With the Philadelphia 76ers getting lucky and now slated to pick third overall in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, all eyes are on the team’s strategy come draft night. The front office will have a wide pool of rookies to pick from, and thanks to the quality of this year’s crop of rookies, the odds of the team pulling off a huge blunder are close to nil this time around.
Acing the draft, however, only constitutes a single part of their offseason escapade. The 76ers need to rectify a lot of stuff this summer, especially in light of the gaps on the roster that piled up this season and sent them packing without even coming close to sniffing a postseason berth for the first time since 2018.
While financially limited, it is imperative that Philly makes the most out of free agency and the trade market. It remains to be seen whether opportunities will be ample for them, but they nevertheless need to stay far away from the idle zone and be much more proactive in seeking chances for themselves.
Former 76ers trade target Jonathan Kuminga hints at his offseason plans
For now, the 76ers will be limited to their usual exceptions to throw at free agents thanks to their congested payroll. However, if they somehow manage to clear up cap space, they could be in play for some of the more sterling players projected to be available for taking in the open market.
One name to watch out for is Jonathan Kuminga, who was actually already linked to Philadelphia earlier in the season. The 22-year-old started the year off playing consistent minutes for the Warriors, but as the season went on, he slowly fell out of Steve Kerr’s favor due to his decision-making lapses.
With Golden State now booted out of the playoffs, Kuminga seems poised to hit free agency and bypass a potential re-upping with the Warriors. Not long after their season-ending loss to the Timberwolves, the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft dished a cryptic tidbit, turning his social media profile into a pitch-black one.
To the untrained eye, gleaning a looming exit from such a glib move is a huge reach, but we’re dealing with reactive cues here in the context of NBA basketball. Even without that, inferring that Kuminga might have already played his last game for the Dubs is not a tedious venture.
The Philadelphia 76ers currently do not have a clear machination to realistically pursue Jonathan Kuminga, but at the very least, it is notable enough that he is available in the first place. After all, they already registered interest in the athletic forward not too long ago.