July 01, 2026
Kevin Barrett/for PhillyVoice
How eventful will Mike Gansey's first summer in Philadelphia be?
Welcome to the third and final part of our annual Sixers free agency primer.
The main event has arrived: free agents.
Which players can the Sixers target on the open market? As new Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey tries to improve a team that stunningly staged a 3-1 series comeback over the Boston Celtics before suffering a second-round sweep at the hands of the New York Knicks, he does not quite have all options on the table; the Sixers' precarious salary-cap standing gets in the way of premium free agents being in play.
This massive collection of players is categorized by estimated price ranges, and it is updated based on up-to-the-minute information pertaining to the market and the Sixers' own financial capacity.
Let's dive in:
2026 SIXERS FREE AGENCY PRIMER
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These players, barring a trade which saves the Sixers significant money, are now out of the question:
• Rui Hachimura: Is Hachimura a considerably better all-around player than Oubre? Maybe not. But it is difficult to deny that he is a much cleaner fit on this roster. All playoffs long, teams felt empowered to leave Oubre unguarded beyond the three-point line. The veteran swingman has always been a willing shooter, but not an accurate one. Perhaps it would be legitimate to nitpick at Hachimura's three-point volume, but he is extremely reliable when left open. Hachimura is also much larger and stronger than Oubre – more of a hybrid forward than a traditional wing – and would give the Sixers some stability at power forward. There is no doubt he is a starting-caliber forward in the NBA, and the Sixers could use one.
• Jonathan Kuminga: Sixers fans know Kuminga best for his role in Joel Embiid's most recent torn meniscus, and he has experienced a roller coaster since then himself. A former draft pick of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment President of Sports Bob Myers, Kuminga signed a one-year deal to return to the Golden State Warriors and was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. The athletic combo forward is now set to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time, without much proof of concept as a contributor to high-level teams.
2026 SIXERS FREE AGENCY PRIMER
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These players having their markets slide down to the minimum range would be unexpected, but not implausible:
• Javonte Green: Green is an energetic, athletic wing with strong defensive ability. Three-point shooting has always been his big question mark, but he shot a career-best 38.1 percent from beyond the arc on a career-high 3.0 long-range attempts per game last season, playing in all 82 games for the top-seeded Pistons.
• Nicolas Batum: Even after the Los Angeles Clippers declined Batum's team option, it is hard to envision him playing for any other NBA team before the end of his long career. If he had interest in returning to Philadelphia, the Sixers should be eager to oblige given how well he fits in alongside the team's best players.
• Russell Westbrook: Westbrook seems destined to be a floor-raiser for bad teams that have on-ball reps to give out for the remainder of his career, and the Sixers do not seem like a match.
• Gary Trent Jr.: Trent would be a sensible addition as a high-caliber three-point shooter. He does not have much of another bankable NBA skill. Nurse knows Trent well from their time together in Toronto.
• Gary Payton Jr.: Myers, now a central figure within the Sixers, knows Payton very well from their shared days with the Warriors. He has the frame of a small guard, but essentially functions as a wing or big, normally operating inside and defending well above his size without taking on much of a ball-handling role. It is the sort of piece Nurse has not necessarily had during his time in Philadelphia.
• Josh Okogie: Okogie is a stronger defender than Payton – and can be deployed against guards – but has even less offensive utility. He would give Nurse a true ace in the hole defensively, but it will never be certain that Okogie could play in high-leverage minutes or games.
• Brandon Williams: Over the last two seasons, Williams has averaged 20.9 points per 36 minutes while posting a 58.6 true shooting percentage. His knack for drawing fouls goes a long way. The Dallas Mavericks should keep him around, even amid organizational change as Masai Ujiri takes over.
• Matisse Thybulle: Another old friend! Thybulle had somewhat of a revival with the Portland Trail Blazers late in the 2025-26 season, potentially setting him up to earn a team's confidence this summer in his first trip to unrestricted free agency. Thybulle is not the exact same player now that he was when the Sixers traded him, but the key points – excellent defensive playmaker, suspect at every part of offense – remain true.
