Another NBA player is heading overseas for the 2026-2027 hoops year, and it's one that the Philadelphia 76ers should be keeping a close eye on.
Aaron Holiday, who recently played for the Houston Rockets, is set to move to Italy to compete for Maxima Roma in the Italian Basket Serie A league. He leaves the NBA after being in the league since 2018.
However, there is a notable factor attached to Holiday's new deal with the Italian club. According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, Holiday has an NBA out in his contract, which allows for the veteran guard to get bought out if a team like the Sixers wants to bring him back into the NBA.
The Sixers should be keeping an eye on Holiday
It's not the Holiday that everybody has been talking about for the past couple of months, but it's one worth keeping an eye on if the Sixers' future buyout market plans don't go their way.
Currently, the 76ers have an open roster spot without a plan to fill it. They clearly don't want to cut ties with Jabari Walker, who has a partially guaranteed contract, at the moment. Realistically, they probably won't look to fill that spot until deeper into the winter.
Holiday is a low-usage guard who could be helpful in a reserve role. He averaged just 13.7 minutes off the bench for the Rockets this past season, putting up 5.5 points per game, while producing 1.1 assists, and 1.0 rebounds per game. The league is likely down on him after he struggled with his shot during the Rockets' 2026 playoff run. He made just 27.3% of his field goals, averaging 2.7 points per game in 11.2 minutes per game.
Throughout his career, Holiday has been a solid three-point shooter, knocking down 38.4% of his attempts for 6.4 points per game. He has also been credited for being a strong defender, despite being labeled as undersized.
It's unclear what Mike Gansey's in-season strategy will be, but the 76ers surely haven't shied away from plucking players from overseas. In 2024, the team helped Guerschon Yabusele secure a buyout with Real Madrid. They also added Lonnie Walker during the 2024-2025 season, after he left Zalgiris Kaunas. Last season, the Sixers reunited with Camp Payne, getting him a buyout from Partizan Belgrade in Serbia.
Guard depth is strong up top with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Anfernee Simons, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. If the rookie Labaron Philon doesn't quite look ready for an everyday role off the bench, Holiday has enough experience to be worth a look.
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