Happy Monday! We are inside of three weeks away from the Sixers beginning their 2025-26 season, a journey which will lead them to Abu Dhabi for two exhibitions in the first week of October before returning home for a few more preseason games and then an 82-game marathon.
And then, the Sixers hope, will come a lengthy playoff run.
As always, let's begin the week with 5 Sixers thoughts, with the NBA's newest potential scandal serving as the headliner.
Also inside: Jared McCain providing an injury update, the first of Quentin Grimes' restricted free agency cohorts to make a decision and more.
Los Angeles Clippers cap circumvention story through a Sixers lens
Last week, "Pablo Torre Finds Out" broke a potential scandal that could become a massive, league-altering one in the NBA: a potential case of salary cap circumvention involving superstar Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers. The entire story is fascinating and you can listen to/watch it in full here.
The natural inclination when observing this story is to think of Joe Smith and the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000. The league found that the team and Smith were working in tandem to circumvent the cap, as Smith took multiple short-term deals below his market value with the promise of a lucrative long-term deal once the team attained his Full Bird rights. The penalty was massive: Smith's rights were voided, the team was fined, owner Glen Taylor had to step away from basketball operations for a period and lead executive Kevin McHale was forced to take an unpaid leave of absence. And none of that compared to the five consecutive first-round picks the league office docked from the Timberwolves.
Cap circumvention is a massive sin in any sport, and the prevailing expectation seems to be that if the NBA can definitively prove that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer directed payments to Leonard off the books, Ballmer and his organization will risk facing massive penalties. Speculation has already begun about how that would look, particularly in terms of draft-related penalties, because the Clippers do not have actual control of any first-round picks until 2030. They have two significant obligations to the Sixers from the James Harden trade:
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Clippers owe Sixers unprotected first-round pick Clippers owe Sixers first-round pick swap rights (top-three protected)
To be clear, the NBA would not strip Los Angeles of picks it has already traded and actually penalize other teams for the Clippers' wrongdoing. If the NBA concluded that there was wrongdoing worth punishing in the form of docking three first-round picks, for example, they would take away picks that the Clippers actually own, even if that means waiting until the next decade.
If there is any non-Sixers development that would benefit the long-term health of the franchise in the next five years, it would be the Clippers falling into a state of mediocrity or worse. As has been covered here extensively over the last year, there is a world in which the Harden trade of 2023 eventually nets the Sixers two premium draft picks that ease their transition into a post-Joel Embiid world.
Are there any possible ramifications of Torre's reporting that could lead to a worse outlook for the Clippers two years from now? Perhaps Leonard's contract being voided is one, but that would actually gift the Clippers cap space to pursue a more reliable star.
Ballmer has already flatly denied all accusations of salary cap circumvention, and it would take a mountain of evidence to give the NBA comfort going after the richest owner in the league by far. But if the hammer does come down on the Clippers, the Sixers could be beneficiaries.
MORE: VJ Edgecombe discusses offseason work, season ahead with PhillyVoice
Cam Thomas takes the qualifying offer. Will Quentin Grimes follow suit?
Grimes' restricted free agency is still ongoing, more than two months after he officially reached the open market for the first time in his NBA career. The same is true for two of the other three high-profile restricted free agents, as Chicago's Josh Giddey and Golden State's Jonathan Kuminga remain without new deals. But Cam Thomas, always seen as the most likely of the foursome to take the qualifying offer, did just that last week. He has returned to the Brooklyn Nets on a one-year deal worth just under $6 million that comes with a no-trade clause and pathway to unrestricted free agency as a 24-year-old next summer.
Thomas taking the qualifying offer was not shocking. In addition to being in a brutal, barren salary cap environment this summer with only one significant cap space player (Brooklyn), Thomas has perhaps the largest disconnect with the marketplace in terms of his optimal role on an NBA team. Thomas' own team having all of the financial flexibility in the world and still declining to make him any long-term offer speaks volumes.
With an Oct. 1 deadline to accept the qualifying offer, the clock is beginning to tick on Grimes, Giddey and Kuminga if they want to go with the nuclear option. For Grimes in particular, the qualifying offer feels like a lose-lose scenario. There is some theoretical upside for the player and none for the team, but that upside will be tremendously difficult to reach.
