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2024 NBA free agency: Sixers to reportedly sign veteran wing Caleb Martin away from Heat; waive Paul Reed nba,free,agency,sixers,to,reportedly,sign,veteran,wing,caleb,martin,away,from,heat,waive,paul,reed,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-free-agency,76ers-free-agency-rumors-news

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The Sixers aren’t done yet.

The team will reportedly sign veteran wing Caleb Martin to a four-year, $32 million deal. To gain the necessary cap space, the Sixers will waive Paul Reed. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the signing and Reed being waived. The final year of Martin’s deal is a player option, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

In Martin, the Sixers get a battle-tested and versatile wing. He averaged a career-best 10.0 point per game last season, though the volatility with Miami’s roster likely contributed to a drop in efficiency. He shot just 43.1% from the field and 34.9% from deep, his lowest marks since 2020-21.

Though Martin has consistently raised his level of play in the postseason. His best stretch might’ve occurred during the Heat’s surprising run to the Finals in 2023. He averaged 12.7 points per game that postseason on 65.7% true shooting. He saved his best performances for the Eastern Conference Finals, where he averaged 19.3 points in seven games against the Boston Celtics. Across 28 playoff games the past two seasons, Martin has averaged 12.5 points per game on 51.8/42.6/85.0 shooting splits.

Aside from the offense, Martin is a super versatile defender. At 6-foot-5 and with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, he’s capable of guarding one through four. That could be key for the Sixers as the roster currently lacks any real players that fit the four position. Martin is plenty capable of scaling up. With Martin, Paul George and Kelly Oubre, Jr., the Sixers’ potential starting group features a switchable and talented defensive trio of wings.

As simplistic as it sounds, Martin is able to dribble, pass, shoot and defend. Oftentimes it’s felt like the Sixers had so many players who were specialists of some kind. Martin offers plenty of versatility in a sport that’s becoming increasingly positionless.

Martin, who went to NC State before transferring to Nevada, is now 28 years old. He spent his first two seasons with the Charlotte Hornets before spending the last three in Miami. His twin brother, Cody, is currently with the Hornets.

For the Sixers and Reed, it’s surely a little bittersweet. The big man from DePaul was a draft success story for the team. Reed was the third-to-last pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, signed a two-way deal with the Sixers and went on to win the G League Rookie of the Year and MVP. After a successful postseason run in 2023, Reed signed an offer sheet with the Utah Jazz that the Sixers matched. After a difficult season in 2023-24, a clause in the contract that was meant to hurt the Sixers actually helped them. With the team failing to make the second round, Reed’s $7.7 million cap hit became non-guaranteed.

All the Sixers’ reported moves, including their agreement with Paul George, can become official starting at 12:01 p.m. Saturday. With Martin, the team will have nine players either officially under contract or agreed to terms. Second-round pick Adem Bona would make 10. Expect a bunch of minimum deals to come shortly.

Report: Warriors in ‘serious talks’ to acquire Sixers’ Buddy Hield via sign-and-trade report,warriors,in,serious,talks,to,acquire,sixers,buddy,hield,via,sign,and,trade,liberty,ballers,front-page

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The Sixers are still basking in the afterglow of having signed Paul George. But doing so — offering the 34 year-old small forward out of Fresno, a $212M four-year contract, has left them in a bit of a cap crunch. They were able to lock up Tyrese Maxey on a $204M deal of his own, one that the first-time All-Star deserved.

But the reason the team was able to sign PG in the first place was because they didn’t take on any long-term salary either last offseason, or around the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline.

Our Paul Hudrick wrote about the guts it took Daryl Morey to thread the needle there, doing what it took to help the team last season, without costing themselves the chance to pursue bigger fish last week.

One “needle-thread” move they did make, however, was when they acquired former Kings, and Pacers guard, Buddy Hield last February. Hield had his moments in a Sixers’ uni, but once Joel Embiid went down with a torn meniscus, he didn’t really deliver what coach Nick Nurse was hoping for.

And now it appears as if the Bahama Mamba may be departing for the Golden State Warriors.

Per Shams Charania, of The Athletic and FanDuelTV:

We’ve yet to get more details, but you can be sure that Philadelphia would love to recoup any type of asset, even if it were merely a future second-round pick or a trade exception.

