3 reasons the Sixers should re-sign Danny Green: Salary
The Sixers can sign Green for up to 175 percent of his previous contract, which means they can technically offer up to $26.7 million despite being well over the NBA cap threshold. That is free money for Philadelphia, not to mention a useful, starter-level rotation piece.
Philadelphia has zero cap space, so letting Green walk would be letting his contract evaporate into thin air. There’s no signing a different player for $15.4 million. Philadelphia’s only other free agency tool is the $5.9 million mid-level exception, which probably will not yield a player as good as Green.
Even if you don’t perceive Green as a player worth $10+ million, the Sixers should willingly offer it, if only to have that money on the books. That is money the Sixers can then use in a future trade, with George Hill’s $10 million and Seth Curry’s $8.2 million getting you within range of matching a max contract.
I’m not saying the Sixers should pay Green $20 million, but even a repeat of his previous contract — overpay or not — would give Philadelphia a great deal of flexibility on the trade market, which could be important regardless of the Simmons situation.
Virtually no team can outbid the Sixers, and there’s no indication Green wants to leave. He even said explicitly that Doc Rivers wants him back. The Pompey quote is notable, but there is no evident reason to doubt Green’s return. There’s no real argument against it. Unless he wants to take less money for a ticket back to L.A., I’m not sure how he ends up on another team. That is, of course, barring a trade, which would coincide with him re-signing.