Cristopher Sánchez unleashed a first-pitch strike in the second inning and called for a trainer.
Uh-oh.
Three words the Phillies never want to see in the same sentence: “Cristopher Sánchez” and “trainer.” But there they were Tuesday night, and well, Citizens Bank Park held its collective breath.
Sánchez, it turned out, cut loose a changeup and scraped the top of his left thumb, the evidence of which was a blood stain between the red pinstripes on his white pants. He smiled, even chuckled with a few teammates, and a few dabs later, the ace lefty was firing again.
Crisis averted. Sánchez kept throwing his signature changeup without incident, allowing three hits in seven scoreless innings. And the Phillies cakewalked, 8-0, over the Pirates to move within 2½ games of the first-place Braves, who lost at home to the Cardinals.
Oh, and postgame fireworks went off as planned for the 41,710 paying customers.
Scrape? What scrape?
“Yeah, just a little scratch on the finger,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter. “It happens sometimes when I throw the changeup because of the touch with the finger. So, it’s no big deal.”
But that momentary pit-of-their-stomach feeling as assistant athletic trainer Christian Bermudez went out to see Sánchez underscores the precariousness of this entire thing.
Justin Crawford drove in the Phillies’ first two runs with a two-out single in the second inning Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Look, there isn’t any replacing Sánchez, whose next home start may come for the National League in the All-Star Game in two weeks. He sits atop the rotation with a 2.00 ERA, second in the majors behind only the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski (1.45).
But the Phillies lack the organizational pitching depth to cover for any of their starters if they miss even a turn or two. They already have back-of-the-rotation worries, with Aaron Nola’s 6.04 ERA and Andrew Painter’s return to triple A. The fifth-starter spot is occupied by Alan Rangel, who has twice been used behind an opener.
One injury, and it all comes down like a Jenga tower.
Surely, then, an anxious feeling came over interim manager Don Mattingly when Sánchez waved to the dugout.
“Yeah, a little bit,” Mattingly said. “Especially in the second [inning], right? You’re like, ‘Oh, not tonight.’ But once you get out there, you kind of see what it is. It’s not like a cut on a nail or anything like that where you feel like it’s going to keep getting extended. They did a nice job of stopping that.”
Justin Crawford gave Sánchez a 2-0 lead by cueing a two-out single inside the third-base line. It was up to Sánchez to keep it that way because the Phillies didn’t break things open until scoring three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings.
Trea Turner, on his 33rd birthday, had an RBI double in the seventh and a two-run homer in the eighth.
Trea Turner, on his 33rd birthday, levied most of that damage, with an RBI double in the seventh and a two-run homer in the eighth. Don’t look now, but he’s 19-for-55 (.345) over the last 13 games, a welcome sign for an offense that is looking for more production from the right side of the plate.
“Is he going yet?” Mattingly said, mimicking questions about when Turner will get going at the plate. “I don’t know if he’s going yet or not. But to see Trea get a big hit down the line and then the home run, it really extends that lead where it saves us [from using] an arm in the bullpen.”
Sánchez leaned on his changeup, as usual, but continued to spin more sliders. After throwing 26 in his last start, he mixed in 17 against the Pirates, six of which came in his first 19 pitches.
No matter what he throws, Sánchez owns the Pirates. Six weeks ago, he struck out 13, a career-high, in a six-hit shutout in Pittsburgh. This time, he didn’t give up a hit until Nick Gonzales punched a two-out single in the fourth inning.
Sánchez is lined up to pitch Monday in Kansas City and July 11 in Detroit, the closing arguments in his case to start three days later (it would be his bullpen day) in the All-Star Game.
As you may have heard, it will be held in South Philly.
“[It would be] another goal, another dream come true and more when you think about it in this beautiful city,” Sánchez said. “The fans deserve that and even more.”
Symbolically and strategically, Sánchez is a sensible choice to start for the NL. Misiorowski throws harder than any pitcher in history, with a fastball that’s been clocked at 105.5 mph. But Sánchez has allowed seven earned runs in 73 innings for a 0.86 ERA in 11 home starts. Since 2024, he has a 1.76 ERA in 280⅔ innings over 43 starts at home.
In his latest gem, he pitched out of one quasi jam, a two-on, two-out spot in the fourth inning, by striking out Endy Rodríguez on a signature changeup, and sidestepped a one-out double by Billy Cook in the fifth inning.
But even with a 100-degree heat wave rolling into town, it was no sweat compared to the Phillies’ dodging an injury to their ace. As Sánchez received a quick fix on the mound, Turner and other infielders looked on and laughed.
“They were just giving me a hard time and joking around on the mound,” Sánchez said. “You know, these guys are terrible.”
As long as the Phillies keep their pitchers healthy, the good times can keep rolling.
During the Phillies’ rain delay last week in Washington, Derek Hill kept himself busy with a Sharpie and pair of cleats.
The outfielder spent the hour and a half coloring the white shoes red with a marker. It was just a way to pass the time while the Phillies waited for their game to start, but it’s not the first pair of spikes that Hill has customized.
It’s actually a hobby of his, although typically it involves more elaborate designs and acrylic paint instead of a Sharpie.
“It’s like a little getaway from the game,” Hill said. “It’s pretty addicting. So, once I get going, I’ll go for like two months, and then I’ll stop for like two months, then I’ll just pick it up and just keep on going. But I got to make some for Philly.”
Hill, 30, has always been artistic. Not only does he love to draw and paint, he also had an interest in metalwork and ceramics growing up.
This is the first year he’s tried painting his cleats, though, and found that the process helps him unwind.
“Just don’t have any outside noise,” Hill said. “Just sitting there, it’s just quiet, and you get to relax, and just focus on one thing, and not worry about anything outside of that.”
In 14 games since the trade with the White Sox, Derek Hill is batting .313 with a .865 OPS.
His new teammates don’t yet know about this side of him, as Hill was only acquired from the White Sox on June 11.
He has already made an impression in the clubhouse with two clutch ninth-inning home runs in Washington and a home run-robbing catch against the Mets in New York. In 14 games since the trade with the White Sox, Hill is batting .313 with a .865 OPS. He’s become a key utility platoon outfielder, primarily starting against lefties or coming off the bench.
But so far, his affinity for art has been under wraps. Even Brandon Marsh, who shares the outfield with Hill and played with him in 2019 as prospects in the Arizona Fall League, was unaware.
“I had no idea how much of an artiste he was,” Marsh said.
Hill said the favorite shoes he’s done recently were a colorful pair he made for Easter, with bright purple, orange, green, blue, and pink on a white base.
The entire process, starting with a plain white pair, takes him about two days.
“I acetone them down, to get rid of all the finisher that they put on it,” he said. “And then let that dry, throw my paint on, throw my clear coat on, and let it dry, and it’s good to go.”