We won’t expect miracles here but anything like that would be better than letting Hield, acquired for a couple of second-round picks, (while also parting ways with Marcus Morris, Sr. and Furkan Korkmaz in a three team trade that also included the San Antonio Spurs) walk for nothing return.

The Golden State Warriors recently bid fairwell to future Hall of Famer, Klay Thompson, a four-time champion with The Dubs, so apparently their newish front office wanted to bolster the shooters that Steph Curry can work with.

Earlier on Tuesday, current Warrior, Draymond Green shared his thoughts on the Warriors push to land Paul George that fell apart when the Clippers didn’t want to play ball with a Conference rival. That was just one of the things Daryl Morey and the Sixers needed to go their way.

Philly still has a few first-rounders and some cap space to work with. There was recently a report from Hoops Hype’s Michael Scotto that Philadelphia could be interested in acquiring Brooklyn Nets’ wing Dorian Finney-Smith, or potentially Warriors’ Lester Quinones.

So we’ll see if LQ might not be exchanged for Hield. The Sixers have already had sad goodbyes with De’Anthony Melton (a Warrior) and Nico Batum (a Clipper once again). Now it sounds as if Buddy could be bound for the Warriors, joining Melton.

2024 NBA free agency: After landing Paul George, Sixers’ surge to second overall in 2025 title odds nba,free,agency,after,landing,paul,george,sixers,surge,to,second,overall,in,title,odds,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-free-agency,draftkings,76ers-analysis,76ers-free-agency-rumors-news

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In the wee hours of the night here on the East Coast, the Philadelphia 76ers were making it rain. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped the bombshell scoop that Paul George is signing a four-year $212M deal, with a player option for the 2027-2028 season, with the Philadelphia 76ers. Not long after that we learned that All-Star Tyrese Maxey was receiving a max extension and the team was also retaining last season’s stellar minimum level acquisition wing Kelly Oubre, Jr. on a new team-friendly deal. Big Penguin Andre Drummond is back on board, and Morey lands another one of his favorite former Rockets in Eric Gordon too.

Having utilized cap space for the nine-time All-Star George, Philadelphia still has the No. 16 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, sniper Jared McCain, the No. 41 overall pick, Adem Bona, an absolute freak athlete which he proved at the NBA pre-draft combine, plus the 76ers still possess four more future first-round picks to work with, and swaps.

We owe so much of it to our beloved Tyrese:

Tobias Harris is finally gone, landing big money to play for the Detroit Pistons (addition by subtraction?)

And they’ll look to round out the rest of the roster with a bit of remaining cap space before exceeding the cap by fleshing out the rest of the roster with veteran’s minimum deals for ring-chasing stars who can expect a fair amount of playing time — on such a now top-heavy roster.

Per Woj:

“George and his agent, Aaron Mintz of CAA, met in Los Angeles with a 76ers contingent that included owner Josh Harris, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, general manager Elton Brand and Sixers legend Julius Erving, sources said. The Sixers even brought a front office executive, Peter Dinwiddie, who is a familiar face and friend of George’s from their years together with the Indiana Pacers, sources said.

The meeting came on the heels of months of unsuccessful negotiations between George and the LA Clippers on a deal to stay in his Southern California home.”

Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and the gangs’ odds on Draft Kings were around +1000 back when we thought there was a chance they might sign George.

Then their odds dropped precipitously to +1400 when Shams Charania reported the Sixers’ interest in the six-time All-NBA teamer had “significantly waned.”

It also didn’t help the Sixers’ cause when the New York Knicks traded for Mikal Bridges, and were soon able to retain OG Anunoby.

But by the time many of us woke up Monday morning, odds makers’ opinions of the current NBA hierarchy had shifted dramatically. Daryl Morey’s group has now peaked at +800, pushing the Knicks’ down from +800 to +950, following their loss of Isaiah Hartenstein.

The Boston Celtics have re-signed Derrick White, and even though Kristaps Porzingis is set to miss significant time as he rehabs from surgery, the reigning champs are still given a massive edge, +295.

The Celtics’ implied odds to win the 2024-2025 title are now around 25 percent. Philadelphia’s are near 11 percent. As many of you might remember, Morey said that if you have about a five percent chance it makes sense to cash in your future picks to go for it. Well, if that’s still the case, possessing an implied 11 percent should certainly entice him to keep looking to add firepower.

