Daryl Morey and the entire Philadelphia 76ers front office did a tremendous job this offseason. In a short span, they managed to catapult the franchise near the top of the league's pecking order as they now enter the 2024-25 NBA season as a legitimate championship contender with a solid shot at snapping a four-decades-long title drought.
With Paul George joining Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to form a vaunted Big Three, the 76ers do have a bit of a top-heavy payroll. That could make things trickier in the aspect of roster-building for the short-term, but it also means that the front office will need to get ultra-creative moving forward –– something they already did this summer with these players operating on below-market rates. Here are the four most underpaid players on the team next season.
4. The 76ers got tremendous value with Caleb Martin
Philadelphia snatching Caleb Martin from Miami was one of the bigger shockers in free agency. The versatile wing was a near-lock to stay in South Beach before he and his camp miscalculated the franchise's offer, resulting in him settling for much less with the 76ers to the tune of four years and $32 million.
By default, Martin will be one of, if not the most underpaid starting-caliber players in the entire NBA not counting rookies. As of the moment, he is expected to be part of the starting lineup, bolstering the team's forward rotation alongside George without the normally significant cost.
While quite undersized at forward, Martin thrives as a utility guy on both ends of the court –– a role he notably thrived in as part of the Heat. He is a respectable three-point shooter and keeps the ball moving thanks to his uncanny skill at attacking closeouts. Defensively, he's pretty malleable, capable of adequately slowing down most non-post operators.
3. Kyle Lowry is easily still worth more than the vet's minimum
Even at 38 years old, Kyle Lowry is still a reliable role player who does very well as a low-usage, ancillary guard. Despite all of that, the 76ers, as expected, were able to keep him for only the veteran's minimum –– a major bargain for a former All-Star who can still put up brief showings of what made him a longtime star.
Lowry came over to Philadelphia last season via the buyout market, and he definitely showed that he has something left in the tank. In 23 appearances (and 20 starts), the six-time All-Star logged eight points and 4.6 assists while shooting 40.4 percent from rainbow country.
While he's probably going to see a major reduction in his minutes, the one-time champion should remain a pretty steady resort for Nick Nurse and the entire coaching staff. As long as his body permits, the 76ers can still milk 18-24 minutes out of the veteran on a nightly basis as a secondary table-setter and spot-up shooter –– a hell of a return for a signing so menial.
2. Andre Drummond should quickly prove himself as a bang-for-the-buck addition for the 76ers
Philadelphia entered the offseason aware of the fact that they must exhaust all options to strengthen its depth behind Joel Embiid, whose long absence last season exposed their lack of other playable big men aside from the 2023 MVP. They addressed that quickly this summer, signing Andre Drummond to a two-year, $10 million contract that should age like wine.
The 76ers had their eyes on prying Drummond away from Chicago last season before the trade deadline, but the Bulls puzzlingly stalled his inevitable exit. Now, Philly has reunited with the former All-Star and should realize pretty quickly how big of a discount they got with one of the league's best bench operators since his permanent role realignment a few years back.
Despite limited playing time as Nikola Vucevic's backup in Windy City, Drummond showcased why he's an all-time rebounder. In just 17.1 minutes per game, he registered 8.4 points and nine rebounds a game. He led the NBA in rebounds per 36 minutes at a staggering 18.9 boards per contest. Clearly, the 76ers should feel much better about their chances of winning the games Embiid will inevitably miss.
1. Philadelphia secures another bargain with Kelly Oubre Jr.
In Jessie Pinkman's voice –– They can't keep getting away with this!
Last year, the 76ers somehow snagged Kelly Oubre Jr. for the minimum –– a tantalizing bargain for a player who just led his team in scoring the season before. The 28-year-old easily overperformed his contract, quickly proving himself as a key player for the team where he eventually cracked the starting lineup. However, many doubted the team's ability to retain him due to cap limitations.
Voila! In typical Daryl Morey fashion, he managed to convince Oubre to stay in Philly for yet another discount, this time to a richer two-year, $16.36 million deal. Still, that's below-market value for a player of his caliber, especially when the expectation was that he should be able to command more than $10 million annually.
Oubre's nominal role next season remains to be seen, but barring something catastrophic, he should continue being a prominent part of Nick Nurse's rotation either as one of the starting wings or the go-to option off the bench. Combine that with his much-improved defense, and the 76ers have for themselves another year or two of Oubre making his remuneration look puny.