Most of the cleats Hill has designed were with the White Sox in mind. He has a red, white, and black pair in his Phillies locker, but originally wore them with Chicago’s City Connect uniform, which draws inspiration from the red Chicago Bulls basketball jersey.
For him, inspiration can come from anywhere.
“Honestly, I just see something and I’m like, ‘Oh, let me see if I can recreate that,’” Hill said.
Now that he’s settling in with his new team, he has plans for more at some point — maybe a pair that incorporates the Phillies’ powder blues.
“We’re going to have some heat on the feet,” Hill said.
Lou Trivino’s contract was selected by the Phillies on Tuesday.
Extra bases
The Phillies made a bullpen swap ahead of Tuesday’s game, optioning Chase Shugart and selecting the contract of right-hander Lou Trivino, a Green Lane, Montgomery County native. “Just needing a fresh arm,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. “Bullpen’s been on fumes. I know Shug gave up a couple homers lately, but he’s really good for us this year. He did what we needed from that role, taking the ball a lot, always ready to take it.” … Brad Keller (right forearm tendinitis) threw a live batting practice session on Tuesday. The Phillies will re-evaluate him on Wednesday to determine next steps. … Zack Wheeler (8-1, 2.03 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday opposite Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes (6-7, 3.10).
LONDON — Serena Williams showed plenty of what made her a 23-time Grand Slam tennis champion in her first professional singles match in nearly four years on Tuesday.
But Williams, 44, couldn’t quite dominate like she used to and was beaten, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3, by an opponent less than half her age, 20-year-old Maya Joint of Australia, in the opening round of Wimbledon.
“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here,” Williams, who did not meet with media after the match, said in a statement released by Wimbledon organizers. “The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.”
Williams displayed the same powerful serve and heavy groundstrokes that led her to seven Wimbledon singles titles, but the 87th-ranked Joint handled her pace and won more of the big points by hitting beyond Williams’ reach on Centre Court.
“I don’t know what just happened, to be honest,” Joint said. “I didn’t get much sleep last night. I was up until like 2 a.m. just thinking about it.
“She has such an aura, she’s just a legend, and this court has so many huge names that have played on it. I’ve been dreaming about this moment since I was a little kid, so this is pretty crazy.”
Maya Joint is ranked 87th in the world.
While Williams played two doubles matches just before Wimbledon to announce her comeback to the sport she once dominated, she hadn’t played a singles match since the 2022 U.S. Open.
Williams has 98 career victories in singles on the hallowed grass of the All England Club. By contrast, it was Joint’s first Wimbledon victory in just her second appearance at the All England Club after losing in the opening round last year.
But Joint won a Wimbledon warmup in nearby Eastbourne last year and knows how to play on grass.
Doubles match still to come
Williams, who has no singles ranking after being out for so long, was given wild card invitations by Wimbledon organizers to play singles and doubles with her older sister, Venus. Her doubles match is later this week.
Williams has said that having her two daughters off from school inspired her comeback, and it marked the first time that her younger daughter, Adira, who is almost 3, saw her play singles. Adira sat next to her 8-year-old sister, Olympia, in the front row of Serena’s players’ box.
Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, and their daughters, Olympia and Adira, watch her match against Maya Joint at Wimbledon.
Standing ovation
Williams was given a standing ovation as she walked on court before the match started under a closed roof and several supporters held up signs with messages like “Welcome Back” and one wore a T-shirt with the text “Unstoppable Queen.”
Williams executed a delicate topspin lob winner early on and then cranked out a 121 mph ace to hold for 3-3 in the first set. But Williams also had a costly double fault that led to the only break of the first set.
In the second set, Williams came back from 0-40 and saved four break points to hold for 6-5. Then Williams saved a match point in the tiebreaker with a big serve down the T followed by a forehand approach winner. Another big serve — clocking in at 122 mph — set up Serena’s first set point, which she converted when Joint missed a forehand long.
After winning the set, Williams pumped her fist calmly.
But Joint took control early in the third and a forehand from Williams sailed long on Joint’s third match point to conclude the encounter after 2 hours, 22 minutes.
Williams then smiled as she walked off the court to loud applause.
Williams and Joint both had 37 unforced errors, while Joint led, 40-26, in winners.
Serena Williams and Maya Joint shake hands following their first-round match at Wimbledon.
In a match between hard servers, the second-seeded Zverev beat Alexander Blockx, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (0).
Świątek, who had her father and sister looking on from the Royal Box, struggled with her serve and committed nine double-faults before overcoming Taylor Townsend, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.
No. 2 Elena Rybakina also advanced, beating Lois Boisson, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Fourth-seeded Ben Shelton, a quarterfinalist here last year, lost to 140th-ranked Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen in five sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (8), 6-2, 7-6 (9).
Matteo Berrettini, a finalist in 2021, beat Stan Wawrinka, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (16), 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5). It was the final Wimbledon match for Wawrinka, who plans to retire at the end of the year.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — No one needed the reminder at this point, but it came anyway.
While the U.S. men’s soccer team’s charter flight from Orange County to the Bay Area was in the air, a lightning bolt struck the World Cup when Paraguay toppled Germany.
Germany undoubtedly wasn’t good enough, and not for the first time in this tournament. There must have been kegs worth of angst in the air at Brauhaus Schmitz on South Street, Philadelphia’s most famous fussball destination, among fans who’d dreamed of seeing the four-time champions come to town on July 4.
But to lose to the same Paraguay squad that the U.S. ran off the field in their tournament opener? That was a shock and the latest of many lessons in this World Cup.
A Germany fan at Monday’s game offers his opinion of the four-time World Cup champions’ upset loss to Paraguay.
Yes, anyone can get a result against anyone else these days. Which means the 64th-ranked Bosnia and Herzegovina team the U.S. faces on Wednesday night has more than a chance against the cohosts, who return to the site of an infamous loss in the 2016 Copa América and a triumph in the Gold Cup final a year later.
There’s no taking any World Cup game for granted these days, especially when it’s a knockout contest. Nor can you take a moment off, as all three of Monday’s games proved. Before Paraguay-Germany, Japan gave up a 95th-minute winner to Brazil. Afterward, the Netherlands played a lot of ugly soccer, gave up a 90th-minute equalizer to Morocco, then lost on penalties.
“Hopefully we can get it done in regular time — the extra 30 minutes plus pens can get a little bit dangerous,” U.S. centerback Chris Richards said. “We saw the upset yesterday, so us going into this game, [it’s] making sure that we take care of business and go on.”
The point really should have been hammered home in the American camp by the last-kick-of-the-game loss to Turkey in the group stage finale. But if it was your youth soccer team, Little League baseball team, or CYO basketball team, wouldn’t you make one last nudge before the big game?
Chris Richards (center) on the ball during a drill at Tuesday’s practice.
“It’s a World Cup. You’re never going to get the so-called favorite winning every single time,” said playmaker Christian Pulisic, who called himself “definitely ready” to start after coming off the bench against Turkey.
