The Sixers are virtually locked into the NBA’s fifth-worst record, but their offseason outlook remains murky. What questions do you have about it?
With one more loss or one more Brooklyn Nets win over the final three games of the season, the Sixers will be locked into at least the NBA’s fifth-worst record this season. That’s hardly what anyone expected when the year began with championship hopes, but if nothing else, at least they tanked correctly.
The Sixers figure to enter the draft lottery on May 12 with a 63.9 percent chance of keeping their first-round pick. If they fall to No. 7 or lower, they’ll send that pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. (Just what the world needs right now, the rich getting richer.)
On Tuesday, I broke down the salary-cap implications of the Sixers keeping their pick. The TL;DR version: The rookie would likely cost between $8-13 million, which could complicate the Sixers’ ability to re-sign Guerschon Yabusele in particular. Luckily, it will have zero bearing on them re-signing Quentin Grimes unless they have a payroll threshold that they refuse to cross under any circumstances.
Now that their lottery standing is all but locked into place, their offseason outlook is becoming clearer. The lottery will further crystallize it, but we’re still a month away from that. In the meantime, we’re here to answer any questions you might have about the Sixers’ offseason or how the NBA offseason as a whole could affect them.
Could the recent firings of Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins and Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone cause the Sixers to rethink the value of continuity this offseason? Does the departure of Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth pave the way for a reckless move to appease Nikola Jokić? (The Nuggets were one of the teams interested in Paul George last summer…) That’s where my mind immediately went in the wake of Tuesday’s shocking news.
So, fire away in the comments section or on Bluesky (@btoporek.bsky.social) and I’ll answer as many as I can on Thursday!