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Should Philadelphia pick up Richaun Holmes’ and T.J. McConnell’s options next year?

By Daniel Stets

PHILADELPHIA,PA - APRIL 10 : Richaun Holmes #22 of the Philadelphia 76ers passes the ball up court against the Indiana Pacers at Wells Fargo Center on April 10, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA,PA - APRIL 10 : Richaun Holmes #22 of the Philadelphia 76ers passes the ball up court against the Indiana Pacers at Wells Fargo Center on April 10, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Will  the Philadelphia  76ers decline the player options of Richaun Holmes and T.J. McConnell next year?

The Philadelphia 76ers did not make long-term commitments this summer. They signed Amir Johnson and J.J. Redick to one year deals. The Sixers want as much cap flexibility as possible for next summer. It’s impossible to know who they’re targeting, but they probably have their ideas as to who they want.

Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers /

Philadelphia 76ers

However, one must wonder if they’re planning on using their cap flexibility on Richaun Holmes and T.J. McConnell.

McConnell and Holmes have super cheap options that Philadelphia can pick up. If the Sixers do, that means those two players will be free agents during the 2019 offseason.

If the Sixers decline their options, then they’ll be restricted free agents next summer.

Here is an interesting ESPN article discussing next summer’s free agency and how the market will most likely be very tight for next year’s free agent class. One part of it in particular will tell us why it may be smart to decline the options of these two players.

"“The real story is the nuclear winter for free agents coming next year,” one team executive with authority to make personnel decisions told ESPN. “Teams planned the last two summers for the cap to be much higher. The fact that it went way down from the projections crushed teams.”“Nuclear winter,” or summer, is probably a bit apocalyptic. Nevertheless, the consensus among several team executives was that the market correction would continue into next offseason. In particular, they projected the market to be tighter for the NBA’s middle class in a star-studded free-agency crop."

How much would Holmes and McConnell get next year on the open market? What I find most interesting is what Richaun Holmes would get. McConnell is a point guard. Guards are a lot more versatile than centers. McConnell could play in two guard lineups. However, it’s not a great idea to play Holmes in two big lineups. Holmes is best at center where he can destroy other centers in the pick and roll.

If Philadelphia thinks they can get Richaun Holmes on a very cheap contract, they should strongly consider declining his option. The same goes for T.J. McConnell, however as I said earlier, he will probably be sought after more due to his position.

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If Philadelphia doesn’t want to go down this route, they could simply pick up their options. It’ll be interesting to see how Bryan Colangelo handles the situation. If most NBA teams aren’t going to seriously pursue Holmes and or McConnell, Philadelphia might consider having those players test restricted free agency.