“This is soccer. This is the way things go: you can defend all game and win in a penalty kick shootout, and that’s the beauty of the game,” he continued. “So we have to be ready for whatever’s to come tomorrow. We don’t think it’s going to be easy by any means, so we have to put on a really high-level performance.”
If it feels like this point has been overstated this week, it’s because it ranks so much higher than everything else there is to say.
Sure, there’s a tactical analysis to write about how Richards will fare against 40-year-old Bosnian striker Edin Džeko, a veteran of big clubs including England’s Manchester City, Italy’s AS Roma and Inter Milan, and Germany’s Wolfsburg and Schalke. Or how young right winger Esmir Bajraktarević will fare against U.S. defender Antonee Robinson.
Esmir Bajraktarević celebrates one of Bosnia’s goals against Qatar in their group stage finale last Wednesday.
He spent a season in the Chicago Fire’s youth academy (2019-20), then moved to the New England Revolution, where he turned pro and spent three seasons before a move to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven — and is now teammates with U.S. veterans Ricardo Pepi and Sergiño Dest and formerly Malik Tillman.
Along the way, Bajraktarević played for U.S. youth national teams at the under-19 and under-23 levels, and earned one cap for the senior U.S. squad in a January 2024 friendly. But because that wasn’t in an official competition, he could change nationality.
When Bosnia called a few months later, he made the switch, and debuted in the fall. A year and a half later, he scored the shootout penalty kick that qualified the Dragons for this World Cup with a playoff upset of Italy.
But if the U.S. team has its way, that story will become just a sidebar when the opening whistle blows. At that point, the motto will become one that’s well-known at the other end of San Francisco Bay from here, in Oakland: Just win, baby.
Even Tillman, who was born in Germany and has grown into understanding American sports, gets the point.
“Yeah, it’s true,” he said, when asked his opinion. “In the end, the win is the most important. And I think after, of course, you can analyze the game, but if you go to the next round, this is the most important.”
I asked Mauricio Pochettino what he thinks of the "Just win, baby" slogan – and whether his saying "it's the final of the World Cup tomorrow" means more focus on winning at all costs, and less on tactics.
Pochettino gave a long answer. Here it is in video form:
Jett Luchanko will not be on the ice for any of the Flyers’ development camp this week.
“He had a little lower body thing going on,” director of player development Riley Armstrong said Monday. “Should be back skating next week, and he’ll be ready for training camp, though.”
The injury is a “lingering” one, Luchanko said, that has impacted him for a “couple of years,” but he declined to go into specifics about the injury or his recovery.
“It’s been dealt with, and I should be good for training on the ice next week,” the young center said. Luchanko missed last year’s development camp and rookie camp with a nagging groin ailment.
He doesn’t expect the injury to impact his offseason training, outside of holding him out of on-ice activities at development camp. This offseason is critical for the Flyers’ 2024 first-round pick, who has aged out of the Ontario Hockey League and will be fighting for a full-time NHL roster spot for the first time on a team with a lot of depth up front.
Luchanko, who turns 20 in August, made the NHL roster out of camp each of the last two seasons, but played just four games each year before getting sent back to the OHL. Including playoffs, he has not logged a point in any of his nine NHL appearances. He tallied seven goals and 43 points in 38 games in juniors last season split between the Guelph Storm and the Brantford Bulldogs.
“We expect a big summer out of him,” general manager Danny Brière told the Inquirer ahead of the draft. Luchanko is an elite skater, but is still looking to develop his all-around offensive game.
Luchanko should be “good to go” to get back in the gym next week, he said. The center said he wants to spend the summer working on “attacking with the puck, using my speed as much as I can.”
Jack Berglund, a second-round pick of the Flyers in 2024, will also miss on-ice activities at development camp.
Berglund’s exclusion is viewed more as precautionary after he played a lot of hockey this year, according to Armstrong. In addition to playing 40-plus professional games in Sweden, the center participated in the World Juniors, World Championships, and had a brief spell in the American Hockey League with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Grebenkin skates
Nikita Grebenkin was a welcome sight on the ice during development camp Tuesday. Grebenkin played 55 games for the Flyers and scored four goals and added 10 assists, serving as a bottom-six spark plug after being acquired the previous season in the Scott Laughton trade. He missed the final months of the season following an upper-body injury in March.
Flyers right wing Nikita Grebenkin skated Tuesday, potentially a positive sign regarding his rehab from an upper-body injury.
Briére said at the end of the Flyers’ season that Grebenkin’s injury could keep him out for the start of next season.
There was no official update on Grebenkin’s health, but seeing him on the ice could be a positive sign for his training camp availability. Grebenkin was also wearing No. 17 on his helmet, possibly his new number after Luchanko, who previously used the number, switched to 77.
Back to school
East Lansing is turning into Little Philadelphia with the number of Flyers prospects moving through that program. Porter Martone played one season at Michigan State last year, becoming one of the school’s highest-ever drafted players and ranking in the top 10 nationally with 50 points.
“Having Porter there was unbelievable,” Flyers prospect and fellow Spartan Shane Vansaghi said. “Right from Day 1, the first day I met him, just the nicest kid, really good teammate, and one of those guys that you just want to have on your team, you want to play for, and really good in the locker room. He fit in really well at Michigan State, and got along with everybody, and I think everyone really liked him.”
Now, fellow Flyers prospect Matthew Gard is also committed to Michigan State, starting in 2027, and said that Martone and Vansaghi’s endorsements of the school’s player development helped him make his decision. Gard said they spoke especially highly of the strength coaches, who Martone is headed back to East Lansing to work with again this summer.
Flyers prospect Jack Nesbitt will be headed to the University of Michigan next season.
There’s no rivalry brewing yet with 2025 first-round pick Jack Nesbitt, who will start at Michigan in the fall, but he’s not ruling it out.
“We’ve been chatting a little bit, no rivalries yet,” Nesbitt joked. “I’m sure when we see who’s going to go farther, I’m sure there’ll be some chirping. We’re good right now, but I’m sure there’ll be something in the future.”
Breakaways
Flyers prospects Carter Amico and Jack Murtagh were selected for the Team USA World Junior Summer Showcase, putting them on the early list of prospects in contention to make the American team for December’s World Juniors in Alberta.
On the eve of free agency, the Flyers agreed to sign one of their depth forwards who could have hit the open market on Wednesday.
No, not the long-speculated Luke Glendening. Carl Grundström has signed a one-year, $1 million deal to stay with the Flyers, the team officially announced Wednesday, a day after The Inquirer had confirmed the deal.
After being acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the deal in which Ryan Ellis’ contract moved in early October (the contract subsequently was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks), Grundström played in 47 games for the Flyers after starting the season with Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League.
