Apr 13, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Quentin Grimes (5) shoots the ball against the Chicago Bulls in the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
The Sixers enter an extended summer with 11 potential free agents from this season's roster. Here's what they all said about their futures at their exit interviews and a thought on the possibility of each returning.
Reporter: "You have a player option for next season. How much have you thought about your plans for next year, and what's going to inform that decision of what you do or what you want out of next year?"
Gordon: "I haven't thought that far. My main focus is to rehab and make sure I can just get fully healthy to look forward to the next season."
Reporter 2: "Is there a sense of unfinished business in Philadelphia?"
Gordon: "Oh, no question. I mean, who would've ever thought we would have the year that we had? Of course, I would expect every guy to get healthy, hone in and treat next season like how it should be the past few years here where playoff team, championship caliber team. That was just our expectation through this year. So, just got to get back to that."
Thought: Gordon still has a workable offensive skill in this league and is strong enough to credibly guard in certain situations. I'd think someone would offer him the league minimum, which is currently projected to be $3,634,153 for a player of his experience. That's a little less than $200,000 more than his player option is worth. If there's mutual interest in a return to Philadelphia, you might see a scenario where he opts out with the understanding that he'll return on the new minimum. That would be beneficial to both parties because Gordon would make more money and the Sixers' cap hit would be lower on a new minimum than if he opted into his current deal.
Reporter: "You have the option coming up this summer. Is your hope to be here in Philadelphia next year?"
Oubre: "I am a Philadelphia 76er. I'm blessed to be apart of this organization. I'm here in front of you guys right now, so taking it day by day. But also, this is a business. But at the end of the day, I'm happy and I feel like I like to finish what I start, and I don't feel complete. So, God speed and, yeah, I'm still here."
Thought: I'm a believer that the new second apron environment will compress contracts while teams learn to navigate team-building under the new restrictions. Oubre certainly has his warts, but he's been an excellent off-ball cutter and aggressor when the ball is in his hands. I could see a team with a full non-taxpayer mid-level exception convincing him to opt out. I could see him opting in. I think the best thing for the Sixers would be for him to opt out and sign elsewhere.
Reporter: "What are the next steps for you as you approach the offseason, just to get the hip right and whatever else comes after that?"
Lowry: "For me, it's just continuing to keep the mind and the body as sharp as possible. I think being a part of this season showed you guys I want to at least go out winning. We've known we were not going to make the playoffs and this and that. But I think I walked in the building today and was a little bit sad. We all thought that we would be playing a little bit longer and we thought we had a good team on paper. But you still got to put it down on the floor. So for me, it's just about I do want to play one more year and at a level where I can compete and play and help the team. Even if I'm not playing, I'm just here or if I am playing, but I still want to play one more year and hopefully it's here."
Thought: In an ecosystem where Nick Nurse envisions Jared McCain and Quentin Grimes each running some backup point guard, Lowry probably has a ton of intangible value. If giving him a minimum contract to be the 15th man keeps a respected teacher in place to help the young guards along, it's a reasonable investment.
Reporter: "Heading into the offseason, you have a decision to make with the player option and everything. Is this still a place that you can see yourself and be a contributor on this team?"
Drummond: "I mean, this is something I said from the first day I got back here. I feel like there's more work to do, stuff that's missing that I haven't completed here yet, which is winning at the highest level. And I still feel that way. I think we still have the pieces to win at the highest level, and I think I could be a big part of that, too. My plan is to come back. But obviously, whatever happens in the offseason happens, but my immediate plan is to be back here."
Thought: With the decision in Drummond's hands, the Sixers should make it clear that Adem Bona is the primary backup if Joel Embiid is healthy. I think the unspoken truth in what Drummond said is that he probably doesn't anticipate having a robust market that offers more than the value of his player option. So maybe his plan is to return because that's simply the most logical decision.
Reporter: "Have you given any thought to what your future might hold, whether it be here or elsewhere?"
Yabusele: "I mean, not really, we just ended the last game of the season. So, I haven't really thought about it. But from coming here, after being out of the league for five years, I'm so grateful for the Sixers to be able to give me that chance. And, for sure, we will have a lot of talk this offseason."
