Everybody loves coming up with fake NBA trades this time of year. There is probably not a single person who loves it more than me, as any reader can tell by now.
With the 2025 NBA Draft just days away and a potentially chaotic offseason set to follow soon after, I've decided to outline the key component of my process when it comes to constructing hypothetical trades involving the Sixers.
The team is in a very particular space entering another crucial summer when it comes to their salary cap standing, and the makeup of their cap sheet offers them some opportunities to upgrade their roster while also presenting a few roadblocks that will get in the way of moves fans would like to see.
This will be one of the biggest weeks of the year for fake trade artists like myself. But if you want to craft a realistic proposal involving the Sixers, there is some important salary cap context you should know.
Once the draft has concluded and the Sixers are focused on free agency, their primary objective will be retaining 25-year-old restricted free agent Quentin Grimes. Grimes blossomed tremendously in his first two months with the team, displaying a newfound three-level scoring ability that rounds out a game previously built on reliable spot-up three-point shooting and strong perimeter defense.
The Sixers own Grimes' Bird rights after acquiring him in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks. He should not be expected to command a massive deal in restricted which means they can theoretically offer him any amount of money to return — unless they are blocked by a hard cap.NBA teams can have a hard cap triggered at thresholds known as the first and second aprons based on certain moves they make. A hard cap prevents a team from surpassing a certain payroll number under any circumstances.
Given the makeup of the Sixers' cap sheet entering this summer, it is imperative to avoid a hard cap at the first apron, as that is what would prevent them from being able to retain Grimes.
This is why: if Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond pick up their player options as expected and the Sixers make their picks at No. 3 overall and No. 35 overall — also what should be expected — here is where I project the Sixers to stand relative to both aprons without having attended to Grimes or Guerschon Yabusele:
Total Salary $183,483,583
First Apron $195,945,000
First Apron Space $12,461,417
Second Apron $207,824,000
Second Apron Space $24,340,417
Grimes might not make much more than $10 million per year on his new deal — the market plays favorably to the Sixers in terms of squeezing him on a team-friendly contract — but it is hard to imagine him getting any less than that. Retaining Grimes with a first apron hard cap would be nearly impossible without making at least one salary dump trade; retaining Grimes and Yabusele with a first apron hard cap and not gutting the team's depth is almost inconceivable altogether.
So, how does all of this relate to the trade machine? The most common trigger of a hard cap at the first apron is a team taking back more money than it sends out in a trade. If a team sends out $10,000,000 in salary in a trade and takes back $10,000,001 in salary in that deal, the trade would only be legal if the team was under the first apron after the deal. A hard cap at that threshold would exist for the remainder of the league year.
For example: the trade machine will tell you that the Sixers trading Oubre, Drummond and Ricky Council IV to the Brooklyn Nets for sharpshooting wing Cameron Johnson is legal. That is technically correct: the Sixers are allowed to absorb $7.5 million in additional salary in a deal, and in that framework their payroll goes up by $5.4 million. But if they did that — or any move that increases their payroll by even one penny — the first apron hard cap would go into effect.
Ultimately, it boils down to this: the 2025-26 salaries of Joel Embiid ($55.2 million), Paul George ($51.6 million) and Tyrese Maxey ($37.9 million) are too significant to build a viable team while staying below the first apron. The extra $12 million or so afforded to them by remaining under the second apron instead provides massive flexibility.
When reading one of my stories proposing various Sixers trades, many have probably noticed that one or two of Lonnie Walker IV and Jared Butler are oftentimes thrown into deals with little explanation. That is because the players have team options in their contracts for next season — Walker's for about $2.9 million, Butler's for about $2.3 million — that the Sixers can use to their benefit. Either player can have their option picked up and immediately be traded.
Here is how that becomes important: the most popular Sixers trade target this offseason appears to be New Orleans Pelicans wing stopper Herb Jones. Odds are you have seen this basic framework broached on many occasions (with draft picks involved):
Sixers receive... Pelicans receive...
Herb Jones ($13.9M) Kelly Oubre Jr. ($8.3M)
Andre Drummond ($5.0M)
The money here is almost dead even — except the Sixers would end up increasing their payroll by $555 thousand. That seems insignificant, but it would lead to at least one of Grimes and Yabusele being gone — very possibly both. If the Sixers picked up their team option for either of Butler or Walker, or even threw in Ricky Council IV, this trade quickly becomes viable for them.
So, have the time of your life on the trade machine. Lord knows I do. But understand this: the Sixers taking on more salary than they send out in any trade does not only jeopardize their ability to retain Yabusele, but also the likelihood of Grimes coming back. And while Yabusele returning to Philadelphia would be a boon, ensuring Grimes remains in the fold for years to come is an absolute must.
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