The winger notched 15 points in 19 games for the Phantoms before adding another 13 points (nine goals, four assists) with the Flyers. Grundström was inserted into the lineup in the postseason and had one assist in three games against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
Coach Rick Tocchet often lauded Grundström for his speed and puck pressure. He played up and down the lineup but mostly on the fourth line, where he infused a burst of speed. The Flyers traded fellow fourth-liner Garnet Hathaway to the Florida Panthers last week.
After the season ended, Grundström suited up for Sweden at the IIHF men’s World Championships. He played on a line with Flyers prospect center Jack Berglund and had one goal and four points in seven games. Berglund had the secondary assist on his goal. Sweden lost in the quarterfinals to Switzerland, the silver medalists.
During the Olympic break, Denver Barkey headed back to London, Ontario.
Roughly eight months prior, the forward had captained the Ontario Hockey League’s Knights to the Memorial Cup. Now, he wasn’t just a pro hockey player; he was an NHL regular for the Flyers after being called up in December.
So with some time off during the break, Barkey headed back to see his old club. It was there that the generously listed 5-foot-10, 170-pound Barkey met the accurately measured 6-7, 238-pound Maksim Sokolovskii.
“I only watched two games, but obviously he’s a big boy [who] throws his body around,” replied Barkey, who had no idea in February that the two would one day be wearing orange and black together.
“I think he’s got a lot of raw skill. When I watched him, it seemed like he moved really well, moves the puck well for being [6-7] at that age. It’s pretty impressive, and I think he’s got a really high ceiling.”
And that’s the thing: Sokolovskii, whom Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr described as a “unicorn” this weekend, does have a high ceiling. In the same breath that many fans and draft prognosticators questioned the Flyers’ moving down to take the Nikita Zadorov comparable, they’ve acknowledged his impressive skating for his size. He is considered a prospect who, while raw, will indeed play in the NHL one day.
“He’s 6-foot-8, and he skates like he’s 5-foot-8,” Mike Taylor, the Atlantic Hockey Academy’s owner and one of Sokolovskii’s coaches two seasons ago, told The Inquirer recently. “… He came here, and I had a skating coach once a month come up and do power skating with our guys, and he does it like with UMass Amherst, and all these other schools.
“And he saw him skate, and he’s like, ‘Oh, my God.’ He couldn’t believe how good his edge work was … for being the size that he is.”
A strong first impression
During the first day of Flyers development camp on Monday, as Sokolovskii towered over the coaching staff and most of his fellow defensemen — 6-5 blueliners Carter Amico and Luke Vlooswyk were the exceptions — the long and lean defenseman looked anything but gangly on the ice.
Are there small tweaks that need to be made? Absolutely.
Director of player development Riley Armstrong said he and Flyers skating instructor Lindsay Tilley noticed he was turning his upper body too much during the skating-only drills, which made him a weaker skater. “When your hips and your shoulders don’t stay in a square, it throws you all off balance,” Armstrong noted.
#Flyers first-round pick Maksim Sokolovskii said “I feel amazing” after putting on logo for just time.
“I think great,” he said of first day at development camp. “Good experience first practice with the pro guys,” Mentioned he hadn’t skated in two weeks. pic.twitter.com/qfXm27fbbO
However, Sokolovskii didn’t really do that during the drills with the puck, as he executed puck retrievals with some deception while keeping his feet moving. It was evident to all in attendance, including the several fans who lined the rink, that there was a smoothness to his skating — even though he had been off the ice for about two weeks.
“I feel amazing,” he said when asked about wearing the Flyers logo for the first time.
And how did day one go? “I think great. Good experience, first practice with the pro guys.”
Sokolovskii doesn’t turn 18 until July 12. He’s still shy and reserved, at least off the ice. But on the ice, it is a different story.
“He’s a big, strong shutdown defenseman with a really good stick and a physical side,” London assistant coach Rick Steadman told The Inquirer during a recent phone interview.
“He likes to play hard. He likes to step up and hit guys, and he’s just that big beast back there that’s going to really protect you defensively.”
It wasn’t always like that.
Defense first
Two years ago, when the Kazakhstan-born, Russia-raised blueliner came to the United States to play at the Atlantic Coast Academy, Taylor recalls that the league was a little beneath Sokolovskii because he was bigger and stronger than everyone else. And because of that, he’d get a lot of penalties.
Maksim Sokolovskii first came to North America as a 16-year-old to play for Atlantic Coast Academy.
Despite spending a lot of time in the penalty box, Sokolovskii still put up big numbers, racking up 34 goals and 84 points in 65 games. His issue was in his own end. “He was taking chances and doing things with us that he wouldn’t do at the next level, because the hockey allowed the level of play,” Taylor said.
When Sokolovskii went to London, things changed.
“I think when I started the year, I tried to play more offensive,” Sokolovskii mentioned Monday. “But they told me you need to play more [in the] defensive zone. … You can play in the NHL if you will play more defensive.”
And that was the focus.
“For us, we like our guys to be able to play D first, so we can trust them out there and get more ice time. So we really did push that a lot,” Steadman said. “And we were trying to get him to create offense from the defense, like he’d poke a puck away on a rush or a big hit turned into transition, trying to get him to do offense that way.
“When he was playing a little younger, because he was so big and he got such a big reach, he could really just push guys out of the way … so we tried to teach him that pro-style game, use your teammates, stay at the blue line, get your shots through to create your offense, not stickhandle through everybody, and try to get as close as you can to the net.”
Sokolovskii worked his way up the lineup. He came in as a seventh or eighth defenseman and was rotating in and out at first. But he “dug in,” according to Steadman, and after Christmas, they opted to trade some players, knowing that he was ready to effectively step into the lineup. He started on the third pair, was scratched a few times, but eventually forced the Knights to keep him in the lineup.
Maksim Sokolovskii (No. 17) tied forward Brooks Rogowski for the tallest players measured at this year’s combine.
It was his games against Brady Martin, the fifth overall pick in last year’s draft, in the playoffs that opened many evaluators’ eyes. Martin, a point-per-game player during the regular season, had five points in the series against London; however, his only goal with Sokolovskii on the ice came on a power play. He shut him down at five-on-five.
“That’s just saying that he got that defense system figured out. He was playing hard, big minutes. He was hitting, playing physical, without taking a penalty, which is pretty amazing for a kid that big, and just never backed down, kept going, and really a key guy that way coming in,” Steadman said of the blueliner.
“And it’s one of those things that translates really well to the NHL is that ability to defend and play against top guys. You always hope that offense will come, but you always need guys to keep that puck out of the net.”
It was Sokolovskii’s progression throughout the season that stood out to the Flyers and enticed them to draft the blueliner. “It seemed every month he just kept getting better and better, and figuring out the game more and more,” Flyers general manager Danny Brière said on Friday.
According to Steadman, that progression was due to a multitude of factors, but none greater than Sokolovskii becoming more comfortable speaking English. It helped him be more confident on and off the ice.
