A whole lot has happened in a very short time since the conclusion of the 2025 NBA Draft. And now, free agency is set to begin in a matter of hours. For a breakdown of everything you need to know about where the Sixers stand -- from the basketball-centric makeup of their roster to potential additions they can make and all of the relevant salary cap details -- make sure you check out our free agency primer, published on Monday morning.
In this week's 5 Sixers thoughts, let the free agency preparation continue with a breakdown of the most likely competitors for the Sixers' upcoming free agency:
Quentin Grimes: Detroit Pistons
All along, the Brooklyn Nets have been the only team in the entire NBA slated to have a meaningful amount of cap space, and they have been the only ones projected to have enough money to actually make the Sixers sweat out their ability to retain Grimes, 25, whose status as a restricted free agent means the Sixers can match any offer sheet Grimes inks with another team.
Brooklyn already used a chunk of their cap space in the Terance Mann trade, and are likely open for business on other salary dumps. There have been zero rumblings of the Nets having interest in Grimes, which is understandable given how early they are in their rebuild.
Suddenly, a stunning piece of news has introduced another contender for Grimes if they want to make a push for him. The Pistons were reportedly about to finalize a three-year, $42 million contract with Malik Beasley... and now Beasley is under investigation because of allegations about gambling on NBA games. Suddenly, that deal is off the table, and Detroit very well may pivot to maximizing its cap space. They could end up being able to offer Grimes something like four years and $73 million by renouncing their three key free agents.
Grimes is a great fit in Detroit. Ironically, they very briefly had him. Grimes finished last season with the Pistons and then was traded to Dallas over the summer. Perhaps a return is unlikely -- and the Pistons might be primed to use their cap space on Timberwolves free-agent-to-be Nickeil Alexander-Walker instead, which would take them out of the running.
Detroit has gone from having a nonexistent chance of courting Grimes to a nonzero chance that remains minuscule. But the basketball rationale behind such a pursuit is much stronger for the Pistons than it would be for the Nets.
MORE: Asking a draft expert about No. 35 pick Johni Broome
Guerschon Yabusele: San Antonio Spurs
This fit has seemed obvious for many months, and the idea has only generated more steam as free agency has neared. San Antonio will certainly not be the only team to try to convince the 29-year-old Yabusele to join their ranks; his versatility in the frontcourt is probably unmatched among players in the general vicinity of his price range in this market.
Yabusele joining countryman Victor Wembanyama with the Spurs feels particularly perfect, though. San Antonio has a massive hole in its center depth chart behind Wembanyama, but could also use someone capable of playing alongside him in spurts. Just as Yabusele is a prized asset for the Sixers because of a similar arrangement with Joel Embiid, the Spurs will look to optimize their team around Wembanyama for the foreseeable future.
The issue is that the Sixers can only realistically offer Yabusele the taxpayer's mid-level exception, which tops out at two years and about $11.6 million. San Antonio has much more spending power, and while it stands to reason that Yabusele might stay in Philadelphia if the offers are very close, the Spurs can pretty easily ensure their offer blows the Sixers' offer out of the water.
Eric Gordon: New York Knicks
Gordon opted out of $3.4 million on Sunday to explore the market, but a source told PhillyVoice shortly after that there is mutual interest in a return for Gordon and the Sixers, who covet the veteran's three-point shooting and preexisting relationship with No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe, whose stellar play for Team Bahamas last summer came while playing with Gordon.
At this point, Gordon is a minimum player. He has made tons of money regardless. If he wants to leave Philadelphia, at this stage, the soon-to-be 37-year-old would be doing it in hopes of increasing his playing time and his chance of finally winning a championship.
New York is the most obvious fit under those circumstances: their bench is infamously thin, and he would have every chance to contribute there. The Knicks are undoubtedly in a stronger position to contend for a title than the Sixers. How much does that appeal to Gordon?
MORE: Watch Edgecombe's most impressive plays
Lonnie Walker IV: Portland Trail Blazers
Walker's greatest asset to a team is his three-point volume, and one team that could use an offensive punch in that area specifically is Portland. The Trail Blazers already were suspect offensively, and while the Anfernee Simons-for-Jrue Holiday trade might make them better, they are losing a whole lot of scoring and shooting with that swap.
Portland does not have any gaping holes in its rotation -- in fact, news broke on Sunday night that they are buying out Deandre Ayton in a move likely designed to clear more minutes for Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams III and Hansen Yang. The Blazers could use another player with some mix of shooting, on-ball scoring and length, plus one that is nominally a shooting guard. Walker could be a reasonable fit for their team at the minimum, which would likely be his price point anywhere.
Jared Butler: Indiana Pacers
It will be impossible for the champions of the Eastern Conference to replace Tyrese Haliburton's production, but they will need a new backup point guard as old friend T.J. McConnell presumably steps into the starting five. Butler could be an undervalued ball-handling option, and Indiana will not have tons of money to spend barring unexpected trades.
Butler makes good decisions with the ball, does not try to do anything he is not capable of pulling off and makes players around him better. His reads out of the pick-and-roll are strong and he made important strides as a three-point shooter down the stretch of last season.
Like Walker, Butler is probably a minimum player, but deserves to catch on somewhere. In a way that I cannot describe well in words, I have an unshakable belief that Butler feels like an Indiana Pacer. Make of that what you will.
MORE: Sixers free agency and trade primer
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