• Ziaire Williams: Williams had his $6.25 million team option declined by the Brooklyn Nets. Williams is a useful NBA wing entering his age-25 season, but took a step back last year after a strong campaign in 2024-25.
• Nick Richards: A replacement-level center, Richards would not be a home run at backup center, but he would probably be more stable than Adem Bona or Andre Drummond last season.
• Jordan Clarkson: A member of New York's bench mob, Clarkson has recently undergone a pretty shocking transformation. After over a decade of being the same player – a high-volume shot-taker with limited utility outside of inefficient scoring and occasional bucket-getting binges – he proved to be much more than that this season. Even without shooting particularly well on threes, he made himself into a player who does the little things, endearing him to Knicks fans. It would likely take a slight raise above the minimum for him to consider leaving New York.
• Quinten Post (restricted): Post is an interesting young stretch five, and the expectation should be that the Golden State Warriors will retain his services. If the Warriors get caught up in more significant pursuits – they are courting LeBron James – perhaps someone will try to sneak in an offer sheet on Post, a 36.4 percent three-point shooter in two NBA seasons on gargantuan volume (12.0 attempts per 100 possessions).
2026 SIXERS FREE AGENCY PRIMER
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These players should be expected to sign minimum deals because of their flaws, age or underwhelming recent performance. But this group includes many players with NBA utilities:
• Khris Middleton: Once upon a time, Middleton was the end-of-game closer for a championship team. But his days of glory in Milwaukee are in the past now, and injuries have taken their toll on the former All-Star wing. Nowadays, he might be better off if utilized as a hybrid forward of sorts. Until the day he retires, Middleton will be able to get a bucket. How much value does that carry on its own?
• Gary Harris: Harris is no longer a premiere 3&D guard, but still can provide small doses of cost-effective two-way value to a team. Given where things are headed with the Milwaukee Bucks, he should be on another team next season.
• Cam Thomas: If Grimes thinks his season on the qualifying offer was disappointing, he should talk to Thomas, who ended up being waived by the Nets after a lack of trade interest at the deadline, then signed and promptly waived again by the Bucks. He can score in bunches, but not in a fashion that contributes to winning.
• Jeremy Sochan: Sochan joined the Knicks after being let go by San Antonio and got a title against his former team without playing all that much. He is a non-shooter and has some playmaking chops for a power forward.
• Aaron Holiday: Holiday signing with the Sixers would mean all three brothers in his family would have played in Philadelphia. That is a strong pitch in itself.
• Bruce Brown: Brown had a disappointing season after returning to the Denver Nuggets, but his blend of defensive versatility and secondary ball-handling still makes him a somewhat appealing option.
• Jordan McLaughlin: A classic, table-setting point guard, McLaughlin played sparingly for the Spurs this past season. He has always been quietly productive, even if in unspectacular fashion, during his seven NBA seasons. The Sixers could do a lot worse on the end of their bench.
• Kelly Olynyk: Olynyk is probably not good enough at anything to be a full-fledged rotation piece anymore. But he is a seven-footer who can shoot and pass.
• Xavier Tillman Sr.: Tillman looked like someone with the makeup of a stretch five with defensive versatility early in his career, but his shooting has dropped off a cliff and so has his playing time.
• Lindy Waters III: In five NBA seasons, Waters has made 36.3 percent of his long-range tries on 10.1 attempts per 36 minutes.
• Gabe Vincent: Vincent became a punching bag of sorts in Los Angeles before the Lakers traded him away, and he was extremely disappointing there. He has a role-playing set of skills, but has not been productive enough recently enough to be more than a minimum player.
• Kevon Looney: This is another Myers connection, and perhaps he will vouch for Looney as a potential pillar in the locker room. That is what he was with the Warriors, even as his quality of play declined.
• KJ Martin: Martin spent the year playing overseas after the Jazz waived him right before training camp. He showed serious flashes of promise during his time with the Sixers. He is an elite athlete, very strong – potentially a small-ball five option – and makes smart decisions in advantage situations. He is an NBA-caliber player.