Thought: Philadelphia made it clear that part of the trade deadline objective was to create means to retain Yabusele beyond this season. That was before his play trailed off, Yabusele seemingly hitting a wall in the second half of the season. I do think one thing could potentially hurt his market in a relatively significant way (read: work in the Sixers' favor). He looked out of his depth serving as a full-time center, traditional bigs having field days at the rim. He looked out of his depth serving as a full-time power forward, lighter forwards and wings licking their chops in space. He's a positional tweener on defense, and he doesn't have the off-the-dribble shooting equity to make the defensive massaging something that can be glossed over. All it takes is one team falling in love with his season to put some stress on Philadelphia, but I think Yabusele might've played himself into a more Sixers-friendly deal.
Reporter: "You've had to move a lot in your career. Do you envision that Philadelphia could be a home for you going forward?"
Grimes: "Yeah, definitely. I feel like I'm very comfortable here already with the coaching staff and my teammates. Feel like I've been here, really, the whole year, playing with the guys these past two months. So, I could definitely see myself being here in the future. But the NBA is a business at the end of the day going into the offseason. So, see where that ends up for sure."
Thought: Grimes is a restricted free agent. The Sixers have his Bird rights. They have the capacity to match any offer he gets elsewhere. There is a threshold at which I'd have to consider letting him walk, just because of how limiting it would be to have your entire cap sheet tied up in four salaries. But Grimes has shown enough as a Sixer that his agent should be saying, "Show me the money!". If I'm Philadelphia, I'm trying to strike a deal before he has a chance to test the market.
Reporter: "I know you've said that you hope that you can return next year. Just what is it about the organization, the roster - when hopefully it's whole and healthy next year - that makes you feel like you could potentially be a fit here long-term?"
Walker: "I mean, you have terrific players in Paul George, Joel [Embiid] and Tyrese [Maxey], Kelly Oubre. This is a playoff team and that's what it's all about, trying to get a championship. Nothing like being close to home and representing the home team and being part of not just Philadelphia, but Pennsylvania as a whole. I grew up watching the Sixers so it's a very sort of surreal moment in my life, as far as just putting that jersey on every single day. Just being appreciative of that. I can only tell you how many times when I was younger, I was like, 'I can't wait til I put on a Phillies jersey' or something like that. All in God's favor, wherever he intends to put me. But definitely would love to be back."
Thought: There should be some intrigue because Walker is only 26, he's got excellent athletic pop and he shot 35 percent from three on more than six attempts per game with the Sixers this season. We could theorize that, in an environment that has Maxey, George and even Embiid, he should get some better looks from three and that efficiency should rise. Hell, he shot 38 percent from three on 4.7 attempts per game with a bad Nets team in 2023-24. But the track record isn't all that extensive, so the Sixers could convince themselves that he's just not a reliable enough shooter to choose over the field of options. I suppose it depends on what happens with their first-round pick this summer.
Reporter: "You talked about those adjustments, switching between teams. Can you talk about your comfortability level in Philadelphia, in front of this fanbase?"
Butler: "The fanbase is...an interesting one, for sure. Getting booed, like, two games into it, I was like, 'Man, this is different'. I felt like I wasn't super comfortable at first obviously, just being around so many different people, in a new jersey and everything. But I think gradually, with time, it got better and just little social interactions with people that you've seen, like, 'OK, I know this guy a little bit'. It just helps out a lot. So, I think it got better as the time went on."
Reporter: "As you continue to show the fans who you truly are, is this somewhere that you think you may want to be for a little bit of a longer stint?"
Butler: "Oh, for sure, yeah, for sure. Without a doubt."
Thought: This one should come down to what happens on draft night and where Grimes ends up. If the Sixers wind up with the second overall pick, and ostensibly select Dylan Harper, I don't see any utility for Butler on a roster that has Maxey, McCain, Harper and potentially Grimes. Just too many guards at that point. If they lose the pick or take someone else, that changes the equation. I was less intrigued by Butler at season's end than I was when the Sixers first acquired him. But his chemistry with Bona was so good by the end that I lean toward it being more valuable to have some continuity amongst the team's reserves than it would be to pay more for an upgrade and start over with chemistry, especially at Butler's current price tag.
