The Philadelphia 76ers have not been the stablest of franchises all summer long, but the Milwaukee faithful has been a squirmy bunch lately following a bombshell revelation by franchise superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has recently signaled that he would be more than amenable to the idea of basically leaving the Bucks should the team not win another title.
The two-time Most Valuable Player bared his deep desire to win more than just a single championship to add to his lone title in 2021. And while the Bucks have so far been successful in keeping their core intact, another underwhelming finish in the next two years after having just been upset in the playoffs last season could be the death knell to their partnership with Giannis.
Can the Philadelphia 76ers be a possible destination for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Antetokounmpo will enter free agency in 2025, and should the Bucks fail to yield meaningful results — which, really, is a championship — him leaving will almost be a guarantee. In that eventful scenario, would Philadelphia be a possible destination for him?
The 76ers stand to open up a ton of cap space next year, but the bulk of that is already escrowed for Tyrese Maxey’s eventual extension. Realistically, their only bet to land Giannis would be via free agency, and the franchise will have to be extra creative to fit him next to Joel Embiid and Maxey. After all, factoring in the latter’s cap hold and an inevitable extension next year, Philly will only have around the ballpark of $30 million left to spend. That will not nearly be enough. Far from it.
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Of course, the other option would be to let Maxey go, which is extremely risky. With Antetokounmpo belonging to a later free agency class, trying to be ultra-conservative on the finances for only a mere hope of signing the Greek Freak is unwise.
Ultimately, the thought of Giannis Antetokounmpo teaming up with Joel Embiid to form what could potentially be the league’s most formidable front court in history is definitely alluring, but reality says that the Philadelphia 76ers will have to walk on a ragged glass bridge to even get into the discussion of that idea materializing. And given their current situation, that would be too extreme to bank on.