When Grimes emerged as a dynamic three-level scorer in a two-month audition with the Sixers, he was the most important trade deadline acquisition on a team that would be remembered as an abject failure. His blossoming was a much-needed organizational win, and he received every chance to prove he was capable of surpassing expectations.
But of the four talented young guards expected to suit up for the Sixers next year, Grimes is clearly fourth in terms of long-term importance. If Grimes prevents the Sixers from securing him on a long-term deal or making him a trade asset by taking the qualifying offer, it will be much easier for the Sixers to discard the goal of maximizing his talents in favor of providing Jared McCain and VJ Edgecombe with as much runway as possible.
Grimes has made about $11 million in four NBA seasons despite spending much of that time as a definitively good player. He has been traded three times; two of those deals came despite Grimes giving his team quality production. Someone so familiar with the situational volatility that comes with being an NBA player should have a strong understanding of the importance of long-term security. Grimes will not get a deal that is commensurate with his ability and room for improvement, but taking the qualifying offer backs him into a corner. He would be a bad break or two away from missing out on the three- or four-year deal every free agent hopes to sign.
Jared McCain says he is 'on pace' for training camp
It has been nearly nine months since Jared McCain underwent a season-ending meniscus surgery, cutting short an electric rookie campaign at 23 games. McCain was the clear favorite to win Rookie of the Year before the knee injury sidelined him; even without playing after the second week of December his torrid scoring run was the most exciting and encouraging aspect of the 2024-25 Sixers season. McCain, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, proved that he has legitimate star upside. His brilliant shooting touch was as advertised and he showed considerably better on-ball scoring chops than anyone would have guessed as an NBA rookie.
McCain accompanied the Sixers for Summer League in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas and worked out with the team in a limited capacity, but did not play in games. At an event for the renaming of the Sixers' arena – the Wells Fargo Center is now officially the Xfinity Mobile Arena, by the way – McCain spoke to the media and reportedly indicated he is optimistic about being fully prepared for training camp in just a matter of weeks.
"Right now, I'm on pace," McCain said, according to the Associated Press.
The Sixers have no reason to rush McCain back, but this far removed from his surgery, it is not too challenging to imagine the 21-year-old being a full go. The team's eventual depth at guard once Grimes' free agency is resolved has been discussed frequently, but without McCain, this team does not have a viable backup point guard right now. They need McCain to handle the ball when Tyrese Maxey is off the floor.
MORE: McCain's case to be a starter
A Delaware Blue Coats legend departs
It is hard for any player to accumulate more experience and respect with an NBA G League affiliate than Jared Brownridge has with the Delaware Blue Coats. Dating back to their days as the 87ers, the 6-foot-3 guard has been firing threes in Delaware. Brownridge's eight-year tenure with the organization has come to an end, as he was part of a trade near the end of August.
Speaking of the Blue Coats, the Sixersnamed Vice President of Player Personnel Ariana Andonian as the first-ever female general manager of the Blue Coats on Friday.
A possible Sixers target goes overseas
As soon as Guerschon Yabusele departed Philadelphia after one strong year – leaving the Sixers to sign with the rival New York Knicks at the taxpayer's mid-level exception – how the Sixers attempted to piece together a quality power forward rotation became of interest. One free agent whose fit seemed clear was Trey Lyles, who does and does not check a lot of the same boxes as Yabusele (even if it looks a whole lot different).
Lyles, a 10-year NBA veteran, does not come with a ton of upside, but his stable skills would have come in handy for a Sixers team that could have even used an innings-eater at the four. Lyles, however, will not be joining the Sixers in the near future, as he has reportedly agreed to a contract with Real Madrid. He will be taking his talents overseas.
Speaking of Yabusele, the 29-year-old had a dominant EuroBasket performance for Team France last week, posting 36 points against Poland:
Yabusele and the Knicks will face the Sixers in a pair of preseason games on the aforementioned Abu Dhabi trip. New York's front office is hoping he can be a critical component new head coach Mike Brown's bench in their pursuit of a championship.
MORE: Why Sixers declined to match Yabusele's offer from Knicks
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