There have been few silver linings for the Sixers in this injury-ravaged season from hell, but Guerschon Yabusele is one of the rare exceptions. He’s made the best of his second chance in the NBA by averaging 10.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in only 26.6 minutes per game while shooting 50.9 percent overall and 40.0 percent from three-point range.
When the Sixers signed Yabusele to a one-year, veteran-minimum contract this offseason after his impressive run in the 2024 Olympics, he seemed like an obvious solution to their hole at the 4. But given how much time Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond have missed this year, he’s played a surprising amount of time as a small-ball 5 as well.
Given Yabusele’s standout play and ability to play both frontcourt positions, the Sixers should prioritize re-signing him in free agency this summer. However, since he’s on a one-year deal, they only have non-Bird rights on him. That means they can offer Yabusele no more than 120 percent of his previous salary as the starting salary on a new contract unless they use a different exception to sign him.
That’s where things could get complicated, particularly since they also have Quentin Grimes’ upcoming foray into restricted free agency to consider.
The Sixers already have $149.1 million committed next season just to Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain. The salary cap is projected to be $154.6 million, which is the full 10 percent that it’s allowed to increase year-over-year. More importantly for the Sixers’ purposes, the first apron is projected to be $195.9 million, while the second apron is projected to be $207.8 million.
If the Sixers used the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception to re-sign Yabusele, they’d be hard-capped at the $207.8 million second apron. If they used the $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception to re-sign Yabusele, they’d be hard-capped at the $195.9 million first apron. Either way, the Sixers wouldn’t be allowed to exceed those respective thresholds at any point during the 2025-26 season. That could complicate their ability to retain all three of Yabusele, Grimes and Kelly Oubre Jr. (if he declines his $8.4 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent).
Let’s walk through both scenarios to demonstrate why.
The non-taxpayer MLE route
The Sixers’ Big 3 are combining to make nearly $145 million next season. Add in McCain, and they’re already at $149.1 million in salary commitments for four players. If the Sixers had to use the full $14.1 million non-taxpayer MLE to re-sign Yabusele, they’d be up to nearly $163.2 million in salary for Embiid, Maxey, George, McCain and Yabusele.
Again, the first apron is projected to be $195.9 million next season. The Sixers would be roughly $32.7 million below it with 10 roster spots to fill, and they could not exceed the first apron under any circumstance if they use the non-taxpayer MLE.
The Sixers figure to pick up their team options on Ricky Council IV ($2.2 million), Adem Bona ($2.0 million) and Justin Edwards ($2.0 million) since all three will be cheaper than a minimum contract for anyone with two or more years of NBA experience. Add those three to the Big 3, McCain and Yabusele on the NTMLE, and the Sixers would be up to $169.3 million in salary for eight players. They’d be less than $26.7 million below the first apron with seven roster spots to fill.
Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon can further cut into that wiggle room by picking up their respective $5.0 million and $3.4 million player options. That alone would push the Sixers within $18.2 million of the first apron. Unless Oubre and/or Grimes’ free-agent market is far chillier than expected, the Sixers likely wouldn’t be able to sign both and stay under the first apron.
The math gets a bit easier to manipulate if the Sixers can convince Yabusele to take the taxpayer MLE instead, though.
The taxpayer MLE route
Again, the Big 3 plus McCain add up to nearly $149.1 million next season. If the Sixers re-signed Yabusele with the $5.7 million taxpayer MLE, they’d be up to roughly $154.8 million between those five players.
The second apron is projected to be nearly $12 million higher than the first apron at $207.8 million, while the taxpayer MLE is projected to be more than $8 million cheaper. That’s a $20 million swing between the non-taxpayer MLE and the taxpayer MLE, which could help the Sixers keep all three of Grimes, Yabusele and Oubre.
With Embiid, George, Maxey, McCain, Bona, RC4 and Edwards under contract, the Sixers would be at $155.2 million in total salary. Add in Yabusele on the taxpayer MLE, and they’d be at $160.9 million with eight players under contract. That would leave them with nearly $47 million in wiggle room under the second apron to spend on their remaining seven roster spots.
Even if Drummond and Gordon picked up their player options, the Sixers would still be roughly $38.5 million below the second apron with 10 players under contract. Barring an unexpectedly massive offer sheet for Grimes, the Sixers should have enough wiggle room under the second apron to retain both him and Oubre.
Granted, it might not be easy to convince Yabusele to take the taxpayer MLE. While the free-agent market was largely rough on the NBA’s middle class last offseason, that might have been a byproduct of a relatively small salary-cap increase. With the cap expected to jump by a full 10 percent this offseason, teams could be more open to spending.
The Brooklyn Nets and Detroit Pistons are the only teams currently projected to have more than the non-taxpayer MLE to offer, which could be the Sixers’ saving grace. Now that teams can use their MLEs as trade exceptions, some might choose not to spend it in free agency to give themselves more flexibility at the trade deadline. However, it only takes one team to ruin the Sixers’ best-laid plans.
Yabusele recently told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that he “didn’t want to leave” the Sixers at the trade deadline, as he believes that he’s “in a good role and situation here.”
“I’ve enjoyed being here, and I’m always thankful to the franchise for giving me my second chance to come back to the NBA,” Yabusele added. “It was really important for me to try to stay here and achieve our goals. This was really important for me.”
However, Yabusele also said he’s “pretty excited to see the summer coming and see what we’ll have on the table.” He told Scotto that “it’s going to be a long conversation” and “not something I’m going to think about overnight.” He plans to “take my time and see what the options are,” although he’s open to returning to the Sixers next season.
If another team offers Yabusele most or all of the non-taxpayer MLE (if not more), the Sixers will have a major dilemma on their hands. Re-signing him at that price would likely cost them one of Grimes or Oubre. But if they’re able to talk him into taking the taxpayer MLE — perhaps they can sell him on the Early Bird rights pitch that seemingly worked on Oubre last offseason — they’ll have a far better chance of keeping all three of Yabusele, Oubre and Grimes.
Either way, Yabusele could help determine what happens with Oubre and Grimes this offseason.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats viaNBA.com,PBPStats,Cleaning the Glass orBasketball Reference. All salary information viaSalary Swish and salary-cap information viaRealGM.
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