At long last, we got a fresh heaping of Sixers slop on Saturday. Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported that Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade is “expected to draw interest from various playoff teams,” including the Sixers.
New Sixers president Mike Gansey was the Cavaliers’ general manager before coming to Philly, so it’s no surprise that the Sixers are being linked to Wade. What’s more surprising is their apparent willingness to spend the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
Using
the non-taxpayer MLE would hard-cap the Sixers at the first apron, which is projected to be around $209 million next season. Given their current cap sheet, it would be difficult for them to spend that and bring back either Kelly Oubre Jr. or Quentin Grimes, much less both.
So, the question isn’t just whether the Sixers can land any of these players for a starting salary no higher than roughly $15 million. It’s whether adding any of these players justifies costing them a realistic shot of re-signing Oubre or Grimes.
Based on the current $165 million projection for the 2026-27 salary cap, the non-taxpayer MLE is projected to start at $15.05 million. A three-year deal with 8% annual raises (the highest they can go) would top out at roughly $48.75 million, while a four-year contract could go as high as $67.4 million.
John Collins, PF
Five years ago, John Collins and Trae Young tormented the Sixers in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Fast-forward a half-decade and Young is on the Washington Wizards, Collins is finishing his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, and Ben Simmons just won a sportfishing championship.
It’s unclear what the Clippers have up their sleeves this offseason. Trade rumors about star forward Kawhi Leonard are beginning to bubble to the surface, while The Ringer’s Zach Lowe hinted that the Clippers could be a sneaky threat in free agency.
“I don’t know if this has been decided yet, but someone who would know told me [Wednesday] that the Clippers are telling or behaving I guess as though they’re going to have cap space in the offseason,” Lowe said on his podcast (via RealGM). “They can’t open much. They can open about $20 million but they have to cut some options and renounce some guys.”
One of those guys would be Collins, who averaged 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 27.1 minutes per game while shooting a career-best 40.6 percent from deep last season. He has a $39.9 million cap hold, so the Clippers will have to renounce him to have any chance of creating cap space (barring larger moves).
Collins is mostly a 4, but he can play the 5 at times. He isn’t a high-volume three-point shooter, but he’s gradually improved his efficiency from beyond the arc in recent years. And he’s still a solid rebounder and shot-blocker despite no longer being quite as springy as he was in his early 20s.
Tony Jones of The Athletic has been banging this particular drum for a minute now. If the Sixers could get Collins with the non-taxpayer MLE, he could fill a major void for them… provided that he doesn’t fall victim to the Philadelphia curse that robs players of their shooting ability as soon as they set foot in the city.
Rui Hachimura, PF
The Los Angeles Lakers can create upward of $50 million of cap space this summer even though they plan to sign Austin Reaves to a four-year, $185 million max deal. They have the potential to pull off the same cap-hold trick that the Sixers did with Tyrese Maxey.
Much like the Clippers with Collins, getting to that level of cap space would require the Lakers to renounce their free-agent rights to LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, among others. Hachimura’s availability thus might come down to whether the Lakers are able to pull off a big splash this offseason.
If he does shake loose from Los Angeles, he’d be an incredible fit in Philly on the non-taxpayer MLE. Hachimura has shot above 41 percent from three-point range in each of the past three seasons, and he knocked down a thermonuclear 56.9 percent of his 5.8 attempts per game from deep during the playoffs. With Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves sidelined, he’s one of the main reasons why the Lakers were able to upset the Houston Rockets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
The 6’8″, 230-pound Hachimura can’t provide much rim protection whenever he moonlights as a small-ball 5, but his shooting ability opens the door to five-out lineups on offense. That’s a look the Sixers haven’t had at their disposal in recent years, with all due respect to Andre Drummond’s corner threes.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Hachimura ultimately winds up commanding more than the non-taxpayer MLE, which would likely take the Sixers out of the running for him. But if the market dries up on him, he should be a priority target.
Jusuf Nurkić, C
To be clear: The Sixers should not spend the full non-taxpayer MLE on a backup center. While they need reinforcements behind Joel Embiid, the opportunity cost of hard-capping themselves at the first apron—and creating a hole in their starting lineup with the likely departure of Oubre—is too great to ignore.
But if Jusuf Nurkić is willing to settle for only a portion of the non-taxpayer MLE, that’s a conversation worth having. He might be the Sixers’ best backup to Embiid since Al Horford in 2019.