“Things that we take for granted — just asking somebody for something, or like, where do I get this, where’s this in the dressing room, and then on the ice, just even yelling to your partner, ‘I’m open, I’m open,’ or ‘You’re OK, you’re OK,’ or ‘Someone’s coming, move the puck quickly.’ You just don’t have that. You’re just playing purely on and living on your natural ability to just try to figure it out as you go,” Steadman said.
The Flyers have big hopes for Maksim Sokolovskii, whom the team drafted 27th overall in last week’s draft.
“So that’s why I do think he has a good hockey brain to be able to figure it out when you can’t speak; it is pretty amazing. And then his English got better and better, and he understood and could talk to his teammates.
“From the start of the year, couldn’t have a conversation with him as a coach. You try and use Google Translate, [but the] conversations took forever. At the end of the year, you could sit down and just chat away with him, and then have a conversation about anything — his family, hockey, how he’s doing — and he really progressed that way.”
Now, the next step is building up his offense.
Part of the criticism around Sokolovskii’s selection in the first round was his limited production. He had only two goals and eight points in 44 regular-season games and was without a point in five postseason games.
Sokolovskii told The Inquirer at the NHL scouting combine that he wants to keep working on his foot speed. The hope is that it will all translate to offensive improvement.
“A big guy with skates that big, it takes a while to get that quick twitch going, so he’ll keep working on that; that’ll just help with his game and breakouts better,” Steadman said. “And then we talked to him a lot about just getting his shot off quicker. It’s a long way from his head to his hands to the bottom of his stick, and it takes him a long time to get that puck off.
“But if you can get that off quicker, with how hard his shot is … he will beat goalies and be able to score. So he’s just got to get it off as quick as possible, let it touch his stick, get it off, and hopefully, help him create offense that way,”
He does possess a big-time, hard shot that could become a weapon from the blue line. Sokolovskii is excited to work on building his offense — and he may get some time on the power play in London.
“I would probably guess in London next year you’ll probably see him [add offense], once he has the ability to start joining the rush more,” Armstrong said.
“And now they know that he can defend and he’s good at it — you see some of the bone-crushing hits and a couple of fights he was in — I think he’s going to have more space next year. I think guys are going to probably be a little bit more scared of him going into the season, so I think that’s going to open up the offensive side of his game as well. And I’d like to see him throw a couple in the back then as well, add to his toolbox.”
Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes will expand her chain of gymnastics academies to Mount Laurel in September.
The South Jersey location, at 1180 Nixon Drive in the East Gate Square shopping center, is the first effort in Dawes’ planned expansion into the Philadelphia area. She plans to open five or six additional gyms in the coming years, according to Philadelphia Business Journal.
Along with the Mount Laurel location, Dawes, who’s from Silver Spring, Md., also is opening a second location in the Houston area in August. Her first academy opened in Clarksburg, Md., in July 2020, and there currently are six locations across Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, and Texas.
Dawes is a three-time Olympian who competed at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Games. She made history as the first Black American woman to win an individual Olympic medal in gymnastics with a bronze medal on the floor exercise in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. She also helped win team gold at those same 1996 Games when her teammate Kerri Strug famously completed her vault exercise on an injured ankle. The “Magnificent Seven” was the first United States women’s gymnastics team to win a team gold at the Olympics. Dawes also won team bronze in 1992 in Barcelona and 2000 in Sydney.
Now a mother of four, Dawes has spoken publicly about the toxicity she endured during her career and how she doesn’t want her children — or any other children — to experience the same. Instead, she hopes to redefine the culture of the sport through her string of academies that have an estimated 7,000 students ranging from toddlers to 18-year-olds.
“We’re trying to do things differently,” Dawes said in an interview with Capital B Atlanta. “It means nothing if your child is a great gymnast — standing on top of the podium — but yet, their self-esteem is shot, their mental health is shot, and they don’t know how to make relationships in this world. I believe that if that is the outcome, then we’ve failed.”
Plans for expansion into the Philly area don’t include specifics on locations yet, but the Philadelphia Business Journal reported that proximity to families is a large factor in Dawes finding spaces for the gyms.
The Sixers didn’t have much money to spend entering the day, as Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George account for nearly $155 million of the projected $165 million salary cap. Here’s a breakdown of some options.
The Sixers picked up the team options for Dominick Barlow and Dalen Terry on Monday, but not Trendon Watford.
Elsewhere in the NBA, LeBron James informed the Lakers he will play for a different team next season. And Kawhi Leonard was traded to the Raptors.
// Timestamp 06/30/26 11:11pm
Source: Sixers, Dean Wade agree to four-year deal
The Sixers are signing Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade.
Mike Gansey’s first free-agency move as the 76ers’ president of basketball operations is adding a player with whom he is quite familiar.
Dean Wade has agreed to a four-year, $39 million contract with the Sixers, a league source confirmed to The Inquirer late Tuesday. The deal comes out of the nontaxpayer mid-level exception.
Wade was one of Gansey’s success stories in his previous job as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ general manager. Wade evolved from undrafted player to rotation forward, and last season averaged 5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 22.3 minutes across 59 games. His 6-foot-9, 230-pound frame allows for defensive versatility, and he is a career 36.7% three-point shooter.
Unsurprisingly, multiple reports surfaced over the weekend that the Sixers were among the teams interested in Wade.
Wade’s addition makes it less likely that the Sixers will be able to bring back starting forward Kelly Oubre Jr. and sixth man Quentin Grimes, who also have entered unrestricted free agency. Andre Drummond, Trendon Watford, and Kyle Lowry are the other free agents for a Sixers team with limited financial resournces because Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George all remain on max contracts.
Wade joins first-round draft pick Labaron Philon Jr., as the Sixers’ additions so far this offseason. They also picked up the team options in Dominck Barlow and Dalen Terry’s contracts for the 2026-27 season.
Starting October 30, all 30 teams will compete for the Emirates NBA Cup with 8 teams advancing out of groups into the knockout rounds, with the Championship held at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, December 11! pic.twitter.com/OiBSSVkxpm
Jalen Duren is from Delaware County and went to Roman Catholic.
After a few days of reports pointing otherwise, it seems Pistons center and former Roman Catholic star Jalen Duren could be staying put in Detroit.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Marc J. Spears reported that the Pistons have offered the most “lucrative contract possible for their All-Star restricted free agent,” adding that the team will match any other team’s offer.
The Detroit Pistons have offered what the franchise believes is the most lucrative contract possible for their All-Star restricted free agent Jalen Duren, are not interested in any sign and trade deals and will match any potential offer sheet he signs, sources @espn@andscape.
The news comes a day after NBA insider Chris Haynes reported Duren was set to meet with the Sacramento Kings at the start of free agency. Haynes added that Duren’s camp and the Pistons were a “sizable distance apart” in contract negotiations, and Duren was hoping to depart Detroit in a sign and trade.
