The Sixers Sound Ready to Change Their Team-Building Strategy

Two years ago, the Sixers made the decision to triple down on star power.

They signed Paul George to a four-year, $211.6 million max contract in free agency, gave Tyrese Maxey a five-year, $203.9 million max contract and inked Joel Embiid to a three-year max extension that's currently projected to be worth nearly $188 million.

Based on historical precedent, former team president Daryl Morey long clung to the belief that star power outweighed anything else when it came to chasing an NBA championship. But the NBA's latest collective bargaining agreement, which took effect one year before the Sixers' 2024 offseason spending spree, made that type of roster harder to build around than ever before.

Two years into their Big Three era, the Sixers have gone 69-95 overall. They finished as the No. 7 seed and upset the Boston Celtics in hilarious fashion in the first round of this year's playoffs, only to get swept by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Two days after that sweep, the Sixers moved on from Morey. Bob Myers, the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and the four-time NBA champion as the Golden State Warriors' general manager, is running the Sixers' basketball operations while also conducting a search for their next lead executive.

During his first press conference on Thursday, Myers sounded open-minded to moving away from the three-max model.

"We didn't get it done this year with three [max] guys, but that doesn't mean it can't be done," Myers said. "I think I know where you're going, I think it's a smart question in that what's the modern roster supposed to look like? With the second apron, really, which oftentimes operates as kind of a hard cap, the truth is, depth may be important than it's ever been. Maybe that's the pace of play, maybe that's what we require of our players more.

"Not to say that this model doesn't work, but we have to look at what happened this year and be honest about it. We've gotta be honest about can this model work, right? That's really the question. And also understanding that depth is key, and you only have a certain amount of resources to spend. So that's all part of the questions, that's all part of what we need to figure out moving forward."

The problem for the Sixers is that they might be underwater on two of those three contracts.

Trade options for George and Embiid?

Even if the Sixers are ready to move away from a three-max build, they'd be fortunate to get off either George or Embiid's contract without attaching additional assets.

George still has two years and more than $110 million left on his deal. Embiid is just starting the three-year max extension that he signed in the fall of 2024. George has a $56.6 million player option in 2027-28, which he could decline to sign a multi-year deal at a smaller annual salary, or he could just get his massive bag and test free agency in 2028 if he's still interested in playing then.

Jake Fischer of The Stein Line recently reported that it sounded like "George has somewhat rehabilitated his trade value around the NBA." He said if the Sixers were amenable to a return akin to the one that the Atlanta Hawks received for Trae Young (CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert), "it gets easier to picture teams showing [interest] in George and the shooting/creating/wing defense he can still provide."

Meanwhile, Embiid's contract appears to be radioactive at the moment.

Brian Windhorst on Joel Embiid questioning his future in Philly:

“He has 3 years $192M left on his contract…which will begin next season. That is why I can promise him he will definitely be back. He is not going anywhere.“ pic.twitter.com/6FfJNl6gQz
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) May 11, 2026

Based on Myers' comments, it sounds as though the Sixers would look to break up George's contract into two or three smaller deals to round out their depth and give themselves more flexibility moving forward. Although George played sensationally in the Sixers' first-round upset over the Celtics, he's played in only 78 of a possible 164 regular-season games over the past two years.

With availability concerns baked into the Embiid experience, the Sixers can't have another $50-plus million annually tied up in someone who's been as unavailable as George and expect to contend for a championship. It's also fair to wonder whether they believe Embiid can realistically make it through a playoff run healthy, even if most of his playoff ailments tend to be total flukes.

What does the future hold?

Although Embiid and Maxey weren't at full strength during the playoffs, the Sixers got to see both the upside and downside of their Big Three model on full display. Embiid, Maxey and George helped the Sixers mount a furious rally against the Celtics in the first round, but their shallow rotation left them out of gas against the Knicks in the conference semifinals.

Myers was grateful for those data points.

"The thing I liked was that we got to see—maybe not completely—but we got to see a healthy team, right?" he said. "At least in the playoffs for the most part. Joel came back. And when you're healthy in the playoffs, the best part is that you don't have any excuses about why you lost. You lost.

"I didn't like ever going into the playoffs with, 'Well, so and so was hurt, and if he had been healthy, we would have…' Those hypotheticals aren't helpful. What is helpful is we played a team, we were mostly healthy, we lost. Let's just be honest about that, acknowledge that."

That does not sound like an executive who's content to sit on his hands and run this core back in hopes of better health. That isn't to say that Myers will force whomever he hires to replace Morey to immediately make blockbuster moves.

The Sixers do need to improve their depth, and breaking George's contract into two or three rotation players would be one way to do so. But the Sixers might have an easier time of moving him next offseason (if he picks up his player option) or at this year's trade deadline (if he's open to declining the option to sign an extension at a lower annual price) than they do this offseason.

Even if the Sixers move George, they'll still have a Big Three with Embiid, Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, and Edgecombe will be on his rookie-scale deal for the entirety of Embiid's extension. As long as Embiid stays upright, the Sixers would have a Big Three that more closely resembles a Big Two cost-wise.

George has value to the organization beyond what he brings to the court, though. It seems as though he made a point to take Edgecombe under his wing this season, and Edgecombe made major strides as the year progressed. Having a strong locker room mentor for Edgecombe who can also still get buckets may be worth the price for another year.

But Myers appears aware of how daunting the second apron can be. And although he didn't say it outright, it sounds like he's considering a major shakeup to this roster.

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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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