer's mid-level exception, there would be about $16 million of breathing room to fit in any potential sign-and-trade return for Grimes. But there are even more complicated rules that follow – Google "base year compensation" if you are somehow interested – that also require the Sixers to send Andre Drummond and another player out in the same deal.
Meanwhile, any team that acquires Grimes in a sign-and-trade will be hard-capped at the first apron. This limits his market to teams that do not just have a starting-caliber wing the Sixers desire, but also not many significant financial commitments. It could be a three-team deal or even a four-team deal. I could only come up with one trade that seemed remotely feasible. It starts with Grimes agreeing to this four-year, $70 million contract:
| Year | Salary |
| 2025-26 | $16,279,070 |
| 2026-27 | $17,093,024 |
| 2027-28 | $17,906,977 |
| 2028-29 | $18,720,931 |
| Total | $70,000,001 |
This is a tick above what Grimes could get if he signed for the full non-taxpayer's mid-level, which tops out at four years and a hair over $60 million. It is also the sweet spot for the Sixers to be able to sign-and-trade Grimes, ship out Drummond and Lonnie Walker IV in the same deal and absorb about $10 million in returning salary. There is one team with a starting-caliber wing making exactly $10 million, room below the first apron and a potential desire to get younger while adding more shooting and ball-handling:
| Sixers receive… | Los Angeles Clippers… |
| Derrick Jones Jr. | Quentin Grimes |
| 2027 second-round pick | Andre Drummond |
| 2031 second-round pick | Lonnie Walker IV |
The Clippers letting George walk last summer gave them some significant financial flexibility, and they have enough breathing room to swap someone like Chester native Derrick Jones Jr. – a stellar athlete and wing defender – for Grimes if they felt their team needed an infusion of perimeter offense without sacrificing a ton of defense. Even Drummond might have some small utility in Los Angeles, where the Clippers are desperate for backup center help.
However, the real roadblock to a deal getting done here is the Clippers' lack of other tradable assets. Grimes is clearly a more valuable commodity than Jones, and the Sixers would be right to reject this swap if they are only getting two second-rounders. Grimes can always be re-signed by the Sixers and then traded down the line; there is no rush to do this now.
If the Clippers were willing to put their 2031 first-round pick on the table, though, it becomes a far more interesting conversation on the Sixers' side. That is the earliest first-rounder the Clippers are capable of trading; all of their picks before then are controlled by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Sixers.
Without that, Jones might not be quite significant enough of a difference-maker to justify parting with Grimes, a 25-year-old with a proven track record of being a quality two-way rotation player who just blossomed as a scorer to a tremendous degree over the last few months of his fourth NBA campaign.
MAKING STATISTICAL CASES FOR AND AGAINST THE SIXERS DRAFTING…
Tre Johnson | Ace Bailey | VJ Edgecombe
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