We’ll see how this plays out because it’s gotta be relatively unprecedented for a team that basically only has a handful of players (e.g. Embiid, Maxey, George, Drummond, Gordon, Oubre, Jr. McCain, Bona) in tow to be favored so heavily. So we’ll pay close attention to what happens with the final few roster spots. One name to watch could be veteran guard Reggie Bullock (pronounced Bull-LOCK which likely helps him lock up opposing guards).

The former Knick and Maverick is meeting with the Sixers and head coach Nick Nurse should be able to sell some helpful connective vets by offering a key role on a now true title contender.

2024 NBA free agency: Report: Sixers’ De’Anthony Melton to sign one-year deal with Warriors nba,free,agency,report,sixers,de,anthony,melton,to,sign,one,year,deal,with,warriors,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-free-agency,76ers-news,76ers-free-agency-rumors-news

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So that’s another member of last year’s squad that Philadelphia will be moving on from. The Athletic’s Shams Charania has reported that De’Anthony Melton is signing a one-year, $12 million deal with the Golden State Warriors.

This news came minutes after it was reported that Nico Batum will be heading back to the Clippers on a two-year deal.

Going into last season, it looked like Melton’s next contract would be too pricey for the Sixers to keep around. While that still ended up being the case, a lingering back issue did make it seem like a door might have been open for a return to Philly.

Looking at that $12.8 million, it appears the Warriors will use the full non-tax payer mid-level exception to sign Melton.

That’s something that wasn’t an option for the Sixers, given that it looks like they’ve used the room mid-level exception to bring back Kelly Oubre Jr.

So while it’s a bummer that Melton’s back issues caused his Sixers’ tenure to fizzle out, Philadelphia will have to look elsewhere to fill out their backcourt.

2024 NBA free agency: Report: Nicolas Batum will not return to Sixers nba,free,agency,report,nicolas,batum,will,not,return,to,sixers,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-free-agency,76ers-news,76ers-free-agency-rumors-news

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Update, July 1, 2:42 p.m.: Former Sixer Nicolas Batum will reportedly sign with the LA Clippers, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

It sounds like forward Nico Batum will not be returning to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Athletic’s Houston Rockets’ Insider, Kelly Iko, broke the scoop at the start of free agency. Philadelphia is in a holding pattern as they’re set to meet with Clippers’ unrestricted free agent Paul George. If they’re able to land PG on a $212M max, it would mean the belt starts to get very tight. So does that mean there simply isn’t enough money left over to retain the ideal role player? Are the Rockets swooping in to pay Batum more than the Sixers believe they’ll be able to afford?

Things are still a mystery because I think most Sixers fans expected the team to come to an agreement with Batum, who Joel Embiid specifically, has stated on numerous occasions he loves playing with.

Batum became almost indispensable the moment he joined the Sixers via the James Harden trade. The French native was perhaps the smartest player to ever play alongside Embiid. Batum’s ability to throw entry passes alone was invaluable, not to mention his three-point shooting, hyper versatile defense and ability to get his hands on tons of loose balls. He became a super glue guy for a team that desperately needed one.

We even got a Nico Batum Game in the Sixers’ first ever Play-In Game.

If there was one person who surely pushed for the team to re-sign Batum, it was Embiid. The two had lockers next to each other and there appeared to be an instant bond. Remember, Embiid is fluent in French and also possesses French citizenship.

While Batum was speaking with reporters after the team’s Game 6 loss, Embiid made sure to let the 35-year-old he had to come back for the 2024-25 season. There was some speculation though that Batum could retire after his run with the French national team at the Paris Olympics this summer.

It appears — despite Philly’s best efforts — Batum felt it was the right time to walk away or simply saw a better opportunity elsewhere.

“I could feel the passion of this city for sports, for the Sixers, and I fit right away,” Batum said after the Sixers’ final game. “Those fans … when you get booed, I said, ‘OK, get right. It’s tough right now, so you’ve got to play better.’ Like I said, this city’s not for everybody. They’re happy, I think. I tried my best. … It was fun. I’m sorry, guys, that we couldn’t have a better playoff run. You guys showed up and that was amazing tonight. The support was great.”

