June 30, 2026
Free agency begins at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, and for new Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey it is his first as a primary decision-maker in the NBA.
The first order of business for Gansey: deciding just how much he wants to retain his two primary free agents, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes. Their willingness to pay either player – or lack thereof – will chart their course for the remainder of another crucial summer.
Last week, PhillyVoice spoke with Yossi Gozlan – the foremost public salary cap expert, whose work can be found at capsheets.com and Third Apron – about Grimes, Oubre, potential trade talks surrounding Paul George and much more.
Nobody does a better job of analyzing the NBA's complex salary cap than Gozlan. What does he see coming for Gansey and the Sixers this summer? The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Adam Aaronson: I'll start with Grimes. Does a contract slightly below the mid-level exception (four years, $64.7 million) sound reasonable to you? How would you guess his value – or the perception of him around the league – is different now versus 12 months ago when he was coming off that impressive run of scoring on a team that was losing a bunch of games?
Yossi Gozlan: Yeah, probably the mid-level at the highest end. It's tough. I think it's hurt him that, even though he got supplanted by VJ Edgecombe, that he still didn't really get that much playing time in the playoffs. But maybe that could be a good thing for a team looking to buy low on him, because I still feel like he's not a bad starter to have if the rest of your positions are loaded.
AA: Oubre, you think somewhat similar, at least in terms of average annual value, to Grimes? Or maybe a bit lower because he's older and not as good of a three-point shooter? Does that seem reasonable?
YG: Yeah, I think Oubre makes less. He's older. I think there's still some upside for Grimes where with Oubre, you pretty much know what you're getting.
AA: Do you think there is a case for the Sixers to prioritize keeping Oubre over Grimes?
YG: If they lose Grimes – with Oubre, I just really want to know what the direction is. We still don't know what they want to do. And I think even if they save a bunch of money, I don't think it makes too much sense to prioritize Oubre on something more than what he made last year. I think, no matter what, if someone's going to offer him $12 million per year, they start going that high, I'd just say, 'Good luck.'"
AA: Is Andre Drummond a clear-cut veteran's minimum player at this point?
YG: Maybe. I think there might be a 20 percent chance he gets just above – that's what he's done with Chicago and Philly. I would not be surprised if he gets around $5 million per year. But I would guess his next contract will probably be around the minimum.
MORE: Source: Trendon Watford unlikely to return to Sixers
AA: I've written a bunch of times that – because my assumption is that Joel Embiid is not tradable and that they would not consider trading Tyrese Maxey, their only path to the roster being meaningfully different next year is trading Paul George. If they could save $10 million in that deal, they then have – presumably they would get two or three guys for him, so that would already bolster the depth to some degree. Then you could probably sign Grimes and Oubre and open up the mid-level and stay under the first apron. How much do you think it is worth to the Sixers to open up that opportunity versus an offseason of running back the same core? Is that worth the Los Angeles Clippers' 2028 unprotected first-round pick? Is that worth just a bunch of second-rounders?
YG: If you could trade George to the Dallas Mavericks for three of their pretty good players – like Daniel Gafford, Naji Marshall and Klay Thompson – I'm thinking one pretty good pick, like either a distant pick and maybe you could lightly protect it, or probably one very valuable, unprotected pick, I would say, because you'd be getting some pretty good players, too. You would probably have to send at least one very good pick, maybe some extra seconds, too.
AA: That 2028 Clippers pick – and they also have top-three protected swap rights the next year from the James Harden trade – has your perception of the value of picks like that changed based on the new lottery format? I have argued it is probably worth just holding onto that pick and hoping you can get someone really good in 2028 fitting the timeline of Maxey and Edgecombe. Then you can really sort of get that era rolling as you get off the two giant contracts. Do you agree? To me, it seems not worthwhile because this team is just not a solid role player away from being a championship contender.
YG: Yeah, I think the value of picks in general have gone up, and the ones that are more distant in the future have really gone up because of the uncertainty of what other lottery reform might be coming. It's so hard to find a deal that really makes sense to make up for the value you're giving up.
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