Examining 76ers' Salary Cap, Decisions for 2024 NBA Free Agency After Playoff Loss

The Philadelphia 76ers returned to the playoffs for the seventh straight year, thanks in no small part to a late surge and the return of star center Joel Embiid.

Embiid underwent knee surgery in February but was back in top form by the end of the regular season. In part because of his absence, head coach Nick Nurse uncovered several lineup combinations that helped Philadelphia get hot down the stretch.

With strong contributions from Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, Kyle Lowry and Kelly Oubre Jr., the Sixers were once again a factor in the East until a first-round exit at the hands of the New York Knicks.

Now that Philadelphia's postseason has ended, Nurse and general manager Elton Brand must focus on the offseason. The Sixers hope to be back in the mix next season, but they'll have to work to make it happen.

Here, we'll examine Philadelphia's salary cap outlook, top impending contract decisions and some potential top targets for 2024 free agency.

The biggest issue for Philadelphia is that only three players—Embiid, Paul Reed and Jeff Dowtin—are the only players guaranteed to be under contract for the 2024-25 season.

Harris, Lowry, Oubre, Maxey and Buddy Hield are all set to be free agents of one form or another. This leaves Philly with a lot of contracts to address, but it also gives the 76ers plenty of free-agent flexibility.

All told, the 76ers are projected to have $58.4 million in practical cap space, and barring a major offseason splurge, Philly won't be in danger of crossing the luxury tax threshold or the dreaded second apron.

Beginning this offseason, the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) will prevent clubs over the second apron from aggregating contracts to trade for a single player, sending out cash in trades, using trade exceptions from previous years, or taking back more salary than it sends in a trade.

Philadelphia is currently projected to have $110 million in space below the luxury tax. If Nurse and Brand want to go star-chasing this offseason, they can.

Before the 76ers start looking at players to pursue, they have to decide who to retain in 2024 free agency. The Sixers have a lot of contract decisions ahead of them.

Harris, Lowry, Hield, Oubre, Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum, De'Anthony Melton, Cameron Payne and Kenyon Martin Jr. are all scheduled to be unrestricted free agents. However, Philadelphia can exercise Bird rights for all of them except Lowry, Oubre and Payne.

Oubre will make for a very interesting decision. He didn't sign with the club until September, but he emerged as a significant factor during the stretch run. After playing on a one-year, $2.9 million deal, he should be up for a substantial pay raise.

Maxey is set to be a restricted free agent, and it's hard to envision Philly allowing him to walk. The Sixers didn't extend Maxey early in order to maximize their options this offseason

"He is still seen as a big part of their future, but the team wants to delay an extension for him to preserve flexibility," ESPN's Ramona Shelburne posted on X last June.

Philadelphia will now have a ton of cap space with which to target external free agents, and it can still work its way back to addressing Maxey's contract. The 76ers will have the ability to match any offer sheet, though Maxey's price point could be extremely high.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported back in November that Philadelphia was "preparing for Tyrese Maxey to be a max player in the summer of 2024 in free agency."

Maxey, who earned his first All-Star nod this season, has shown enough promise to justify making him a long-term building block alongside Embiid. It'll be interesting to see who else Philadelphia chooses to keep in the fold and who they'll look to add.

Given their cap situation, the 76ers could theoretically chase any and every big-name free agent this summer. Embiid is under contract through 2026 with a player option for the 2026-27 season. The possibility of chasing a title alongside the 2023 MVP will certainly attract several top free agents.

Expect the Sixers to be linked to some of the biggest names, including Pascal Siakam, DeMar DeRozan and LeBron James—who has a player option with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2024-25 season.

However, the biggest buzz has circled around Philadelphia and Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George. Like James, George has a player option for next season. He would reportedly be high on Philly's wish list should he become available.

"The Sixers would leap at the chance to use it on Paul George, sources said," ESPN's Zach Lowe wrote on April 5. "George has yet to sign an extension with the LA Clippers and could become an unrestricted free agent in July if he forgoes that extension."

If the rumors are accurate, Philadelphia may wait to see how George's situation in L.A. unfolds before evaluating other free agency options. However, the Sixers promise to be very active on the open market this summer and will have a myriad of options when it comes to filling starting slots and depth roles.

*Cap and contract information via Spotrac.