NBA free agency: Sixers reportedly make blockbuster trade to acquire Jaylen Brown from Celtics

Andre Drummond has a “weird pit in [his] stomach.”

The veteran center also is “not willing to play for less than [his] worth.”

Drummond, who spent the past two seasons with the Sixers, turned to YouTube to express his thoughts about his unrestricted free agency in a video posted Wednesday afternoon. The video appears to have been deleted in the hours after it was posted to the site.

Kelly Oubre Jr. will not return to the 76ers, instead agreeing to a two-year contract worth “nearly” $17 million with the Indiana Pacers, ESPN reported Wednesday afternoon.

Oubre’s departure became more plausible when the Sixers agreed to sign forward Dean Wade, who now is projected to slide into a starting spot, to a four-year, $39 million contract late Tuesday, The Inquirer confirmed.

Oubre rebuilt his NBA career in three seasons with the Sixers. He was a starter who impacted both ends of the floor, while averaging 14.1 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 50 games in 2025-26. The 6-foot-8 wing used his athleticism in a more controlled way on offense, shot a career-best 36% from three-point range last season, and had the willingness to take on challenging perimeter defensive assignments.

In Cleveland, Dean Wade was best known for his defense.

A versatile forward, Wade was tasked with defending the one through the five with the Cavaliers. During the playoffs, Cleveland dominated defensively with Wade on the court, outscoring opponents by 16.2 points per 100 possessions. Additionally, against driving ball-handlers, it is hard to find better defenders in the association. Just four players gave up less points per drive than Wade last season.

Wade’s defensive prowess was most noticeable against the Raptors in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, where he was the primary defender on Brandon Ingram. Through the first four games of the series, Wade held the Raptors leading scorer to 3 of 14 from the floor.

Quentin Grimes will not return to the 76ers, instead agreeing to a four-year, $60 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN reported Wednesday afternoon.

Grimes’ departure is not a surprise after the Sixers agreed to sign forward Dean Wade to a four year, $39 million contract late Tuesday, a league source confirmed to The Inquirer. Reports surfaced earlier Tuesday that the Lakers were targeting Grimes, who will reunite with former Dallas Mavericks teammate Luka Doncic. It is also a significant raise for Grimes, who played last season on his $8.7 million qualifying offer after a messy restricted free agency.

Grimes was primarily the Sixers’ sixth man during a 2025-26 season he described multiple times as “solid.”

The Sixers have two free-agency additions, with forward Dean Wade agreeing to a four-year, $39 million contract late Tuesday and Ariel Hukporti agreeing to a one-year, $3.4 million deal Wednesday morning.

So where does that leave the Sixers financially, after entering free agency with three max contracts on their books and 13 roster spots now accounted for?

Using a portion of the nontaxpayer midlevel exception on Wade hard-capped the Sixers at the first apron ($209 million). Hukporti’s deal also came out of the midlevel exception, leaving the Sixers with $2.6 million to spend on an outside player. They also still have the $5.5 million biannual exception.

NBA free agency opened at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, and within hours, the 76ers had made their first move, signing Dean Wade to a four-year, $39 million deal.

This was the first free agency move under the Sixers new president of basketball operations, Mike Gansey, who was previously the general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers, where Wade spent the first seven years of his career.

Outside of his familiarity with Gansey, Wade’s 6-foot-9 frame and his versatility on the court have led many to predict he could be a good fit in Philly, but his age along with the four-year deal has garnered some criticism.

While many will focus on Sixers president Mike Gansey’s personal connection to new forward Dean Wade, the 29-year-old is a player who would have made a lot of sense on virtually any incarnation of the Sixers in the post-Ben-Simmons era. The rare stretch four who adds big value on defense, Wade developed from an undrafted free agent to a critical playoff rotation piece in Cleveland by excelling at a lot of the dirty work that exceeds the capabilities and/or willingness of many 6-foot-9 shooters. This postseason, the Cavaliers outscored opponents by a net of 16.2 points per 100 possessions when Wade was on the court versus off it. That’s impressive stuff.

The benefit to the Sixers will be similar to what it was throughout his seven years in Cleveland. Wade can play small alongside a couple of bigs the way he did with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. He can play a power four alongside a trio of guards, as he sometimes did with James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, and Sam Merrill. He could even give Nick Nurse an option as a small-ball five, though a lot depends on the other pieces the Sixers will presumably add this offseason.

Wade is hardly a prolific scorer. Among players who have averaged 20 minutes per game in 200+ games over the last four seasons, only Nicolas Batum has scored fewer than Wade’s 5.4 points per game. But he is an effective enough shooter — .375 on about six three-point attempts over 100 possessions this postseason — to create space for others on the offensive end.

A quiet start to the Sixers' free agency finally turned newsworthy after 10 p.m., when The Inquirer confirmed that forward Dean Wade had agreed to a four-year, $39 million contract.

Other than looming decisions on starting forward Kelly Oubre Jr. and sixth man Quentin Grimes, backup center is now the Sixers' biggest positional priority. Who could be gettable with the Sixers' remaining salary? Here's a rundown:

Guerschon Yabusele

Dean 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 entered unrestricted free agency. Yahoo! reported Tuesday night that Oubre planned to meet with at least the Sixers, Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers, and Portland Trail Blazers.

The Sixers have between $5 and $6 million remaining of the mid-level exception to use on an outside free agent. They are $16.6 million total under the first apron.

Andre Drummond, Trendon Watford, and Kyle Lowry (who is expected to retire) are the other free agents for a Sixers team with limited financial flexibility. All-NBA guard Tyrese Maxey ($40.8 million), former MVP Joel Embiid ($57.7 million), and former perennial All-Star Paul George ($54.1 million) all remain on max contracts, accounting for the vast majority of the nearly $165 million salary cap.

Stars have been on the move this summer and that theme continued on the first day of NBA free agency.

After Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball and Ja Morant were all traded to new teams, the early free-agency fireworks on Tuesday centered on Kawhi Leonard's return to the Toronto Raptors via trade and LeBron James' decision to part ways with the Los Angeles Lakers, as reported by ESPN's Shams Charania.

James' decision slowed the NBA's usual flurry of free-agent deals down to a trickle as teams and players waited to see where he would decide to play his 24th NBA season.