The Sixers will have serious work to do to replace Batum’s production on the court — with a player they hope Embiid will be equally as happy to have on board. If the Sixers whiff on George, there would have been ample spend to retain Batum. So maybe this is a sign that something big is about to happen. Or maybe another team was just quick enough to sneak in before Nico was willing to wait on Philadelphia’s potential offer.

2024 NBA free agency: Report: Former Sixer Tobias Harris to sign two-year deal with Pistons nba,free,agency,report,former,sixer,tobias,harris,to,sign,two,year,deal,with,pistons,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-free-agency,nba-rumors-news

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If you’re not excited about the Paul George signing because of concerns about how the contract will look a few years down the road, or just because the Philadelphia 76ers have hurt you too many times in the past, let me illustrate how much worse things could be.

Your franchise could owe $65 million to someone not to coach the team.

The team could have won no more than 23 games in any of the past five seasons, but picked no higher than fifth overall in any of the past three drafts.

Your team could have just signed Tobias Harris for two years, $52 million.

Sorry, Detroit Pistons fans.

Of note, the second year is fully guaranteed with no option.

For a long time, Tobias Harris ending up in Detroit was a running joke here at Liberty Ballers and seemed set in stone. But when the franchise parted ways with general manager Troy Weaver at the end of May and hired Trajan Langdon, I really thought that ship sailed. Now, the thinking was, they would assuredly be wiser with the cap space. Langdon even said the right things about using it to take on unwanted contracts to acquire assets. The trade to bring in Tim Hardaway Jr. from Dallas in exchange for three second-round picks seemed like a step in that direction, although if you are high on Quentin Grimes you still may not have liked the trade. Unfortunately for Pistons fans, the Harris connection to Detroit, where he previously played parts of three seasons, remained too strong.

I mean, who was really bidding against Detroit here for Tobias that could offer $26 million per year? Utah’s Danny Ainge is too smart for something like this. At the very least, how do you not make the second year a team option so it could be viewed as essentially a potentially useful, large expiring contract at the trade deadline, should you desire?

To look at the other side for a moment, Harris is a good locker room presence. I’m sure there’s some value in his teaching the young guys how a 401(k) works and starting a book club. He’s also durable, having played in at least 70 games in each of the last nine seasons (excepting the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season). He’ll probably average 18 per game with decent percentages and there will be some analytic showing Tobias is worth the money that Torrel Harris can use for his powerpoint presentation the next time a contract negotiation rolls around.

But as anyone who watched the Sixers in recent years knows, for every 25-point game Harris has, there will be a few where he’s just out there getting cardio (and not even hard cardio, but the sort of cardio where you’re interested in paying attention to the ball game that’s on the treadmill so you set it to 70 percent speed). Tobias may be able to teach the young guys some good lessons off the court, but he’s teaching them on the court that you can go five years without drawing a charge (officially) or grabbing a contested loose ball (unofficially, but I’m sure there weren’t many), and still get paid.

I hold no personal animosity towards Tobias Harris and I’m sure some of that money will generously go towards worthwhile charitable endeavors. But, I sure am glad to be out of the Tobias Harris business and I’m shocked that another franchise was this eager to sign up for it.

2024 NBA free agency: Report: Tyrese Maxey agrees to 5-year, $203.9 million extension with Sixers nba,free,agency,report,tyrese,maxey,agrees,to,year,million,extension,with,sixers,liberty,ballers,front-page,76ers-news

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At 3:30 a.m. ET on Monday, the Sixers agreed to a four-year, $211.6 million max contract with Paul George. Five hours later, they took care of their other biggest piece of offseason business.

With the 2024-25 salary cap officially landing at $140.6 million, Maxey’s starting salary will be $35.1 million. He’ll earn $203.6 million in total over the life of the deal, which notably does not contain a player option, according to Wojnarowski.

Order of operations will be the key here. The Sixers and Maxey have agreed to a deal, but nothing can become binding until July 6. At that point, the Sixers will keep Maxey’s $13.0 million cap hold on their books until they spend the rest of their cap space. They’ll officially have Maxey sign his extension after that.

If Maxey signed his extension right when the July Moratorium expires on July 6, his $13.0 million cap hold would jump up to $35.1 million. That would close off the Sixers’ path to full max cap space, which means they wouldn’t be a realistic landing spot for George anymore. By timing their moves this way, they can now create more than $60 million in cap space, which would leave them with nearly $13 million to spend even after landing George. (That isn’t taking Andre Drummond into account.)

