July 01, 2024
The Sixers have agreed to a two-year contract worth $16.3 million with Kelly Oubre Jr. that will ensure the fan favorite wing returns to Philadelphia, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who says the second year of the deal will have a player option.
ESPN Sources: Free agent G Kelly Oubre Jr., has agreed on a two-year, $16.3 million deal to stay with the Philadelphia 76ers. Deal includes a player option on the 2025-2026 season for Sixers’ starting two-guard. pic.twitter.com/UE9Mc6PEsD
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2024
With the Sixers aiming to use significant cap space in free agency -- nearly all of the flexibility they could generate -- on Paul George, the ceiling for an offer they could make to Oubre was the entirety of the room Mid-Level Exception, which starts at a hair below $8 million per year with annual raises of up to five percent. That seems to be exactly what they have pulled off, bringing a critical component of their 2023-24 rotation back into the fold, likely with a starting spot in mind.
Believe the exact numbers on Kelly Oubre Jr.'s reported deal with the Sixers are:
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) July 1, 2024
2024-25: $7,983,000
2025-26: $8,328,150 (player option)
Total: $16,365,150
Oubre, who will turn 29 in December, played in 68 games for the Sixers last season (52 starts) and averaged 15.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, thriving in several roles on both ends of the floor all year to help propel a team that was often decimated by injuries.
Sixers free agency primer: Literally everything you need to know
The order of operations will be as follows: the Sixers will renounce the rights to the vast majority of their free agents, creating more than $50 million in cap space. They will use that space on Andre Drummond and -- barring a sudden, last-minute turn of events -- George. Then they will sign Oubre using their MLE, and after that, they will ink Tyrese Maxey to his five-year max contract worth just north of $200 million in total.
Just a handful of hours into free agency, the Sixers' vision for the 2024-25 roster is coming into focus.
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