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At long last, we got a fresh heaping of Sixers slop on Saturday. Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported that Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade is “expected to draw interest from various playoff teams,” including the Sixers.
New Sixers president Mike Gansey was the Cavaliers’ general manager before coming to Philly, so it’s no surprise that the Sixers are being linked to Wade. What’s more surprising is their apparent willingness to spend the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
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Using the non-taxpayer MLE would hard-cap the Sixers at the first apron, which is projected to be around $209 million next season. Given their current cap sheet, it would be difficult for them to spend that and bring back either Kelly Oubre Jr. or Quentin Grimes, much less both.
So, the question isn’t just whether the Sixers can land any of these players for a starting salary no higher than roughly $15 million. It’s whether adding any of these players justifies costing them a realistic shot of re-signing Oubre or Grimes.
Based on the current $165 million projection for the 2026-27 salary cap, the non-taxpayer MLE is projected to start at $15.05 million. A three-year deal with 8% annual raises (the highest they can go) would top out at roughly $48.75 million, while a four-year contract could go as high as $67.4 million.
John Collins, PF
Five years ago, John Collins and Trae Young tormented the Sixers in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Fast-forward a half-decade and Young is on the Washington Wizards, Collins is finishing his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, and Ben Simmons just won a sportfishing championship.
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It’s unclear what the Clippers have up their sleeves this offseason. Trade rumors about star forward Kawhi Leonard are beginning to bubble to the surface, while The Ringer’s Zach Lowe hinted that the Clippers could be a sneaky threat in free agency.
“I don’t know if this has been decided yet, but someone who would know told me [Wednesday] that the Clippers are telling or behaving I guess as though they’re going to have cap space in the offseason,” Lowe said on his podcast (via…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/6-non-taxpayer-mid-level-150245755.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-28 15:02:00
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