To some extent, it was surprising that the Sixers could get Maxey and his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, to buy into waiting on an extension in the first place. However, Maxey had an all-time bet-on-yourself season, finishing with a career-high 25.9 points, 6.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 made three-pointers en route to his first All-Star nod and the league’s Most Improved Player award.

Maxey gave himself even more leverage in contract negotiations with his performance against the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. He averaged 29.8 points on 47.8 percent shooting, 6.8 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 3.7 made threes and only 2.2 turnovers in 44.5 minutes (!) per game. His 46-point, nine-assist masterclass in Game 5 both temporarily helped the Sixers stave off their imminent demise and conclusively proved that Maxey isn’t only an 82-game player.

Considering the stratospheric leaps that he’s made since entering the league, it’s easy to forget that Maxey is only 23. The Sixers are locking him up through at least the beginning of his prime, and if he continues upon his current trajectory, his contract will wind up being an outright steal. The NBA’s new national TV contracts should send the salary cap soaring in the coming years, so Maxey will take up a slightly smaller percentage of the cap with each passing season.

To wit: Maxey is set to earn $46.4 million in the final year of his new extension in 2028-29. Beginning in 2025-26, if the cap continues to jump the maximum 10 percent that it can annually, it will break the $200 million barrier in 2028-29. Maxey’s salary would take up only 22.5 percent of the projected cap that season, whereas other stars of his caliber will be earning well north of $60 million annually.

In Maxey, the Sixers now have their present and their future locked up. It’s now on team president Daryl Morey and the rest of the front office to surround Maxey, George and Joel Embiid with a championship-caliber supporting cast.

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.

2024 NBA free agency: Report: Sixers will sign Paul George/Paul George to sign with X [DO NOT PUBLISH] nba,free,agency,report,sixers,will,sign,paul,george,paul,george,to,sign,with,x,do,not,publish,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-free-agency,76ers-news,76ers-free-agency-rumors-news

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It appears James Harden did not scare away the Sixers’ “Plan A.”

Paul George will be a Sixer. The nine-time All-Star is leaving the Clippers and plans to sign with Philly for a four-year, $212 million max deal. ESPN’S Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news. The fourth and final year of the contract is a player option, per Woj.

While reports circulated about the Sixers’ interest waning and George perhaps opting into his deal with L.A., Daryl Morey got it done the cleanest way possible by signing the four-time All-Defensive Team pick into the team’s cap space. There was much to consider for George, a Palmdale native, leaving the West Coast, but the Sixers’ offer likely proved to be one he couldn’t refuse. Several reports indicated that L.A. was unwilling to offer George a fourth year.

In signing George, the Sixers get the player many believed to be the team’s “Plan A” with its cap space plan. George, a six-time All-NBA selection, adds size, scoring, playmaking and defense on the wing. With his ability to make threes at a high volume (41.3% on 7.9 attempts per game last season) and add complementary scoring, he is an ideal running mate for Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

The concerns with George will be mostly tied to his age. He turned 34 in May, meaning he will be 37 entering the final year of his deal with the Sixers. On top of that, there are some durability concerns. While he played in 74 games last season, that was his highest amount played since he was a member of the Thunder in 2018-19. In the previous four years, George played 189 out of a possible 318 games — or less than 60%. On a team that features Embiid, that could loom large.

So, what’s next? The Sixers will still have cap space to spend and draft assets to play with. Now that they’ve got their three stars locked in, it’s time to finish building out the roster around them.

2024 NBA free agency: Report: Kelly Oubre, Jr. to re-sign with Sixers nba,free,agency,report,kelly,oubre,jr,to,re,sign,with,sixers,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-free-agency,76ers-news

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To think there were people that were actually upset when the Sixers brought in Kelly Oubre, Jr. on a minimum deal.

Now the veteran wing has earned himself a raise. Oubre will re-sign with the Sixers on a two-year, $16.3 million deal with a player option for 2025-26, a source confirms to Liberty Ballers. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news.

A roller coaster has less twists and turns than the last year for Oubre. After his market dried up last summer, he chose to sign with the Sixers at the veteran’s minimum. He parted ways with agent Torrel Harris and looked to take advantage of his new opportunity in Philly.

