Getty Nick Nurse
The Philadelphia 76ers will enter the 2024 NBA Offseason with plenty of cap space. With Joel Embiid in his prime, the Sixers have to spend that money wisely. One option that could potentially hit the open market is OG Anunoby.
Anunoby has a player option for $19.9 million, which he is likely to decline. If he does, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey explained why he believes Anunoby is a “reasonable” Sixers free agent target.
“The Sixers’ mountain of cap space could be best spent on high-end role players,” Bailey wrote in a March 19 story. “Anunoby is right near the line between that distinction and fringe star, and his defense would make Philly a far different team on that end. Having shooters to surround the two-man game of Embiid and Maxey in the middle of the floor should be a priority, too, and Anunoby checks that box.”
Anunoby also has experience with Nick Nurse and Kyle Lowry. The trio played together for multiple years, one of which resulted in a title for the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
Anunoby is in the last year of a four-year, $72 million contract.
GM’s Caution OG Anunoby’s Next Contract
Multiple GMs spoke with Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney, previewing Anunoby’s upcoming free agency. With him sidelined again with an elbow injury, one executive said his injury-prone tendencies are worrisome to any interested suitor.
“It has to worry you,” one Eastern Conference GM told Deveney in a March 20 story. “He is going to get a lot of money from the Knicks, but he is starting to look like a player who is just injury-prone and that makes you nervous, paying him that much.”
Because of what the New York Knicks gave up to get him, the executive previewed what he’ll want from them.
“He will try to break the bank there,” the GM said. “Why not? They can’t afford to lose him. Not a max deal or anything, but I think from his side, it is going to look more like $40 million per year, something like four years and $160 million.”
A Western Conference executive compared Anunoby to another star and champion to outline what he’ll likely want.
“He’s probably around where Middleton is, maybe just a little more.”
Middleton is on a three-year, $93 million contract with incentives that could push it to $100 million. That could potentially be around what Anunoby will demand. Given that he’s also younger than Middleton, he may ask for more.
Sixers ‘Loom as Eager Suitor’ for Paul George
If Anunoby is off the table, the Sixers could look into other wings, like Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George. In fact, per NBA Insider Marc Stein, the Sixers
“League sources say that Philadelphia continues to loom as an eager George suitor should he make it onto the open market and give the 76ers their formal opportunity to try to lure him across the country,” Stein wrote in his substack newsletter on March 20. “The Sixers are said to maintain interest in George despite the widely held presumption that he and Leonard want to keep playing together in their native Southern California.”
Anunoby and George are among the best wings that could hit the market. If they want to explore free agency, the Sixers could hold plenty of appeal by offering them the money they want and a chance to win a title.