Making Sense of the Sixers Outlook - 2026 Offseason Preview

On the Sixers' salary cap situation, likely spending goals, key players with impending contract decisions, and weighing trading valuable draft picks to maximize Tyrese Maxey's prime.

The Sixers are two years removed from their massive 2024 free agency, when they signed Paul George. That signing, along with new contracts for Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, was the culmination of a year-long plan meant to set them up for title contention through the end of the decade. Instead, the Sixers have been lucky to have all three on the court together in the same game.

It seems like their first-round upset against the Celtics will be the peak moment fans remember from this iteration of the Sixers. They are now in the process of finding a new general manager, indicating that whatever plan was made two years ago has been scrapped. That decision was essentially made for them when their lottery luck rewarded them with VJ Edgecombe. Edgecombe and Maxey are now the priorities of the franchise, with Embiid and George on two of the most negative-value contracts in the league.

The Sixers are heading into another offseason with a top-heavy roster and little depth. They’ll have limited flexibility to upgrade the roster and will have challenges keeping all their free agents. The new front office will need to weigh the value of its draft picks in the lottery-flattening era against maximizing the next few years around Maxey and Edgecombe. This all leaves them stuck between a retool and fighting for mediocrity as they wait for Embiid and George’s contracts to get closer to expiration.

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Salary cap situation

The Sixers are heading into the 2026 offseason with 12 players combining for $186.2 million in total salaries. They will operate as an over-the-cap team and, given their recent history, likely below the first apron. This spending tier would give them the ability to use expanded trade exceptions to take in more salary than they send out, sign-and-trade for free agents, use the $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, and use several of the trade exceptions they created last season.

In the previous two seasons, the Sixers have gone into the season over the luxury tax line without exceeding the first apron. They needed to go into tax territory to field a somewhat viable bench with a roster featuring three max players. But they didn’t want to go too far above the tax, so they could potentially get under it later. Teams only pay tax penalties if they finish the season above the threshold, so they reduced enough payroll by the trade deadline to duck it after it became clear they weren’t title contenders.

The Sixers could operate under a similar path, assuming they don’t trade Embiid or George. Trading one of them for multiple players earning less than them would allow them to field a deeper roster while potentially remaining under the tax, depending on how much salary they save. Otherwise, they’re unlikely to replicate the level of bench depth they had last season without exceeding the tax, at least to start the season.

This past postseason may have clarified whether this group can contend for a championship. They had everyone healthy and peaking at the right time, and they couldn’t get past the second round in one of the weakest Eastern Conference seasons in recent memory. It seems like the answer to whether they can win a title is a resounding no. That could eventually become a significant source of tension regarding Maxey.

Maxey has by far had the best season of his career. He’s emerged as a legitimate first option and made enough strides on defense to be passable on that end. The Sixers are at risk of wasting two to three more years of his prime if they do not move off Embiid or George. They will probably need the cap flexibility and talent infusion such a trade would provide, considering that Edgecombe, as incredible as his rookie season has been, may still be a couple of years away from being a legitimate second option.

In all likelihood, the Sixers must make an aggressive move involving Embiid or George’s contract just to keep their current standing. They only finished as the seven seed and just two games above the 10 seed in a season where all five teams outside the Play-In Tournament picture were racing to the bottom. They could plausibly be passed in the standings by teams like the Heat, Hornets, and Pacers if they remain complacent.

As of now, it’s still unclear what direction the Sixers will go this summer. Bob Myers, President of Sports for HBSE, stated as much while remaining open to the possibility of finding a way to compete for a championship with three max players. We may get more clarity on their direction once they hire a new general manager, but the truth seems fairly obvious. They’ll eventually pivot away from this group. The real question is how soon they will make it happen.