Don’t get your hopes up for someone earning $15 million or more.
If the Sixers are going to make a move between now and the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline, it’s likely to involve KJ Martin. They signed him to an above-market two-year, $16 million contract this past offseason for that exact reason.
Since the Sixers are over the first apron, they aren’t allowed to take back more salary via a standard trade exception than they send out. They can aggregate two smaller contracts for a bigger salary since they’re roughly $6.2 million below the second apron, though. If they do aggregate two contracts for a bigger salary, they’ll be hard-capped at the second apron, which means they cannot exceed that threshold under any circumstance for the remainder of the league year.
Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey are all earning at least $35 million this season, but Caleb Martin is their fourth-highest-paid player at $8.15 million. Because of the salary-matching rules for apron teams, it’d be extremely difficult for the Sixers to acquire someone earning $20 million or more without trading one of their Big 3.
With that in mind, let’s run through some possibilities the Sixers could explore between now and the trade deadline with KJ’s contract.
Just KJ outgoing
If the Sixers want to avoid triggering a second-apron hard cap, they wouldn’t be able to aggregate Martin’s contract with another player to acquire someone earning more. That means they’d have to target only players earning $7.975 million or less, which would narrow their options. For instance, Cody Martin—whom we’ll touch on later—is earning $8.12 million, so the Sixers couldn’t just do a 1-for-1 swap with him and KJ.
Outside of players still on rookie-scale deals, Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley might be the most intriguing target in this price range. He signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Pistons this past offseason, and he’s been cooking off the bench for them. In only 28.2 minutes per game, he’s averaging 16.0 points on 41.8 percent shooting while drilling 39.6 percent of his career-high 9.3 three-point attempts per night.
The Sixers could use someone of Beasley’s ilk, particularly in the wake of Jared McCain’s meniscus injury. However, the Pistons are more likely to be buyers than sellers at the deadline as they look to snap their five-year playoff drought. Jaden Ivey’s season-ending leg injury only increases Beasley’s value to Detroit, unfortunately.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams wouldn’t provide the same scoring punch as Beasley, but he would give the Sixers another interchangeable wing to pair with George, Caleb Martin and Kelly Oubre Jr. He’s playing a career-low 13.2 minutes per game this season with the Thunder, although he’s shooting a career-high 55.7 percent from the field.
Williams is under contract through next season and has a $7.2 million team option in 2026-27, so the Thunder might prefer to keep him as a potential aggregation candidate down the line. Then again, Thunder general manager Sam Presti treats draft picks like Gollum treated The One Ring, and the Sixers have plenty of second-rounders to spare.
If the Sixers want more frontcourt reinforcements, Charlotte Hornets big man Nick Richards could be of interest. He’s in the second season of a three-year, $15 million contract that pays him $5 million flat each season. Mark Williams’ return has pushed him back into a reserve role for the going-nowhere Hornets, who should be eager to pawn off anyone who doesn’t fit into their long-term rebuild. Utah Jazz center Drew Eubanks, who’s also earning $5 million this season, likewise fits that mold.
Earlier this year, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Sixers were open to targeting a player on a rookie-scale deal whom they’d later re-sign, such as Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga ($7.6 million). He recently mentioned Memphis Grizzlies big man Santi Aldama ($4.0 million), who’s averaging a career-high 13.0 points per game on 50.8 percent shooting, as another possible option in that regard.
The Warriors are presumably saving Kuminga as their blue-chip prospect to include in a trade for a star. The Sixers would likely have to offer multiple first-round picks for him, including the Los Angeles Clippers’ fully unprotected 2028 pick. Aldama could be more realistically obtainable since the Grizzlies already have Ja Morant and Desmond Bane on max contracts and both Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke signed long-term as well.
Houston Rockets big man Tari Eason ($3.7 million) would be a dream target, although he’s all but certainly off the table considering how well he’s playing this season. However, the Rockets won’t be able to pay all of their recent first-round picks once they become eligible for extensions. Could the Sixers swoop in and steal Villanova product Cam Whitmore ($3.4 million), who recently seemed to voice his frustration with his role? The Rockets are far enough below the first apron that they’ll have more salary-matching flexibility in trades.
KJ and Eric Gordon
Since the Sixers are $6.2 million below the second apron and can’t take back more salary than they send out via a standard trade exception, they shouldn’t be too worried about hard-capping themselves this year. They still have more than enough wiggle room to sign free agents to rest-of-season contracts—which get prorated based on how many days are left in the regular season—even if they swing a 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 deal.
Gordon would be the most logical candidate to aggregate with KJ. Because he signed a two-year deal with a second-year player option, he has a $3.3 million cap hit rather than the standard $2.1 million of anyone who signed a one-year, veteran-minimum contract. Pairing him with KJ could allow the Sixers to take back anyone earning less than $11,278,771.
Atlanta Hawks forward/center Larry Nance Jr. could have been one such target. He’s earning $11,205,000 this season, so the aggregated contracts of Martin and Gordon clear Nance’s salary by roughly $74,000. However, Nance recently suffered a hand fracture that will require surgery, which might have nuked the Sixers’ potential interest in him.
