Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Philadelphia 76ers face a critical juncture with two of the NBA's worst contracts anchoring their roster — Joel Embiid and Paul George.
- Their path forward requires strategic decisions that could redefine the team's competitive timeline.
- Draft investments and roster patience emerge as the most viable route to rebuild depth and flexibility.
I’m not saying NBA 2K26 rebuilds of the Philadelphia 76ers are the best resource to figuring out what to do with the real-life basketball team, but I can’t put the plight of this franchise any better than Clique Productions did in his always-entertaining they-just-got-eliminated rebuild:
“Look I want to do it for The Process man himself [Joel Embiid] and get the Sixers a ring within this timeframe, but, um, it might be impossible …”
The 76ers are so beyond cooked from a roster-building perspective, harboring the two worst contracts in the NBA for Joel Embiid and Paul George and lacking anything resembling depth or consistency across the roster. Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe look like the start of something interesting, but there are so many issues with this roster that are so expensive that it’s going to be a while before we can fix this thing. That said, I’m here to provide practical solutions that aren’t just “trade Embiid” because such a thing probably isn’t possible. He is owed $187 million in the next three seasons, including a $67 million player option in 2028-29. I don’t … I don’t know, guys. That’s a calamity.
This team just got deep-fried by the New York Knicks in a four game sweep that saw them play all four in Madison Square Gard—wait, two were in Philadelphia? Really? Are we sure? Alright enough mocking, they did beat my Boston Celtics after all. On with the rebuild!
1. Steel your heart and accept the Joel Embiid experience
Do not “recommit” to Joel Embiid, and for heaven’s sake do not invest any more money in the guy, but we all must stop a moment to remember that he was the reason the 76ers executed the 3-1 comeback against Boston. He was overwhelming and dominant, and the 76ers are not going to win the championship by playing Andre Drummond twice as many minutes. They aren’t going to win the championship playing Embiid either, but the team will be better.
The question with any to-trade-or-not-to-trade is just about what you could get back. For Philly, they would have to attach draft capital to get off the Embiid contract; they would not get anything of value back, but it would allow them significant financial flexibility. Forgetting the fact that no team in the league would ever trade for that contract as is, it’s just not worth it. Everyone can celebrate the one great series against Boston, and just … deal with it for another year.
2. Figure out if you can trade Paul George … if you can, do.
George was likewise excellent for Philly in the Boston series, but he was also coming off a mini offseason because of his 25-game suspension and a perfect ramp up period. I don’t think any of that is sustainable, nor do I think they should be paying him $110 million over the next two seasons I mean my God guys how did we get in this situation? The 76ers lack any cap flexibility because of how expensive George, Embiid and Maxey are, and you aren’t getting rid of Maxey or Embiid (each for their own reasons), so George has to go.
But there’s a fairly high chance that the 76ers either cannot trade George because of that $56 million dollar player option in 2027-28 or that they would have to attach real assets to get rid of him. I would not be in a hurry to do that, as reorienting the team around Maxey and Edgecombe will take cheap bench players from the draft. Philly will have to make some picks to do that.
3. Invest in upcoming drafts to acquire cheap rotation players
If you can’t trade George or Embiid, you have to think small and start chipping away at this roster’s depth disaster through successive drafts. The 76ers are set to lose a number of rotation guys to free agency including Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond and Quentin Grimes. They aren’t getting much cheaper, though, and will have to look to some speculative adds to fill those holes.
They do have a couple of incoming picks, though, and if the 76ers start a little mini-process where they don’t make any more of these calamitous “win now” trades, I see a future where positive drafts could get them out in front of the George-Embiid situation. There is no “Move #4” which sees Philly trade George for some All-Star or Embiid for Giannis or something stupid like that. These are distressed assets, and while you are welcome to hope for best, the future is … in the future. It is not right now.
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