Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
2025 Free Agents - Justin Edwards
Edwards was a high-level recruit coming out of high school in 2023. His freshman year at Kentucky didn't go as well as expected, but he still entered the 2024 NBA draft and signed a two-way contract with the 76ers after going undrafted. He got a decent amount of minutes for the 76ers a rookie, and ended up signing a standard contract near the end of the season. Edwards has the body of an NBA wing at 6'6" with a 6'10" wingspan and solid strength. From a skillset perspective, he has shot decently from outside, hitting 36.5% from 3 in college and 38% as a rookie. He doesn't have a ton of moves though, and is really more of a straight-line driver. He's not a playmaker for others, posting low assist rates and not demonstrating high-level feel or vision. He doesn't have a ton of athletic burst and only hit 61% of his shots at the rim as a rookie. Defensively, Edwards has some potential due to his physical tools, but still needs work to become an impact defender. He gets steals at a decent rate, but he can play too upright at times and get beat off the dribble. His off-ball defense could stand to improve, which is typical of young players getting used to having to play NBA-level defense. Edwards is still only 21 years old, and had a good rookie year. He played over 1,100 minutes of non-garbage time across 41 games, according to Cleaning the Glass, and not all of that was late in the season when the 76ers were tanking either. It will be interesting to see if he can stay in the rotation when the 76ers are healthy.
Summary
Edwards has a $2 million team option for '25-'26, and if that is declined he will be a restricted free agent with a $2.2 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer, and the 76ers will have his Non-Bird rights. There's also a chance that the 76ers do not give Edwards a QO, which would make him an unrestricted free agent. If the 76ers re-sign Edwards using the Non-Bird Exception, they could offer him a starting salary of up to 120% of his minimum salary, which should be more than enough to retain him. If it weren't, and they wanted to retain him, they would simply exercise his option anyway. Since Edwards will only have one year of service, he will be subject to the Gilbert Arenas provision if he is given a QO. This means that any offer sheet he signs with a team besides Philadelphia can have a starting maximum salary of $14.1Â million, but the third and potentially fourth years of that contract can have a large jump (up to the max). His cap hit would then be the average salary over the life of the contract. Since the 76ers would only have his Non-Bird Rights, they would not be able to match an offer sheet above the amount they can give him using the Non-Bird Exception. I do not expect the Arenas provision to come into play for Edwards, as I think any offers for him would fit within the full Non-Taxpayer MLE over the length of the contract. It's most likely that he's an unrestricted free agent with only minimum offers, and he may not even get fully-guaranteed offers.
Cap Considerations
Josh Minott (3rd year non-guaranteed salary not waived, 2024) Caleb Houstan (3rd year non-guaranteed salary not waived, 2024) Justin Champagnie (4-3 year minimum, 2025)