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A few days away from the start of free agency, we still aren’t entirely sure what rules the Sixers will be operating under this offseason.
Here’s what we do know: After drafting Labaron Philon Jr. with the No. 22 overall pick, the Sixers are entering free agency with nearly $173 million in guaranteed salary on their books. That already puts them well above the projected $165 million salary cap for the 2026-27 season.
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As is tradition with this team, the luxury tax and the aprons are the bigger concern. They could be as much as $28.3 million under the $201 million tax line, $36.3 million below the $209 million first apron and $49.3 million below the $222 million second apron, but that would require them to decline their team options on Dominick Barlow ($3.4 million), Trendon Watford ($2.8 million) and Dalen Terry ($2.6 million) and waive both Jabari Walker ($250,000 guaranteed) and Adem Bona ($0 guaranteed).
The Sixers will have to decide what to do with Barlow, Watford and Terry by June 29, which is the deadline for player and team options to be exercised. Even if they pick up their team option on Terry, his salary is non-guaranteed until Jan. 10, so they could still waive him before the season begins without being left with a dead cap hit.
All of those decisions—and whether they re-sign Kelly Oubre Jr., Quentin Grimes and Andre Drummond in free agency—will help determine which mid-level exception (if any) the Sixers have access to this offseason.
Can the Sixers get the non-taxpayer MLE?
If the Sixers use the $15.0 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception this offseason, they would hard-cap themselves at the first apron for the remainder of the 2026-27 league year. That means they could not have more than roughly $209 million in salary on their books at any point until next July.
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If they picked up their team options on Barlow and Watford and kept Bona, that would already bring them up to nearly $181.5 million in salary before taking Walker or Terry into account. That would leave them roughly $27.5 million below the first apron. Once they spent the non-taxpayer MLE, they’d be only…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mid-level-exception-sixers-free-140908195.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-27 14:09:00
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