The Sixers' 2026-27 Salary-Cap Outlook After the NBA Trade Deadline

With Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey all on max contracts, the Sixers aren't going to have salary-cap space for the foreseeable future. That won't change in 2026-27, either.

Embiid ($58.1 million), George ($54.1 million) and Maxey ($40.8 million) alone will earn nearly $153 million next season. The latest projection for the 2026-27 salary cap is $166 million. Add in VJ Edgecombe ($11.7 million), and the Sixers basically hit that mark with only their top four players.

The bigger concerns for the Sixers will be the projected luxury-tax threshold ($201.7 million), the first apron ($210.7 million) and the second apron ($223.7 million). Outside of Embiid, George, Maxey and Edgecombe, the Sixers don't have any major salaries on their books for next season, but even minimum contracts will add up quickly.

With that in mind, here's a look at where the Sixers currently stand going into 2026-27 and how that might limit what they can accomplish this offseason.

The Sixers' current cap sheet

At the moment, the Sixers have up to nine players under contract beyond this season. Aside from Embiid, George, Maxey and Edgecombe, they already have Dominick Barlow, Trendon Watford, Justin Edwards, Adem Bona and Johni Broome signed, although not all of them are on guaranteed contracts.

The Sixers have team options on Barlow and Watford that they'll have to either exercise or decline by June 29, one day before the start of free agency. Bona's contract is fully non-guaranteed until July 7, one day after the NBA free-agent moratorium lifts.

Player	2026-27 Salary
Joel Embiid	$58,100,000
Paul George	$54,126,380
Tyrese Maxey	$40,770,520
VJ Edgecombe	$11,663,880
Dominick Barlow (?)	$3,415,000
Trendon Watford	$2,801,346
Justin Edwards	$2,411,090
Adem Bona	$2,296,271
Johni Broome	$2,150,917
GUARANTEED TOTAL	$169,222,787
TOTAL (W/O BARLOW)	$174,320,404
SALARY CAP	$166,000,000
CAP ROOM	-$8,320,404
LUXURY TAX	$201,690,000
TAX ROOM	$27,369,596
1ST APRON	$210,690,000
1ST APRON ROOM	$36,369,596
2ND APRON	$223,690,000
2ND APRON ROOM	$49,369,596

That leaves the Sixers with $169.2 million in guaranteed salary on their books between Embiid, George, Maxey, Edgecombe, Edwards and Broome alone. If they pick up their option on Watford and guarantee Bona's contract, they'd be at $174.3 million with eight players under contract. (Bona's salary will be less than a veteran-minimum salary, so there's no reason for the Sixers not to pick it up.)

Team president Daryl Morey recently implied that the Sixers will try to renegotiate Barlow's contract in late June before the June 29 team option deadline. With that in mind, we'll leave his $3.4 million cap hit out of the rest of these calculations.

Even at $174.3 million, the Sixers would be less than $27.4 million below the tax line, $36.4 million below the first apron and $49.4 million below the second apron. That isn't factoring in four incomplete roster charges (nearly $1.4 million each), either.

A normal veteran-minimum contract is expected to cost nearly $2.5 million next season. Even if the Sixers filled their other six roster spots with minimums—and left one roster spot open in-season, as is tradition—they'd be only about $12.6 million below the tax line.

That's before factoring in anything else they'd want to do in free agency.

Can they afford both Oubre and Grimes?

Both Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer. The Sixers have Bird rights on each of them, which means they can re-sign them to any deal up to a max contract despite being over the cap.

The tax-averse Sixers might not be willing to foot the bill for that, though.

If the Sixers filled four of their open roster spots with minimum contracts, that would cost them nearly $9.9 million. They'd be less than $17.8 million below the tax before re-signing Oubre or Grimes and deciding on Barlow's team option.

The Sixers might be willing to go into next season over the tax as long as they had a realistic in-season escape hatch if needed. But if Grimes or Oubre even sniff $20 million per year on the open market, they might become cap casualties for the Sixers.

Even if the Sixers were open to being taxpayers next year, they'd also be only $26.8 million below the first apron before re-signing Grimes or Oubre or deciding on Barlow's option. Exceeding the first apron would limit what they could do on the trade and buyout markets, which doesn't sound like the typical M.O. of Morey and Co. That might be their soft salary cap heading into the season.

There's always a chance that the 2026-27 salary cap comes in higher than expected. It's allowed to increase by 10 percent year-over-year, so it could rise as high as $170.1 million. In that case, the tax line and aprons would rise, but the Sixers' current salary structure would be unaffected.

That might be the Sixers' best hope of re-signing both Oubre and Grimes this offseason. Otherwise, they might have to get creative to find a way to keep both while still steering clear of the aprons, if not the tax line.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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