Stay or go: determining Philadelphia 76ers free agents that should return
With the NBA’s free agency moratorium period starting on June 30th at 6:00 p.m. EST and 13 Philadelphia 76ers players entering free agency, it’s time for this year’s stay-or-go edition.
Note: When discussing the potential contracts these 76ers players should earn in a new deal, I’m not keeping track of Philadelphia’s hypothetical salary cap, I’m simply talking about the player’s contractual value. However, I do have a 76ers offseason plan in the works for this week.
Tyrese Maxey (stay with 76ers)
“Deciding to keep Tyrese Maxey was very easy for me, and I’m sure the 76ers’ front office feels the same. Besides Joel Embiid, Maxey is the best draft pick Philadelphia has had since Allen Iverson in 1996.”
With James Harden’s departure, Maxey became the 76ers’ second option and showcased remarkable growth as a playmaker and three-level scorer. His performance earned him an all-star appearance and the 2024 Most Improved Player award.
Maxey is expected to receive a five-year/$205 million maximum contract offer from the 76ers, which is considered a “league-wide lock” according to Marc Stein.
However, Philadelphia will likely make the offer after they’ve solidified their roster through free agency and potential trades. This is due to Maxey’s $13 million cap hold, which provides the team with more financial flexibility compared to immediately locking him in on a max contract.
Mike Scotto of Hoops Hype mentioned that Maxey’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, is interested in securing a player option for the final year of Maxey’s potential max deal. Maxey has been flexible and deserves every penny of the max contract, along with a player option.
Tobias Harris (leave the 76ers)
I could leave this explanation blank and you all would get the point… Tobias Harris is the 76ers’ second-longest tenured player after Joel Embiid. Harris was acquired in a midseason trade during the 2018-2019 season as part of the team’s efforts to build a championship-caliber roster around Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Jimmy Butler.
After losing to the eventual champions, the Toronto Raptors in seven games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Philadelphia lost Jimmy Butler to the Miami Heat and then signed Harris to a five-year/$180 million maximum contract in an attempt to regroup.
Harris has not justified his max salary in the past five seasons, with inconsistent postseason performances and questionable shot selection. His playstyle has not fully fit with the 76ers.
Year after year, Philadelphia fans have grown tired of Harris’ underwhelming performance, and the pressure has taken its toll on him. There is no justification for keeping Harris, and it’s time for both parties to start afresh.
Kelly Oubre Jr. (stay with 76ers)
Philadelphia signed Kelly Oubre Jr. for a veteran’s minimum of $2 million before the 2023-2024 season, and it turned out to be one of the biggest steals of the 2023 offseason, as he averaged 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and provided solid perimeter defense.
With Nick Nurse as a significant influence, Oubre transformed his career from putting up numbers on lottery teams to becoming a player who can greatly contribute to winning basketball. He focused on improving his defensive skills, particularly in isolation, and his play-making, especially in drive-and-kick situations.
Oubre, a fan favorite, wants to return to Philadelphia, and the feeling is mutual. Philadelphia can keep him with cap space or the non-tax-payer mid-level-exception worth about $12.9 million, as long as the 76ers stay below the luxury tax.
With a mid-level exception of three years and $38.7 million, Oubre may find it compelling to return, despite strong interest from numerous contenders as reported by Evan Sidery. Given Oubre’s likely large market and the 76ers’ pursuit of a star, keeping him will be a major challenge, but possible under the right circumstances.
De’Anthony Melton (leave the 76ers)
De’Anthony Melton joined Philadelphia after the Memphis Grizzlies traded him during the 2022 draft. In return, the Grizzlies received the 76ers’ 23rd pick (which they used to select David Roddy) and Danny Green.
Melton has excelled as a high-quality “3&D” wing and has been a key player for the Philadelphia team for the last two seasons. During this time, he averaged 10.4 points and 2.7 assists per game with a 37.9% three-point shooting.
