June 09, 2026
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Could Ayo Dosunmu be an option for the Sixers in free agency?
Mike Gansey's tenure as Sixers President of Basketball Operations is officially underway, as the announcement of Gansey's hiring on Thursday was followed up by his introductory press conference on Monday morning.
Suddenly, we are two weeks away from the 2026 NBA Draft, and Gansey's first major decision in Philadelphia will pertain to the team's No. 22 overall pick, which his predecessor acquired in the Jared McCain trade. Will Gansey trade the pick? If not, which prospects appeal to him?
After the draft comes and goes, Gansey's attention will turn to free agency and, potentially, the trade market. Two critical components of the 2025-26 Sixers — Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes — will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Under Gansey, the Sixers have a few different options when it comes to managing their cap sheet once June 30 arrives and free agents start going off the board.
In this week's Sixers mailbag, let's dive into one of those pathways:
From @alyssapirone: If the Sixers do use the full MLE, who are your favorite targets?
On Friday, I wrote about a pair of trade ideas for the Sixers entering the offseason. One was swapping Paul George for Andrew Wiggins and Bobby Portis, also giving up the No. 22 pick and two future second-rounders as part of a Giannis Antetokounmpo deal. Some hated the idea; that trade does not definitively make the Sixers better and comes at the cost of a first-round pick and more.
But everyone would agree that the 2025-26 Sixers encountered a major issue with their depth in the playoffs. Part of the calculus for that trade, I argued, was not just turning George into a replacement starting wing and a big capable of playing multiple positions in a rotation, but also saving about $10 million. It would, in all likelihood, enable the Sixers to keep Grimes, retain Oubre, too, and open up the non-taxpayer's mid-level exception.
The "full MLE," as Dan calls it in his question, is projected to be worth up to four years and just over $64 million. Any team that uses it is hard-capped at the league's first apron. Typically, a team with three max contracts would not have a realistic chance to use the full mid-level exception.
The Sixers have two ways to open up the non-tax mid-level and heighten their free-agency spending power: making a trade like the George deal theorized about last week and saving a minimum of something like $8 million in the process, or deciding to let Grimes and Oubre both depart.
If the Sixers are serious about bolstering their depth, trading George for multiple players, saving some money against the first apron and then using the full mid-level is the optimal path. If they are more interested in simply finding a way to add another starting-caliber piece to what currently exists, they absolutely can do it – but their depth might be even worse heading into 2026-27.
MORE: Sixers future draft pick tracker
If the Sixers opted to use the entire allotment of money on one player, they could get someone who is unquestionably a starting-level player, trusted to log high-leverage minutes. So, circling back to what Dan actually asked: which free agents could be in play for the Sixers at that price point?
Last year, the Atlanta Hawks committed their non-tax mid-level to Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a trusted two-way presence for contending Minnesota Timberwolves teams. Alexander-Walker experienced an on-ball scoring breakout which earned him the NBA Most Improved Player Award. Not every signing goes that well, but it is an example of the value that can be extracted from the full MLE.
One player who seems like a solid bet to end up right in that price range is Ayo Dosunmu, whose trade from the Chicago Bulls to Minnesota was one of the most impactful deals at the deadline. A tenacious guard capable of playing on and off the ball, Dosunmu arguably gave the Timberwolves an upgrade from Alexander-Walker. Minnesota will angle to keep him in the fold, but they have their own financial concerns and constraints which could complicate the process.
It was clear throughout the playoffs that the Sixers did not have enough reliable spot-up three-point shooting around their best players; that is where a player like Rui Hachimura, a 42.6 percent three-point shooter across three full seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, could factor into this. Hachimura is not an incredibly high-volume shooter, but he shoots around four long-range tries per game and is very accurate. He also provides size on the wing and some resulting lineup flexibility. The Lakers might go big-game hunting in free agency, and Hachimura could have his cap hold renounced as a casualty of those efforts.
If the Sixers care more about the defensive end of the floor, Dean Wade could be an option. Gansey, of course, knows Wade very well from their shared time with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wade is "expected to contend for a healthy portion of some team's full $15 million [mid-level] exception," Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported on Saturday. He would be a stabilizing force at either forward spot for the Sixers, and arguably their best perimeter defender right away – even if his offense leaves some to be desired. The Cavaliers will try to retain him, Fischer added, though Cleveland's precious financial standing could make that challenging.
MORE: What should Gansey's Plan A for 2026 offseason be?
The mid-level exception can be split up across multiple contracts, too, and the Sixers could further bolster their depth by utilizing it to sign two players. They will not get anybody as reliably productive as the players above, but should be able to land two rotation pieces with that money.
Two players that could make at least $8 million or so per year – and remain at a number small enough that a team could fit them into the full MLE alongside a lower-profile free agent – are Landry Shamet and Sandro Mamukelashvili. Shamet has been a brilliant bench piece for the Eastern Conference champions in New York; the former Sixers first-round pick is likely playing his way into the Knicks not being able to afford him this summer. Mamukelashvili had a breakout season with the Toronto Raptors, blending terrific three-point production with positional versatility inside. He was one of the absolute best bench bigs in the NBA in 2025-26. Perhaps if Shamet's market grows a bit too much for the Sixers' liking, they could pivot to fellow backup Knicks guard Jose Alvarado, an absolute pest on defense with strong organizational skills.
Among players that could be sensible fits – either for a price tag closer to half of the maximum $15 million salary or, if their markets buffer, even less: De'Anthony Melton, an old friend whose injury issues are still prevalent but can still guard on the perimeter and knock down threes, Keon Ellis, likely a more reliable option for point-of-attack defense from a health perspective and a player Gansey's Cavaliers acquired, Tim Hardaway Jr., a veteran sharpshooter coming off two straight years of helping playoff teams, and Simone Fontecchio, a stable and reliable two-way wing without any outlier traits.
MORE: Takeaways from Gansey's press conference