This past season, the Delco native was an All-NBA Third Team selection, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds. Duren, 24, helped spearhead the Pistons’ defensive effort, which catapulted the team to the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed. However, Duren struggled to produce in the playoffs as the Pistons fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round.
Because of Duren’s All-NBA selection, he is eligible for a five-year supermax contract worth up to $287 million.
A potential LeBron James return to Cleveland could have a ripple effect on the Sixers.
Could LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers be indirectly holding up the Sixers’ potential free agency moves?
After James told the Los Angeles Lakers earlier Tuesday that he intended to sign with a new team, he naturally became attached to another reunion with his hometown Cavaliers. Cleveland also is reportedly aiming to work on a new multi-year deal with James Harden, whom they traded for at the February deadline.
All of that would require clearing cap space to add James. To do this, The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer reported earlier Tuesday that the Cavaliers were exploring options to trade Max Strus and Dennis Schroder.
How does this potentially connect to the Sixers? One of Philly’s reported free-agency targets is Dean Wade, whom new president of basketball operations Mike Gansey helped uncover as an undrafted player who became a key rotation piece for the Cavaliers. If a James deal with Cleveland does not pan out — or even if it did — re-signing Wade could be part of Cleveland’s Plan B with that cleared-out space.
Where Wade lands, in turn, could impact the likelihood that the Sixers pursue bringing back Kelly Oubre Jr. and/or Quentin Grimes.
The slow start to free agency — other than the massive Kawhi Leonard trade, of course — is an indication that James’ decision could be putting multiple teams’ plans in a holding pattern, which then halts the domino effect across the league.
Previously held in Las Vegas, it will be held in Hinkle Fieldhouse on Butler’s campus in Indianapolis, which holds only 9,100 spectators.
Called Indiana’s Basketball Cathedral, the arena was constructed in 1928 and has hosted the Butler basketball and volleyball programs for nine decades.
The New York Knicks are the reigning champions of the NBA Cup, where they defeated the San Antonio Spurs. That matchup was recreated in the NBA Finals — with the same result.
Sharpshooter Tim Hardaway, who Gina Mizel identified as a possible target for the Sixers, is taking his talents to South Beach, according to multiple reports.
Free agent sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr. will be signing with the Miami Heat to provide the organization with the spacing needed for Giannis Antetokounmpo, league sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/ZS5wLdcCeG
Timberwolves guard Bones Hyland is staying in Minnesota.
Delaware native Bones Hyland, a potential option for the Sixers, was one of the first signees of free agency, inking a one-year, veteran-minimum deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Bones Hyland has agreed to return to the Minnesota Timberwolves next season, sources told @TheAthletic. Hyland established himself as a rotation player, teaming with Ayo Dosunmu in the "Twin Turbos" backcourt.
Hyland agreed to return next season after reinventing himself as part of a stacked backcourt with Anthony Edwards and Ayo Dosunmu. LaMelo Ball was also added to that group in a trade that sent Naz Reid and picks to the Charlotte Hornets.
After a few tough seasons with the Denver Nuggets, he averaged 8.5 points and 2.6 assists in Minnesota. He also shot 38.8% from three.
Free agent DeAndre Jordan has agreed to a deal to return to the New Orleans Pelicans for his 19th NBA season, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/gmAULFUi2r
The National Basketball Association announced today that the Salary Cap for the 2026-27 season has been set at $164.961 million. The Tax Level for the 2026-27 season is $200.428 million. pic.twitter.com/1bp31NCH8c
Get ready for the 6 p.m. frenzy. Will the Sixers be involved?
Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey greets reporters as he sits down to speak about the Sixers first round draft pick, Labaron Philon Jr., from the teams practice facility in Camden, N.J. on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.
Though we are about 30 minutes from the official opening of free agency, agreed-upon deals between players and their current teams have been trickling in for the past few days. Teams can begin negotiating with their own free agents when the season ends, aka once the New York Knicks won Game 5 of the NBA Finals to clinch the title.
None of that news has involved the Sixers, who have five free agents in Kelly Oubre Jr., Quentin Grimes, Andre Drummond, Trendon Watford, and Kyle Lowry.
That is not entirely surprising, given the Sixers have limited financial flexibility. The front office must weigh how much it would cost to bring Oubre and/or Grimes back vs. outside players it could get on a midlevel exception. And depending on how all the dominoes fall, the Sixers could have the non-taxpayer midlevel exemption of about $15 million (plus the $5.5 biannual exception), or the taxpayer midlevel of about $6.1 million.
The Sixers did pick up the team options for Dominick Barlow and Dalen Terry, and declined Watford’s team option, by Monday’s deadline.
Will the typical flurry of reported moves right at 6 p.m. include the Sixers? Stay tuned.
But after news broke of the Sixers’ decision, Watford posted to his Instagram story. The photo inside a UCLA gym — where several NBA players train and play pickup games during the offseason — was nothing out of the ordinary. But his song choice was Future’s “Ain’t Coming Back.”
A screenshot of Trendon Watford’s Instagram story suggesting he’s moving on from the Sixers after they declined his team option.
It all could be a massive coincidence. But now, Watford is set to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent Tuesday evening, after averaging 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 53 games last season.
It is well known that Watford has been one of All-NBA guard Tyrese Maxey’s close friends since they were teenagers. But he also became a lively presence throughout the Sixers’ locker room. During the playoffs, he was the unofficial DJ who set the mood with his playlist before games.
That was most apparent before the Sixers’ Game 7 upset at the Boston Celtics. Before shootaround, he coaxed strength and conditioning coach Emily Zaler (who typically sets the tunes for that morning session) to put on Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” And as the pregame locker-room period open to the media wound down that evening, teammate Justin Edwards eagerly asked Watford, “Where’s the music?!”
“Not the time,” Watford said, waiting for reporters to leave. “Gotta keep the routine.”
What Kawhi Leonard’s reported return to Toronto means for the Sixers
Most Sixers fans would rather forget Kawhi Leonard’s time with the Toronto Raptors, especially the 2019 playoffs.
If the Kawhi Leonard trade from the Los Angeles Clippers to Toronto Raptors crosses the finish line — and it reportedly has — that is good news for the Sixers. Not necessarily in the short term, given that could catapult the Raptors into the upper tier of the Eastern Conference.
But if the Clippers go into a full rebuild, the 2028 unprotected first-round pick and 2029 pick swap that the Sixers acquired in the 2023 James Harden blockbuster will become much more valuable.
Even before this potential Leonard deal, the Clippers were trending in this direction. They traded Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers and standout center Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers at the deadline. They also have lost Norman Powell and, of course, Paul George in recent years.
Consider that consolation for Sixers fans who may already be having four-bounce flashbacks to the last time Leonard was a Raptor.
LeBron James’ decision to leave the Lakers will have ripple effects that shudder throughout the league for years to come.
