Welcome to the third and final part of our annual Sixers free agency primer.

The main event has arrived: free agents.

Which players can the Sixers target on the open market? As new Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey tries to improve a team that stunningly staged a 3-1 series comeback over the Boston Celtics before suffering a second-round sweep at the hands of the New York Knicks, he does not quite have all options on the table; the Sixers' precarious salary-cap standing gets in the way of premium free agents being in play.

This massive collection of players is categorized by estimated price ranges, and it is updated based on up-to-the-minute information pertaining to the market and the Sixers' own financial capacity.

Let's dive in:

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Between veteran's minimum and taxpayer's mid-level ($4-6 million per year)

These players having their markets slide down to the minimum range would be unexpected, but not implausible:

• LeBron James: That this is even remotely plausible is hard to fathom. But the NBA's all-time leading scorer seems to consider the Sixers a legitimate option as he ponders a landing spot for his 24th NBA season. James would provide all sorts of things this team could use: positional size in the frontcourt, on-ball scoring, playmaking for others, connective passing, two-way feel, clutch shot-making and big-game experience.

• Jonathan Kuminga: Sixers fans know Kuminga best for his role in Joel Embiid's most recent torn meniscus, and he has experienced a roller coaster since then himself. A former draft pick of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment President of Sports Bob Myers, Kuminga signed a one-year deal to return to the Golden State Warriors and was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. The athletic combo forward is now set to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time, without much proof of concept as a contributor to high-level teams. 

• DeMar DeRozan: Do the Sixers have room for yet another mid-range maestro? Maybe the fit is not ideal, but DeRozan is talented and can help eat up forward minutes for the Sixers. He has plenty of familiarity with Sixers head coach Nick Nurse from their shared days with the Toronto Raptors

• Nicolas Batum: Even after the Los Angeles Clippers declined Batum's team option, it is hard to envision him playing for any other NBA team before the end of his long career. If he had interest in returning to Philadelphia, the Sixers should be eager to oblige given how well he fits in alongside the team's best players.

• Russell Westbrook: Westbrook seems destined to be a floor-raiser for bad teams that have on-ball reps to give out for the remainder of his career, and the Sixers do not seem like a match. 

• Gary Payton Jr.: Myers, now a central figure within the Sixers, knows Payton very well from their shared days with the Warriors. He has the frame of a small guard, but essentially functions as a wing or big, normally operating inside and defending well above his size without taking on much of a ball-handling role. It is the sort of piece Nurse has not necessarily had during his time in Philadelphia.

• Brandon Williams: Over the last two seasons, Williams has averaged 20.9 points per 36 minutes while posting a 58.6 true shooting percentage. His knack for drawing fouls goes a long way. The Dallas Mavericks should keep him around, even amid organizational change as Masai Ujiri takes over.

• Matisse Thybulle: Another old friend! Thybulle had somewhat of a revival with the Portland Trail Blazers late in the 2025-26 season, potentially setting him up to earn a team's confidence this summer in his first trip to unrestricted free agency. Thybulle is not the exact same player now that he was when the Sixers traded him, but the key points – excellent defensive playmaker, suspect at every part of offense – remain true.

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Veteran's minimum

These players should be expected to sign minimum deals because of their flaws, age or underwhelming recent performance. But this group includes many players with NBA utilities:.

• Cam Thomas: If Grimes thinks his season on the qualifying offer was disappointing, he should talk to Thomas, who ended up being waived by the Nets after a lack of trade interest at the deadline, then signed and promptly waived again by the Bucks. He can score in bunches, but not in a fashion that contributes to winning.

• Jeremy Sochan: Sochan joined the Knicks after being let go by San Antonio and got a title against his former team without playing all that much. He is a non-shooter and has some playmaking chops for a power forward.

• Aaron Holiday: Holiday signing with the Sixers would mean all three brothers in his family would have played in Philadelphia. That is a strong pitch in itself.

• Bruce Brown: Brown had a disappointing season after returning to the Denver Nuggets, but his blend of defensive versatility and secondary ball-handling still makes him a somewhat appealing option.

• Jordan McLaughlin: A classic, table-setting point guard, McLaughlin played sparingly for the Spurs this past season. He has always been quietly productive, even if in unspectacular fashion, during his seven NBA seasons. The Sixers could do a lot worse on the end of their bench.

