The Philadelphia 76ers are looking to make improvements in the offseason following a disastrous 2024-25 season. The Sixers finished 24-58 in a season where they were expected to seriously contend for a championship, but they got hit with every injury imaginable that derailed any of those hopes.

In terms of any hope for big moves in the offseason? One shouldn’t hold their breath. The Sixers have a lot of money (roughly 77% of their payroll) tied into Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George after the big deals handed out in the 2024 offseason. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey and Co. have confidence that if those three can return fully healthy, then the Sixers can bounce back and be contenders in 2025-26.

Free agency tools

With that being said, what can the Sixers use in free agency? Morey’s options are limited due to the previous offseason spending spree. They currently have the non-taxpayer mid-level exception which is worth about $14.1 million and they have the bi-annual exception which is worth about $5.1 million.

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With that being said, there is also the luxury tax to consider ahead of free agency on June 30. The Sixers do have a number of players with player options which could affect how much flexibility Philadelphia has in the offseason. If Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Eric Gordon all opt into their player options for 2025-26, plus the implications of the first-round pick, the Sixers will be pushing up against the tax which then brings the first apron into play.

Of course, the Sixers also created some trade exceptions from the deadline. The deals to send out KJ Martin ($7,975,000), Caleb Martin ($3,852,319), and Reggie Jackson ($2,087,519) helped create roughly $12.8 million in trade exceptions which gives Philadelphia some more money to use before they expire.

Can they bring back key pieces?

Due to their current restraints, bringing back Guerschon Yabusele and Quentin Grimes in free agency will be a challenge for Morey and the front office. The first apron limits what they can do in free agency and it hurts their chances at being able to keep both players. One has to wonder if Morey makes a salary dump move to create more space to bring back both Yabusele and Grimes.

Moving forward

With that being said, the Sixers have plenty of reasons to believe that if they have a healthy Embiid, Maxey, and George, then they can compete with anybody in the East. While one has to wonder just how healthy Embiid will be after another knee surgery, it’s fair for the Sixers to think that as long as Embiid is out there with a healthy George and an improving Maxey, then they can still contend.

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While the 2025 offseason might not be as frenetic as 2024, the Sixers might just bank on health and internal growth and development for their future chances. When considering all of the pieces they will be bringing back, it might just be worth it to stand pat.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: What do Daryl Morey, Sixers have to play with in upcoming free agency?