One immediate impact in Los Angeles will be the loss off LeBron fans who have already started to share their disenchantment with the franchise.
One fan called Luka Doncic a “fraud” for deciding to sit out of the Lakers’ postseason series with a hamstring injury. Another shared social media posts of LeBron taking off a Lakers jersey with the caption, “Ight, Lakers fans. It’s been real. WE OUT.”
The latter chorus was a common refrain as many fans followed James as he played for the Cavaliers and Heat and intend to do the same when he leaves the Lakers.
Ironically, the late Kobe Bryant was the only other player to earn that status, bringing fans from all over the country to the Lakers’ fan base.
Remembering the time the Sixers had a chance to land LeBron
LeBron James embraces Ben Simmons before the start of a 2019 game between the Sixers and Lakers.
For the first time since the 2018 offseason, LeBron James is on the move, after informing the Lakers he won’t return and will look to play his 24th NBA season elsewhere.
The last time James was seeking a new team, the four-time MVP gave Philadelphia a look.
Although many considered James to Los Angeles to be a done deal at the time, he did consider joining the 76ers in 2018. In an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols after signing with the Lakers, James mentioned that he chose the Lakers over the likes of the Sixers and the Houston Rockets — two teams that boasted more talent than LA at the time — to help cement his legacy as a great.
“I definitely thought long and hard about the possibilities of lining up alongside Ben [Simmons] and [Joel] Embiid, or lining up alongside [James] Harden and Chris [Paul],” James told ESPN in 2018. “I felt like at this point in my career, the ultimate for me — just like when I went to Miami, everyone kind of looks at me joining a super team.
“I like the challenge of being able to help a team get to some places they haven’t been in a while, and obviously the Lakers haven’t made the playoffs in a few years,” he added.
Representatives from the 76ers did meet with James’ camp but James did not attend the meeting. The meeting was led by then-Sixers head coach Brett Brown, who was also serving as the team’s interim president following the resignation of Bryan Colangelo.
Leading up to free agency, Philadelphia made an all-out push for James with Embiid taking to social media to pitch his team to James. The then-24-year-old center wrote on Twitter (now X), “Trust The Process!!!! Find a new slant @KingJames.”
Meanwhile, Philadelphia-based company Power Home Remodeling purchased three billboards outside of Cleveland to court James, who played for the Cavaliers at the time. Two of the billboards read “Philly Wants Lebron” and “Complete The Process” — referring to the Sixers’ motto spearheaded by former president Sam Hinkie. The third billboard featured LeBron’s number 23 on the court alongside the numbers of the Sixers’ starting lineup.
The rumor mill around James joining the Sixers mainly revolved around his well-known relationship with Simmons, who was known to workout with James on occasion. Both former first overall picks, the two shared an agency in Klutch Sports — founded by James’ longtime friend and agent Rich Paul. Coming out of the draft and early in his career, Simmons, a 6-foot-10 point guard, also received a hefty comparison to James because of his playmaking ability and size.
While James landing with the 76ers this time around is almost certainly not happening, Simmons recently displayed interest in returning to Philadelphia in an interview with Men’s Health.
LeBron James informed the Los Angeles Lakers that he will not re-sign with the team after 8 seasons and one title in Tinseltown.
So where could he land? A number of suitors have emerged through various reports, including the two franchises with which he spent the first 15 seasons of his career.
According to NBA Insiders Chris Haynes (NBA on Prime), Jake Fischer (SteinLine), and Brian Windhorst (ESPN), the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors could all be in play.
Windhorst previously discussed rumors of the move for a Big 4 in Golden State — a pairing of James, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Washington Wizards forward Anthony Davis — as a “leverage play” for James and Davis to gain better standing with their current teams, but has since reversed course.
“I think the focus right now is can they get LeBron James away from the Los Angeles Lakers? That’s something they’re going to try to get done, today,” he said on ESPN’s Get Up.
James’ son, Bronny, appears set to stay with the Lakers. His contract with the team became fully guaranteed on Monday. He will play out the remaining year of his deal at $2.3 million.
Sixers center Joel Embiid (right) drives to the basket against New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson.
We are still hours away from free agency officially opening, and the backup center market is already shrinking.
Robert Williams and Jock Landale earlier Tuesday reportedly agreed to terms to return to their respective teams, the Portland Trail Blazers and Atlanta Hawks. Landale’s deal is for one year and $14 million and Williams’ is for three years and $44 million, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
So who else could still be in play for the Sixers?
Mitchell Robinson, an elite rebounder and rim protector, is perhaps the sexiest name, given his role on the NBA champion New York Knicks.
Sandro Mamukelashvili, coming off a strong season for the upstart Toronto Raptors, is a sneaky option.
Veteran Nikola Vucevic was once an All-Star, but his decline was glaring during the Sixers’ upset of the Boston Celtics.
Marvin Bagley, the former second overall draft pick who was productive for the Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks, is a solid rebounder (and his brother, Marcus, was a Delaware Blue Coat and on two 10-day contracts with the Sixers).
And, of course, there is Andre Drummond, whose role fluctuated last season with the Sixers.
John Collins and more frontcourt options for the Sixers
Los Angeles Clippers forward John Collins is an option for the Sixers.
As the Sixers search for ways to bolster their roster, keep an eye on these six players as options at forward and center …
John Collins
Collins could slide into a starting forward spot if Oubre leaves. The sensational athlete has become an improved shooter since getting off the perpetual trade block with the Atlanta Hawks, connecting on 40.6% of his three-point attempts last season with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Rui Hachimura
The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Hachimura boasts a more traditional power forward frame and versatile skill on both ends of the floor. He shot 44.3% on 3.9 long-range attempts per game last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, while averaging 11.5 points and 3.3 rebounds. The Lakers reportedly committed to signing Austin Reaves to a max contract, and must make a free-agency decision on all-time great LeBron James.
Robert Williams III
Another supreme athlete who can rebound (7 per game last season) and finish lobs. But the 28-year-old now has a lengthy injury history with the Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers, which might be a risky investment for a center to play behind Embiid.
[Update: Williams is returning to the Blazers on a three-year deal worth $44 million.]
Marvin Bagley III
Bagley’s career has fallen far below original expectations as a former No. 2 overall draft pick. Yet he is coming off a productive season for the Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks, averaging 10.5 points per game. His career average of 6.5 rebounds — including 2.3 on the offensive end — in 22 minutes is also a sound number.
His brother, Marcus, played 10 games for the Sixers and also played for the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats during the 2024-25 season.
Jock Landale
A floor-spacing big man with defensive versatility, Landale was an impactful trade-deadline pickup for the streaking Hawks until an ankle sprain prematurely ended his season. He averaged 5.7 rebounds in 22.1 minutes with the Memphis Grizzlies and Hawks last season.
[Update: Landale is returning to the Hawks on a one-year, $14 million deal.]