Nurkić started 36 games for the Utah Jazz this past season and averaged 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and a career-high 4.8 assists in only 26.4 minutes per game. He’s been a starter for most of his 12-year NBA career and might not be ready to move into a backup role, although it’s possible that the market forces his hand given his age (turns 32 in August).
In Philly, the Sixers could more or less promise Nurkić at least 20 starts throughout the year in place of Embiid, and possibly far more. (Hopefully not.) Embiid also isn’t playing into the high-30s minutes-wise until the playoffs, so Nurkić would have a sizable role off the bench.
If Nurkić is offered a starting role elsewhere or commands the full non-taxpayer MLE, the Sixers shouldn’t try to compete with that. But if he’s willing to slide into a swing backup/starter role behind Embiid, the Sixers could also offer a legitimate chance to rebuild his market value in case he signs a short-term deal.
Sandro Mamukelashvili, PF/C
Stein and Fischer also reported Saturday that the Toronto Raptors “are bracing for big man Sandro Mamukelashvili to test the open market.” The Raptors are hoping to re-sign him, but he’s “expected to have multiple suitors at a sizable portion” of the non-taxpayer MLE, they added.
In other words: Casual NBA fans are going to lose their everloving minds when they see the terms of Mamukelashvili’s next contract.
True hoopers—or anyone sick enough to watch the Toronto Raptors last year—know the Mamu love is well-deserved. He set career-highs in points (11.2), rebounds (4.9), made three-pointers (1.4) and minutes played per game (21.9) while shooting 52.3 percent overall and 38.9 percent from deep.
Mamu could fill in as Embiid’s primary backup, but his floor-spacing ability also gives him the potential to slide in next to Embiid at the 4. The Sixers have long searched for a big man who can credibly play alongside Embiid at times, and Mamu may be their realistic best hope.
A sizable portion of the non-taxpayer MLE could still end up being an eight-figure annual salary. But if Mamu signs with the Sixers for less than the full thing, that might give them enough wiggle room under the first apron to re-sign Oubre or Grimes.
Robert Williams III, C
Robert Williams III falls into the same camp as Nurkić spending-wise. There’s an extra reason to be caution of him, too.
While Nurkić has missed time in recent years, it’s nothing compared to Williams. He’s played only 294 games across eight NBA seasons, and this past year was only the third time that he played more than 40 games.
The last thing that the Sixers need behind Embiid is another center with constant availability concerns. With that said, Williams’ talent is undeniable.
In only 17.1 minutes per game with the Portland Trail Blazers last year, he still managed to average 6.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. He has never averaged fewer than 1.2 blocks per game despite having played more than 25 minutes per game only once in eight seasons.
If Horford was enough when it comes to high-risk potential Celtics sleeper agents, that’s completely understandable. Williams could vastly outplay his contract if he stays healthy, but that is an enormous “if.”
Other players featured here are better fits, but we shouldn’t rule out Williams entirely if the Sixers to decide to move on from Oubre and Grimes.
Derrick Jones Jr., SF/PF
Up until now, the players mentioned here are set to become free agents in a few days’ time. We’ve now reached the one exception.
This latest collective bargaining agreement allows teams to use the non-taxpayer MLE as a trade exception as well as a mechanism to sign free agents. So, the Sixers could use it—or could have used it already—to facilitate a salary dump (say, Aaron Wiggins or Isaiah Joe).
They could also use it to absorb Derrick Jones Jr. or send back one of Oubre or Grimes in a sign-and-trade if the Los Angeles Clippers decide to continue their ongoing roster overhaul.
Beyond saying that the Clippers could be a cap-space team this offseason, ESPN’s Zach Lowe also mentioned them as a possible dark-horse landing spot for LeBron James, which might require them to open up even more financial flexibility. Jones is earning less than $10.5 million in the final year of his three-year, $30.0 million contract, so the Sixers could easily absorb him into the non-taxpayer MLE without sending out salary.
Jones isn’t a prolific three-point shooter, which could make him an awkward fit on the Sixers. He’s not much worse than Oubre in that department, and like Oubre, he’d otherwise fill the glue-guy role in the Sixers’ starting lineup.
A handful of second-round picks appears to have become the going rate for veterans on expiring contracts, so that’s all the Sixers should be willing to offer for Jones, especially if the Clippers’ primary motivation in making the trade is to free up financial flexibility. They should not under any circumstance offer the Clippers back their 2028 first-round pick or the 2029 first-round swap, especially given the new lottery system and the league’s cap-circumvention investigation still ongoing.
But if the Sixers get priced out on Oubre, Jones would be a solid replacement at a reasonable price.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.
Follow Bryan on Bluesky.
