Sixers Cool Giannis Trade Pursuit as $64 Million Mid-Level Options Emerge

11 articles · Updated · PhillyVoice.com · May 12

Philadelphia is unlikely to chase a Giannis Antetokounmpo deal despite being able to field a competitive offer, because Milwaukee would almost certainly demand 25-year-old Tyrese Maxey or 20-year-old VJ Edgecombe.
That price looks too steep for a team still tied to Joel Embiid's nearly $200 million supermax and coming off a second-round sweep, making a win-now gamble on the 31-year-old Antetokounmpo hard to justify.
Free agency may offer a more realistic path when the market opens June 30: if Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes both leave, the Sixers could access the non-taxpayer mid-level exception worth more than $64 million over four years.
Ayo Dosunmu and Rui Hachimura are cited as full mid-level fits, while Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kevin Huerter profile as cheaper shooting targets if Philadelphia is limited to the roughly $12.4 million taxpayer exception.
Minimum-salary options could also matter, with Kelly Olynyk highlighted as a versatile backup center and Gary Trent Jr. as a volume 3-point specialist for a roster still searching for depth and shooting.

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