With that said, it might be concerning why the 76ers should not re-sign him, but two significant factors are at play. Melton struggled with a back injury and faced setbacks for most of the 2023-2024 season, only managing to play 38 games before performing poorly in the playoffs.
Despite his back troubles, Melton could earn $60 million in a multi-year contract this offseason. He has a solid market with the Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic, and San Antonio standing out as potential fits.
With the 76ers being linked to star-level players such as Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Brandon Ingram, etc, it’s hard to believe that Philadelphia would be willing to pay such a high price to retain Melton, especially when they’d have to fill out the rest of the roster after hypothetically getting one of those “star” players.
The 76ers have been linked to Denver Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who is considered a better player with championship experience, and should be prioritized over Melton due to his qualities.
Nicolas Batum (stay with 76ers)
Nicolas Batum was traded to Philadelphia from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for James Harden early in the 2023-2024 season. Initially, he struggled to adjust to the city, but during the regular season, he found his role and embraced the city’s culture.
Serving as the starting power forward, Batum contributed 5.5 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, and 2.2 assists per game, on 39.9% shooting from downtown. Batum was a textbook front-court partner for Joel Embiid with his ability to space the floor, make help rotations, and swing connective passes to open shooters.
Simply put, Batum turned out to be what the 76ers hoped for 2022 free agent acquisition P.J. Tucker would’ve emerged as. Many speculated that a 35-year-old Batum would flirt with the idea of retiring after this past season and while that’s still to be determined, many reporters have speculated that the 76ers have an interest in retaining him.
A contract in the ballpark of two-years/$6 million with a player option for the second year would be a quality offer by the 76ers as it gives Batum the option to play one last season if he so chooses.
Kyle Lowry (stay with 76ers)
Kyle Lowry was signed by the 76ers via the midseason buy-out market after being waived by the Charlotte Hornets following Miami’s trade for Terry Rozier. Lowry to Philadelphia made for another feel-good NBA story considering he’s a native/Villanova product and his relationship with Nick Nurse that was formed in Toronto and led to a title.
Averaging 8.0 points per game and 4.6 assists per game as Philadelphia’s starting guard, Lowry proved to be a quality late-season addition. Lowry’s seasoned abilities as a floor general greatly benefitted the 76ers’ offense as a whole and relieved some pressure from Tyrese Maxey to be both a consistent scorer and playmaker.
Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports reported that Lowry and the 76ers have an interest in a reunion, but money could be a sticking point. Further, Marc Stein said that the Clippers had an interest in signing Lowry this summer, but stated that he is “widely expected” to return to Philadelphia.
Considering there’s somewhat of a competitive market for the veteran guard, a two-year/$8 million contract with a team option after the first year feels just. With Lowry turning 38 years old next season, he’s bound to regress to a degree and a team option for the 76ers allows them to move on if needed.
Buddy Hield (stay with 76ers)
After years of 76ers fans throwing together mock trades, Philadelphia finally obtained Buddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers at this past season’s trade deadline. Hield got off to a sizzling start with the 76ers, not only in terms of shooting but also driving to the rim and creating offense for others.
However, after the all-star break, Hield went into a major slump and the honeymoon phase was over. Many, including myself, weren’t too worried about Hield’s slump considering it’s natural for shooters to go through this and he and Joel Embiid were yet to share the floor due to Embiid’s meniscus injury.
Even when Embiid got back on the floor, Hield still couldn’t get it going from beyond the arc and became rather passive as a result. Despite his heater in the first half of game six, Hield practically fell out of the rotation in Philadelphia’s first-round series against the New York Knicks. Hield dropped per-game averages of 12.2 points and 3.0 assists, on 38.9% shooting from beyond in 32 games with the 76ers.
There hasn’t been much chatter about the type of contract Hield could command this summer nor any direct reporting about potential teams who are interested in him besides Philadelphia. With both sides interested in a return, a two-year/$16 million contract with a player option after the first year seems like fair value.