And he did just that.

Oubre went from sort of an afterthought signing to an integral cog in the Sixers’ rotation. There were incidents along the way — when Oubre fractured a rib when he was struck by a car back in November or when he totaled his Lamborghini after a playoff game — but he ultimately showed his value to the team. With Joel Embiid out and Tobias Harris struggling, Oubre proved to be the Sixers’ second-best player behind Tyrese Maxey to close the regular season.

The 28-year-old acquitted himself quite well in his first postseason appearance since 2018. He played terrific defense against All-Star guard Jalen Brunson, who probed and prodded himself away from Oubre in all six games of the Sixers-Knicks first-round series. Oubre was also the team’s third-leading scorer against New York behind Embiid and Maxey.

Oubre was open about his desire to start last season. It will be interesting to see where he slides into the rotation when the Sixers finish all their free agency business. Woj specifically referring to Oubre as “the Sixers’ starting two-guard” feels purposeful.

After the Sixers’ Game 6 loss to the Knicks, Oubre gushed over head coach Nick Nurse and his overall time in Philly.

“At the end of the day, I want to go to somewhere where they respect and they love me,” Oubre said at the time. “It’s been nothing but love here, of course. So at the end of the day, I feel as if there’s unfinished business and a lot of things to be done — and a lot of work to get better and to get us back here past this point and this threshold that Sixers fans have been wanting to get past for so long. I feel as if I kind of failed because we didn’t get past that. I’ve got to just reflect, talk to my family, and sit down and work on the next steps here.”

Unfinished business seemed to be a theme with the Sixers. Now, Oubre has a chance to finish what he started to build in Philly.

2024 NBA free agency: Report: Nicolas Batum will not return to Sixers nba,free,agency,report,nicolas,batum,will,not,return,to,sixers,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-free-agency,76ers-news,76ers-free-agency-rumors-news

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It sounds like forward Nico Batum will not be returning to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Athletic’s Houston Rockets’ Insider, Kelly Iko, broke the scoop at the start of free agency. Philadelphia is in a holding pattern as they’re set to meet with Clippers’ unrestricted free agent Paul George. If they’re able to land PG on a $212M max, it would mean the belt starts to get very tight. So does that mean there simply isn’t enough money left over to retain the ideal role player? Are the Rockets swooping in to pay Batum more than the Sixers believe they’ll be able to afford?

Things are still a mystery because I think most Sixers fans expected the team to come to an agreement with Batum, who Joel Embiid specifically, has stated on numerous occasions he loves playing with.

Batum became almost indispensable the moment he joined the Sixers via the James Harden trade. The French native was perhaps the smartest player to ever play alongside Embiid. Batum’s ability to throw entry passes alone was invaluable, not to mention his three-point shooting, hyper versatile defense and ability to get his hands on tons of loose balls. He became a super glue guy for a team that desperately needed one.

We even got a Nico Batum Game in the Sixers’ first ever Play-In Game.

If there was one person who surely pushed for the team to re-sign Batum, it was Embiid. The two had lockers next to each other and there appeared to be an instant bond. Remember, Embiid is fluent in French and also possesses French citizenship.

While Batum was speaking with reporters after the team’s Game 6 loss, Embiid made sure to let the 35-year-old he had to come back for the 2024-25 season. There was some speculation though that Batum could retire after his run with the French national team at the Paris Olympics this summer.

It appears — despite Philly’s best efforts — Batum felt it was the right time to walk away or simply saw a better opportunity elsewhere.

“I could feel the passion of this city for sports, for the Sixers, and I fit right away,” Batum said after the Sixers’ final game. “Those fans … when you get booed, I said, ‘OK, get right. It’s tough right now, so you’ve got to play better.’ Like I said, this city’s not for everybody. They’re happy, I think. I tried my best. … It was fun. I’m sorry, guys, that we couldn’t have a better playoff run. You guys showed up and that was amazing tonight. The support was great.”

The Sixers will have serious work to do to replace Batum’s production on the court — with a player they hope Embiid will be equally as happy to have on board. If the Sixers whiff on George, there would have been ample spend to retain Batum. So maybe this is a sign that something big is about to happen. Or maybe another team was just quick enough to sneak in before Nico was willing to wait on Philadelphia’s potential offer.