• Trey Lyles: Another potential returner from overseas, Lyles was a quality stretch four in the NBA for 10 years before playing for Real Madrid last season. He appears to be targeting an NBA comeback this summer and would give the Sixers the sort of shooting at power forward they used to covet.
• Guerschon Yabusele: In all likelihood, the impressive season Yabusele had with the Sixers two seasons ago was a mirage. He had a nightmarish season with New York and Chicago and could return overseas. The case for bringing him back would be rooted in his versatility between power forward and center.
• Amir Coffey: Coffey has been viewed as an enticing young player at times in the past, but he has never put it all together. He has decent size for a wing and has shot the three well in recent years.
• Seth Curry: Curry is no longer a rotation-caliber player. Perhaps the Sixers think his shooting is strong enough that he can play in a pinch when needed.
• Nick Smith Jr.: A young guard with some juice, Smith could slip through the cracks as the Lakers enter a potentially transformative offseason. He would be a more highly-touted prospect had he demonstrated an ability to provide more than just occasional scoring jolts.
• Jae'Sean Tate: An athletic, defensive-oriented wing like Tate is always intriguing because he is just a lucky three-point shooting year away from being a high-quality reserve. But in six seasons in Houston, he has yet to experience such a campaign.
• Kevin Love: Gansey knows Love extremely well from their time in Cleveland, and he could replace Kyle Lowry as a player filling the Sixers' leader-in-uniform sort of role. Love appears more likely to go wherever James goes.
• Bismack Biyombo: Biyombo ended up being one of three veteran centers on San Antonio's bench and out of its rotation, and it is clear by now that he is valued as a teammate. Can he still impact games directly?
• Jett Howard: The son of former NBA player Juwan, Howard is entering his age-23 season after three unsuccessful years with the Magic that prompted Orlando to decline his fourth-year team option.
• Drew Eubanks: At best, Eubanks could be an innings-eater sort of center, the type of player the Sixers could reasonably throw into a game when Embiid is sidelined and somebody has to take up some minutes.
• Jeff Green: Green has become another one of the NBA's most respected teammates; it seems likely he would continue serving in a leadership role in Houston.
• Maxi Kleber: Once a perfect fit for what the Sixers needed during his prime, injuries have taken a toll on Kleber. He peaked as one of the better role-playing bigs in the NBA, capable of defending and spacing the floor.
• Ben Simmons: "Maybe I'll go back to Philly," Simmons told Men's Health. That one would be hard to believe. But Gansey's Cavaliers did have reported interest in Simmons when the Nets bought him out two seasons ago.
• Andre Jackson Jr.: An absolutely elite athlete, Jackson has yet to find a way to leave his mark on NBA games consistently. He can certainly defend, but has little utility otherwise.
• Ochai Agbaji: Originally drafted by Gansey and the Cavaliers in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft, Agbaji was traded during his first NBA offseason as part of the Donovan Mitchell deal. He has played for Utah, Toronto and Brooklyn across his four NBA seasons, and at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds is a career 33.9 percent three-point shooter. If the percentage was higher, perhaps there would be more interest. But if he falls out of the picture in Brooklyn, Gansey could rekindle his interest in Agbaji.
• Moussa Cisse (restricted): There is no reason for Dallas not to keep Cisse, who proved to be a useful find on the margins. He is a run-jump-dunk hustle center who averaged 19.2 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per 100 possessions as a rookie.
• Keaton Wallace (restricted): The brother of Oklahoma City's Cason, Wallace is still looking to establish himself as an NBA regular at either guard position.
• Caleb Love (restricted): Love stood out as a two-way player for Portland, getting three-point shots up at tremendous volume but ultimately failing to earn a standard contract. He is worth a look if the Sixers want more volume from beyond the arc.
2026 SIXERS FREE AGENCY PRIMER
SALARY CAP DETAILS | TRADE TARGETS | FREE AGENTS