Mitchell Robinson
The competition could be steep for the newly crowned NBA champion — including from the Knicks. Robinson is a fantastic rim protector and rebounder, especially on the offensive end (4.2 per game last season). The knocks on him are his injury history and poor shooting, prompting the Hack-A-Mitch strategy for opposing teams.
Other options: Sandro Mamukelashvili, Nikola Vučević, Mo Wagner, Jaxson Hayes, Kelly Olynyk, Nick Richards
BREAKING: LeBron James will continue his NBA career for the 2026-27 season and has informed the Los Angeles Lakers that the franchise can move on without him because he will play elsewhere, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/zzVk6xUVF1
What kind of contracts can the Sixers actually sign?
Sixers managing partner Josh Harris and HBSE president of sports Bob Myers meet with the media.
This is tricky to determine right now, because it could be dependent on if Kelly Oubre Jr., and/or Quentin Grimes returns.
If both players depart, the Sixers are likely to have the non-taxpayer midlevel exception (approximately $15 million) and the biannual exception ($5.5 million). If they re-sign one or both players, they likely will only have the $6.1 taxpayer midlevel exception.
For what it’s worth, earlier this month Bob Myers specifically referenced the non-taxpayer midlevel exception as a free-agency tool, suggesting the Sixers are using that as a starting point and will weigh the players they could sign on that deal vs. the return of Oubre or Grimes. And if the Sixers cross into the “apron” penalties, it will limit their ability to make in-season trades because of new collective bargaining agreement rules.
The Sixers will also have veteran minimum contracts to fill out their 15-man roster.
New Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey is looking to improve his roster with little money to spend.
If the Sixers are going to improve, it’s going to need to be on the margins.
That is the reality facing new 76ers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey, whom Myers led the search to hire, and the remaining front office as NBA free agency begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday. All-NBA third-team guard Tyrese Maxey ($41 million), along with former perennial All-Stars Joel Embiid ($59.5 million) and Paul George ($54.1 million), remain on max contracts accounting for nearly $155 million of the projected $165 million salary cap. And the latter two players are considered difficult to trade because of their age and recent injury history.
So the Sixers must again hope for better health with that top-heavy roster during the 2026-27 season, which could turn that flash from the playoff upset of the Boston Celtics into more consistency. Yet that postseason run, which ended in being swept by the eventual NBA champion New York Knicks, also exposed that the Sixers must bolster their depth, requiring shrewd around-the-edges moves with limited financial flexibility.
The Sixers already have begun to build their roster by drafting Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr., in a potential first-round steal, and picked up the team options for Dominick Barlow ($3.4 million) and Dalen Terry ($2.6 million, nonguaranteed until Jan. 10) on Monday. They will aim to address positional needs at wing and in the frontcourt, as well as with shooting and rebounding.
“You can make a great [draft] pick, [or] you can sign a minimum player that really moves things further,” Myers said. “ … You can have minimum players that really do a great job for your team. You can have a $4 million [player]. It doesn’t have to be the big-spending guys. You get 5%, 10% 15% better, it makes a big difference.”
These five Sixers are headed for free agency (or retirement)
Sixers wing Kelly Oubre Jr. is one of the team’s five unrestricted free agents.
The Sixers don’t have much money to spend in free agency this offseason, and what little they do have could be used to re-sign some of their own players who are about to hit the open market when the negotiating period begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Here’s a look at the members of last year’s Sixers squad who will be unrestricted free agents …
Kelly Oubre Jr. — Oubre, 30, averaged 14.1 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 50 games last season and shot a career-best 36% from three-point range. The 6-foot-8 starting forward spent the last three seasons with the Sixers, and made $8.3 million in 2025-26.
Quentin Grimes — Grimes, the Sixers’ sixth man for most of last season, averaged 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, all down from his breakout season in 2024-25 after the Sixers shifted into tank mode. The 26-year-old, who struggled to find a match last free agency period before returning to the Sixers, shot a career-low 33.4% from three-point range.
Andre Drummond — The 32-year-old center made $5 million while taking on an odd role most of last season: starting in place of Joel Embiid when the former MVP was injured, but falling out of the rotation entirely when Embiid was healthy. Drummond, one of the games best rebounders, averaged 6.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 63 regular-season games.
Trendon Watford — Watford, who has been a close friend of Tyrese Maxey’s since they were teenagers, averaged 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 53 games last season, but injuries played a role. The Sixers declined Watford’s $2.8 million team option for next season on Monday.
Kyle Lowry — The former Cardinal Dougherty and Villanova star is expected to retire after 20 NBA seasons. Following the 2024-25 season, Lowry, a North Philly native, said he wanted to play one more year.
Eight years ago, at the inaugural Eagles Autism Challenge, team owner Jeffrey Lurie called the family-friendly bike ride that raised money for autism research and programs “a call to action” and “one giant step.”
The event had more than 3,000 participants and raised more than $2.5 million. Eight years later, the combined efforts of the Lurie Autism Institute — launched last year with a $50 million donation from the Lurie family — and the Eagles Autism Foundation have collectively contributed to more than $100 million toward research and clinical care programs around the world.
This year’s Eagles Autism Challenge raised more than $16 million through nearly 40,000 donations and more than 6,500 participants, according to the team.
Lurie, 74, bought the Eagles in 1994. He has lifted the Lombardi Trophy twice after two Super Bowl victories, but his efforts to support autism research and care may be the larger lasting legacy of his tenure.
On Tuesday, ESPN announced that Lurie will be honored with theStuart Scott ENSPIRE Award as part of this year’s Sports Humanitarian Awards during ESPYs award week. The award, named after the late SportsCenter anchor, is given to someone that uses the power of sports to help disadvantaged groups or people.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is one of the world’s leading fundraisers for autism research.
“This honor exemplifies the transformative power of sport and the life-changing impact it can have on people,” Lurie said in a press release. “Stuart was a trailblazer whose legacy was built on integrity, professionalism, and bravery. His authentic character and fearlessness in the face of adversity will live on forever through this distinguished award.
“I have always envisioned that the impact of owning a professional sports franchise could extend beyond the field and into the global health community. The Eagles Autism Foundation and Lurie Autism Institute have been created to support individuals with autism and their families by funding innovative and potentially groundbreaking research rooted in science and data, in addition to providing programming and services to those in need. Autism is a global condition that is not only underfunded and under-researched, but just in the United States alone affects one in 31 children.”
The Sports Humanitarian Awards will take place on Tuesday, July 14 in New York. The show will be featured during ESPN programming and during the ESPYS, which air July 15 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Lurie is the lone representative of Philadelphia’s sports teams this year in both the humanitarian awards and the main ESPYs program. The full list of humanitarian award winners can be found here. Nominees for the ESPYs can be found here. South Jersey’s Hannah Hidalgo, a guard at Notre Dame, is nominated for best single-game performance for her record-breaking 16-steal game against Akron.