Cameron Payne (stay with 76ers)
Cameron Payne was another player Philadelphia traded for at the 2024 trade deadline as he was shipped off by the Milwaukee Bucks along with a 2027 second-round pick in exchange for Patrick Beverley. Payne proved to be a quality rotational guard as he produced per-game averages of 9.3 points, 3.1 assists, and 38.2% shooting from deep in 31 games with the 76ers.
Payne returning to Philadelphia on a one-year/$3.3 million contract (veteran minimum) would be a great outcome. While re-signing Kyle Lowry to the 76ers should be a higher priority, retaining Payne for cheap would be excellent for depth purposes.
Robert Covington (leave the 76ers)
Robert Covington was another player who was sent to the 76ers in the Clippers’ trade for James Harden. Covington’s return to Philadelphia served as a wholesome storyline considering the veteran forward played a key role in the 76ers’ “Process” era and their first competitive season (2017-2018) from that period.
Unfortunately, this reunion was dampened by a bone bruise in Covington’s left knee that ultimately ended his season. Covington played just 26 games with the 76ers where he put up per-game averages of 4.5 points and 3.4 rebounds, on 35.4% perimeter shooting.
While it’ll be sad to see Covington depart from Philadelphia for a second time, the 76ers should put their financial resources into younger forwards that offer better production such as Naji Marshall, who Philadelphia reportedly has interest in.
K.J. Martin (leave the 76ers)
K.J. Martin was another player that Philadelphia netted from the Clippers from the James Harden trade. But, unlike Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington (when healthy), Martin never truly found a role. In 58 games with the 76ers, Martin averaged 3.7 points per game and 2.2 rebounds per game in 12.3 minutes a night.
Throughout the season, Martin had his moments where he displayed solid point-of-attack defense and found some success as a back-door cutter. Nevertheless, it still wasn’t enough for him to consistently find himself in the rotation.
According to Forbes Sports’ Evan Sidery, contending teams will attempt to sign Martin to a veteran minimum contract with teams such as the Bucks, Lakers, Nuggets, Suns, and Warriors being potential fits. By no means is a minimum contract for Martin a bad deal, it’s simply the potentially competitive market that could surround him that causes an issue for Philadelphia, where he didn’t have much of a role anyway.
Mo Bamba (leave the 76ers)
Mo Bamba signed a one-year/$2.3 million deal with the 76ers amid the 2023 offseason as Philadelphia attempted to beef up their frontcourt depth. Bamba played to the standard of a player on a minimum contract as he posted per-game averages of 4.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 57 games with the 76ers.
While Bamba wasn’t necessarily bad in his brief reserve center role in Philadelphia, his production wasn’t anything substantial to warrant the 76ers retaining him. With veteran bigs such as Andre Drummond, JaVale McGee, Drew Eubanks, etc. set to hit the market, the 76ers would be better off targeting one of those options rather than Bamba.
Jeff Dowtin Jr. (leave the 76ers)
Jeff Dowtin Jr. was a midseason pickup, who originally signed a two-way contract with the 76ers that was later converted to a regular NBA deal that lasted for the remainder of the 2023-2024 season. In 12 contests with Philadelphia, Dowtin Jr. averaged 4.3 points per game and 2.3 assists per game.
Dowtin Jr. displayed some solid traditional point guard play in terms of facilitating and operating out of the pick-and-roll in his limited minutes. But, the 76ers should prioritize re-signing Kyle Lowry and/or Cameron Payne to fill the reserve point guard vacancy.
Terquavion Smith (stay with 76ers)
Terquavion Smith inked a two-way contract with Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent during the 2023 offseason. Smith played just 5.3 minutes a night in 16 games with the 76ers where he averaged 3.3 points per game. However, his upside was displayed with the Delaware Blue Coats this past season.
Smith posted per-game averages of 23.2 points and 3.9 assists on 42.2% field shooting (19.5 shot attempts per game) and 37.1% perimeter shooting (10.5 attempts per night). Smith displayed promise as a microwave three-level scoring but is rather unpolished at this stage of his career. Retaining him on another two-way contract seems beneficial for both parties.
Mandatory Credit: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
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