• Kelly Olynyk: Olynyk is probably not good enough at anything to be a full-fledged rotation piece anymore. But he is a seven-footer who can shoot and pass. 

• Xavier Tillman Sr.: Tillman looked like someone with the makeup of a stretch five with defensive versatility early in his career, but his shooting has dropped off a cliff and so has his playing time.

• Lindy Waters III: In five NBA seasons, Waters has made 36.3 percent of his long-range tries on 10.1 attempts per 36 minutes.

• Gabe Vincent: Vincent became a punching bag of sorts in Los Angeles before the Lakers traded him away, and he was extremely disappointing there. He has a role-playing set of skills, but has not been productive enough recently enough to be more than a minimum player.

• KJ Martin: Martin spent the year playing overseas after the Jazz waived him right before training camp. He showed serious flashes of promise during his time with the Sixers. He is an elite athlete, very strong – potentially a small-ball five option – and makes smart decisions in advantage situations. He is an NBA-caliber player.

• Amir Coffey: Coffey has been viewed as an enticing young player at times in the past, but he has never put it all together. He has decent size for a wing and has shot the three well in recent years.

• Seth Curry: Curry is no longer a rotation-caliber player. Perhaps the Sixers think his shooting is strong enough that he can play in a pinch when needed.

• Nick Smith Jr.: A young guard with some juice, Smith could slip through the cracks as the Lakers enter a potentially transformative offseason. He would be a more highly-touted prospect had he demonstrated an ability to provide more than just occasional scoring jolts.

• Jae'Sean Tate: An athletic, defensive-oriented wing like Tate is always intriguing because he is just a lucky three-point shooting year away from being a high-quality reserve. But in six seasons in Houston, he has yet to experience such a campaign.

• Kevin Love: Gansey knows Love extremely well from their time in Cleveland, and he could replace Kyle Lowry as a player filling the Sixers' leader-in-uniform sort of role. Love appears more likely to go wherever James goes.

• Bismack Biyombo: Biyombo ended up being one of three veteran centers on San Antonio's bench and out of its rotation, and it is clear by now that he is valued as a teammate. Can he still impact games directly?

• Jett Howard: The son of former NBA player Juwan, Howard is entering his age-23 season after three unsuccessful years with the Magic that prompted Orlando to decline his fourth-year team option. 

• Drew Eubanks: At best, Eubanks could be an innings-eater sort of center, the type of player the Sixers could reasonably throw into a game when Embiid is sidelined and somebody has to take up some minutes.

• Jeff Green: Green has become another one of the NBA's most respected teammates; it seems likely he would continue serving in a leadership role in Houston.

• Maxi Kleber: Once a perfect fit for what the Sixers needed during his prime, injuries have taken a toll on Kleber. He peaked as one of the better role-playing bigs in the NBA, capable of defending and spacing the floor.

• Georges Niang: Niang's days as a stable rotation stretch four are likely behind him, but he will always be able to shoot and serve as a valuable presence in a locker room.

• Ben Simmons: "Maybe I'll go back to Philly," Simmons told Men's Health. That one would be hard to believe. Simmons is not exactly a fan favorite around these parts. Gansey's Cavaliers did have reported interest in Simmons when the Nets bought him out two seasons ago.

• Andre Jackson Jr.: An absolutely elite athlete, Jackson has yet to find a way to leave his mark on NBA games consistently. He can certainly defend, but has little utility otherwise.

• Ochai Agbaji: Originally drafted by Gansey and the Cavaliers in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft, Agbaji was traded during his first NBA offseason as part of the Donovan Mitchell deal. He has played for Utah, Toronto and Brooklyn across his four NBA seasons, and at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds is a career 33.9 percent three-point shooter. If the percentage was higher, perhaps there would be more interest. But if he falls out of the picture in Brooklyn, Gansey could rekindle his interest in Agbaji. 

• Moussa Cisse (restricted): There is no reason for Dallas not to keep Cisse, who proved to be a useful find on the margins. He is a run-jump-dunk hustle center who averaged 19.2 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per 100 possessions as a rookie. 

• Keaton Wallace (restricted): The brother of Oklahoma City's Cason, Wallace is still looking to establish himself as an NBA regular at either guard position.

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