Getty Eric Gordon #10 of the Houston Rockets shoots over Matisse Thybulle #22 of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Think the Philadelphia 76ers are finished up with roster moves? Well, guess again. Even after signing free agents Danuel House, PJ Tucker, and Montrezl Harrell, after trading for De’Anthony Melton on draft night, after restructuring James Harden’s contract to make these moves possible, the Sixers might still have another move up their sleeves.
That’s because there is a cost associated with bringing in that many new players. As it stands, the Sixers have 17 players under some form of a contract (fully guaranteed, partially guaranteed, or non-guaranteed). In addition, Philadelphia already has two players assigned to their two “two-way spots” — Charlie Brown, Jr. and Julian Champagnie.
But per league rules, a team can only carry 15 players on its roster during the regular season. Meaning in the next few weeks, at least some form of a roster shakeup is necessarily going down.
That doesn’t mean the Sixers will simply cut players at the bottom of its roster. The finances are already tight and Daryl Morey isn’t one to simply let a player leave without scouring the market for a return. Perhaps the front office could package a handful of the rotation pieces in a three-for-one.
In fact, Rahat Huq of Forbes suggested the Sixers make a move that has been many months in the making.
“For the love of God, Daryl and Rafael, please just figure out a way to get Eric Gordon to Philly. I don’t even care about compensation at this point. This feels like a joke seeing every former Rocket except the most obvious one go over to the 76ers this summer,” Huq tweeted.
For the love of God, Daryl and Rafael, please just figure out a way to get Eric Gordon to Philly. I don’t even care about compensation at this point. This feels like a joke seeing every former Rocket except the most obvious one go over to the 76ers this summer.
Eric Gordon, who was signed to a $75 million contract in 2020, would be the icing on the cake for the Rockets reunion in Philadelphia. After all, the swingman is entering his seventh season in Houston. But does he make sense as an on-court fit with the Sixers?
Making Sense of Eric Gordon in Philadelphia
This isn’t the first time the Sixers have been linked to Gordon. On draft night, The Athletic reported that Philadelphia made a few calls to the Lone Star State to check on Gordon’s availability.
“Eric Gordon, the subject of repeated interest around the league,” wrote Kelly Iko for The Athletic back in July, “was close to being traded on draft night, with the Philadelphia 76ers presumed to be the landing spot before talks ultimately fell apart, The Athletic was told.”
Gordon experienced something of a rejuvenation last season. The former Hoosier started 46 games for a young Rockets squad and nudged up his three-point shooting to 41.2% on 5.3 attempts per game, his best since 2014. He was also a generally strong shooter from the floor, with an effective field goal rate of 58.5%, much higher than the 53.2% league average.
It’s hard to imagine Gordon slotting into the starting roster in Philadelphia, though. As it stands, the Sixers are pretty loaded at the front five with Joel Embiid, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, and PJ Tucker.
But Gordon’s shooting would be a welcome addition off the bench. But, there’s a catch.
Eric Gordon’s Contract Could Prevent a Deal
Gordon is entering the third year of that five-year, $75 million contract he signed in 2020. Meaning he’ll be owed roughly $40 million over the next two seasons, with just under $20 million owed this year.
Philadelphia has just about one-twentieth of that much space left. After all of the wheeling and dealing this summer, the Sixers are hard capped, with just under $920,000 left to spend. So bringing in Gordon would require Simone Biles-level cap gymnastics.
Even packaging some of their down-roster players (Charles Bassey, Furkan Korkmaz, Shake Milton) wouldn’t be quite enough. In reality, the only way this deal gets done is if Tobias Harris is somehow included. And even then, the Sixers have to ask if swapping Harris’ length for the undersized Gordon is worth it.