Other big men in this salary range include Dallas Mavericks forward/center Maxi Kleber ($11.0 million) and Toronto Raptors forward Chris Boucher ($10.8 million). However, the soon-to-be 33-year-old Kleber is averaging a career-low 2.6 points per game while shooting only 39.3 percent overall and 25.9 percent from three. Boucher has been far more productive than Kleber this season, although it’s unclear how much of an upgrade he’d be over Guerschon Yabusele (if at all).
If the Sixers prioritize wing depth, they could go after Hornets wing Cody Martin ($8.1 million), aka Caleb’s brother. (Philly is the City of Brother Love, after all.) He’s averaging a career-high 8.2 points per game this season while shooting 44.1 percent overall, but his 30.6 percent clip from deep would make him an iffy fit alongside Oubre.
Could a reunion with Bang Bang Georges Niang ($8.5 million) be in the cards? Doubtful. He’s a key bench piece for a Cleveland Cavaliers team that currently sits first in the East and has realistic championship aspirations this season. If the Sixers want another sharpshooter, Grizzlies guard Luke Kennard ($9.3 million) likely would be more attainable than Niang.
The Sacramento Kings seem poised to make a panic move to stave off a De’Aaron Fox trade request, which could make Keegan Murray an interesting buy-low option. He’s averaging a career-low 11.7 points per game while shooting only 41.4 percent overall and 30.2 percent from three-point range, and he’s extension-eligible this summer. If the Kings aren’t ready to commit to him long-term, this would be the time to sell.
However, much like the Warriors with Kuminga, the Kings likely wouldn’t trade Murray for KJ, Gordon and only one first-round pick. The Sixers might have to wiggle their way into a multi-team deal in which they’d send out KJ, Gordon and a pick or two and get Murray in return. That’s likely a long shot, but it’s one worth exploring.
The $12+ million options
If the Sixers want to acquire someone earning more than $11.3 million, they could do it in one of a few ways:
- Aggregate KJ with Andre Drummond ($12,975,000)
- Aggregate KJ, Gordon and another minimum contract ($13,366,290)
- Aggregate KJ, Drummond and another minimum contract ($15,062,519)
- Aggregate KJ with either Oubre ($15,958,000) or Caleb Martin ($16,124,001)
- Aggregate KJ, Drummond and Gordon ($16,278,771)
If they’re looking for an upgrade at backup center, aggregating Drummond with KJ could put them in the range of Raptors big man Kelly Olynyk ($12.8 million), Portland Trail Blazers big man Robert Williams III ($12.5 million), Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke ($12.5 million) or Washington Wizards center Jonas Valančiūnas ($9.9 million). Longtime NBA insider Marc Stein recently said Valančiūnas and Olynyk are among the veterans “believed to be available for second-round draft compensation,” so the Sixers might not even have to give up a first-rounder for either one.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo ($11.4 million) would be a dream target in this salary range. He’s gotten off to a slow start in Minnesota—although he’s turned it around as of late—but he averaged a career-high 15.5 points per game last season with the New York Knicks while drilling 40.1 percent of his 705 three-point attempts on the year. DiVincenzo is under contract for two more seasons at a bargain rate (below the non-taxpayer mid-level exception), so the Timberwolves would likely have a high asking price for him.
Herb Jones would likewise be an amazing fit if the injury-ravaged New Orleans Pelicans conduct a fire sale between now and the trade deadline. However, Stein and Jake Fischer reported in mid-December that the Pelicans were “resistant to trade inquiries” about Jones, rookie big man Yves Missi and Trey Murphy III, whom they signed to a four-year, $112 million extension in October.
To reach the price range of Timberwolves big man Naz Reid ($14.0 million) or Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu ($14.0 million), the Sixers would either have to include Oubre or Caleb Martin with KJ, aggregate KJ, Gordon and Drummond or aggregate KJ, Drummond and another minimum contract. That’s likely why they weren’t in on Dorian Finney-Smith ($14.9 million), whom the Los Angeles Lakers recently acquired from the Brooklyn Nets.
Too expensive
It’s no secret that the Chicago Bulls are open to moving Zach LaVine ($43.0 million), but the Sixers don’t have the requisite salary-matching unless they’re willing to flip Embiid (whom they can’t trade until after the regular season), George or Maxey. Hell, they can’t even afford Nikola Vucevic ($20.0 million) without aggregating KJ, Drummond and one of Oubre or Caleb Martin. That’s a clear non-starter.
Anyone pining for a reunion with Blazers forward Jerami Grant ($29.8 million) faces the same issue. Even if the Sixers aggregated all four of KJ, Caleb, Oubre and Drummond, they’d be roughly $700,000 short of Grant’s salary. Utah Jazz forward John Collins ($26.6 million) isn’t quite as expensive as Grant, but he isn’t far off, either.
Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson ($22.5 million) would be a great conceptual fit alongside the Sixers’ Big 3, but he’s too expensive to be a realistic target this year as well. He also has $4.5 million in unlikely-to-be-earned incentives in his contract that would count against the Sixers’ cap sheet for apron purposes, which would further complicate any attempt to acquire him. The same goes for Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma ($23.5 million), who has $3 million of unlikely-to-be-earned incentives in his contract this season.
Given their top-heavy salary structure, the Sixers aren’t likely to swing a trade for anyone earning $15-plus million this season. That won’t necessarily preclude them from adding an impact player by flipping Martin’s contract, though.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Salary Swish and salary-cap information via RealGM.