76ers have an inevitable financial catastrophe before free agency even starts

Less than 24 hours away from free agency, the Philadelphia 76ers’ team and player options are finally determined. Kelly Oubre Jr and Andre Drummond accepted their player options, while Eric Gordon declined. Philadelphia denied all three team options, one of them being Jared Butler, which was a mutual decision, a source told The Sixer Sense. The 76ers also declined the options of Lonnie Walker IV, and Justin Edwards, who signed a new three-year contract on Friday. Although the 76ers controlled what they could, they now find themselves in a bit of a financial jam.

Oubre and Drummond complicate things

Oubre ($8.4 million) and Drummond ($5 million) will add approximately $13.9 million to Philadelphia’s payroll, which isn’t ideal if it wants to re-sign both Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele. Currently, the 76ers are $13.6 million shy of the first tax apron. To have access to the $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, Philadelphia would need to get at least $14.1 million below the first apron. This is essential as the San Antonio Spurs – who are projected to have interest in Yabusele – have access to the full MLE.

As of now, the 76ers are only able to offer him the $5.7 million taxpayer MLE because using the NTP-MLE would hardcap them at the first apron. Normally, Philadelphia would likely be willing to pay the price, but doing so would prevent it from retaining Grimes. Hypothetically, if the 76ers used the full NTP-MLE on Yabusele, they wouldn’t be able to exceed the first apron to re-sign Grimes, regardless of having his full bird rights. 

This is why Philadelphia should look to trade the salaries of Oubre and Drummond. If the 76ers shed their combined $13.9 million in salary, they’d be just under $27 million below the first apron. While Philadelphia still wouldn’t realistically be able to retain Grimes and Yabusele, it would be a major step in the right direction. The 76ers shaving off Butler and Walker’s combined $5.2 million in team options is perhaps a signal that they’re heading in this direction.

The 76ers likely can't keep both Grimes and Yabusele

At the end of the day, Yabusele would have to be willing to take slightly less than the full MLE for Philadelphia to have a fighting chance of keeping him and Grimes. If the 76ers discarded Ricky Council IV's $2.2 million non-guaranteed contract along with Oubre and Drummond, they’d be $29.2 million below the first apron, which looks promising at first. However, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, Grimes is seeking a multi-year contract that would pay him $25 million per season. If Philadelphia caved in, it would hypothetically be just $4.2 million below the first apron.

As a reminder, this is assuming the 76ers can shed Oubre and Drummond in a salary-dump trade and waive Council. Even then, Philadelphia would need Grimes to take less than $25 million per year and Yabusele to accept less than the full MLE for this to work. With so many hypotheticals involved, it simply doesn’t seem like the 76ers can afford to keep both players. Yabusele aside, the 76ers front office is a bit apprehensive of potentially matching an offer that would pay Grimes more than $22 million per year. But, Philadelphia ultimately would be willing to match up to the reported annual $25 million, a source told The Sixer Sense.

There’s still one more variable to this hopeless equation, which is Gordon. Although he declined his player option, there is mutual interest between him and Philadelphia in a reunion via Adam Aaronson of The Philly Voice. In all likelihood, the 76ers will retain Gordon on a one-year veteran minimum deal worth $3.6 million. However, only $2.3 million would go on Philadelphia's payroll as the NBA pays the difference between a veteran minimum for a player with 10 years of service and that of a player with two years of service. 

As evident when exploring the previous hypotheticals, every little bit of money counts for the 76ers. Gordon’s hypothetical $2.3 million may seem small in a vacuum, but depending on the countless moving parts in Philadelphia’s payroll, it could end up being notable. The dominoes will start falling on June 30th at 6 p.m. EST – when teams can start negotiating with free agents.