Will Sixers have any bargain role players? – NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers will travel to Abu Dhabi for preseason games vs. the Knicks on Oct. 2 and Oct. 4. They’ll begin their regular season by facing the Celtics on Oct. 22. 

Before the action commences, we’re looking at key questions for the 2025-26 Sixers. 

So far, we’ve dived into: 

Next up: Will the 2025-26 Sixers have any bargain role players? 

A giant chunk of the Sixers’ team salary for 2025-26 is dedicated to Joel Embiid ($55.2 million), Paul George ($51.7 million) and Tyrese Maxey ($38 million). 

That means low-cost, high-quality role players are a necessity. Recent success stories include Guerschon Yabusele and Kelly Oubre Jr., who both signed one-year, minimum-salary deals and became important players for the Sixers. 

This time around, Trendon Watford is a clear contender after he signed a two-year minimum contract with a team option in Year 2. Watford, 24, is coming off of his best NBA season. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists with the Nets. 

The Sixers’ hope is that Watford keeps doing a little bit of everything — passing, ball handling, defending different positions — and makes meaningful growth as a shooter. Watford shot 2.0 three-pointers per game last season and hit 33.0 percent. 

“I think I’ve made big-time progress, especially the last two years with my attempts continuing to go up,” Watford said at his introductory press conference in July. “Now it’s just continuing to work on it. Having three great players that will draw a lot of attention, I’ll be able to get a lot of wide-open shots. 

“Just stay in the gym, keep working on it and keep getting better year by year. That’s my goal, be better than I was last year.”

Unless a returning veteran such as Eric Gordon or Andre Drummond surprises with a much-improved year thanks to greater health, the next logical place to look is the Sixers’ youth.

Second-year players Justin Edwards and Adem Bona each have approximately $2 million salaries for the 2025-26 campaign. Edwards earned a new contract this offseason by playing like a legitimate NBA two-way wing as a rookie. 

“I feel like it just shows all the hard work I put in,” he said on July 2. “Going undrafted, I didn’t let it determine the rest of my basketball life. I just worked hard and did what I was able to do, and I got a contract out of it.”

Jared McCain ($4.2 million salary) is an obvious player to highlight. He posted 15.3 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game in a rookie year cruelly ended by a left lateral meniscus tear. McCain’s studied Stephen Curry and sure has some of his special offensive tools. Given McCain’s knack for learning quickly and shooting through slumps, major development in his second season wouldn’t be shocking at all. 

The Sixers inked No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe ($11.1 million) and No. 35 selection Johni Broome ($1.3 million) to rookie contracts this summer. And perhaps one of their two-way contract players — Jabari Walker, Hunter Sallis and Dominick Barlow — can emerge and prove worthy of a standard deal. The Sixers have made a decent amount of two-way conversions in recent years with players like Edwards, Paul Reed, Ricky Council IV and Shake Milton. 

Whoever shines, the Sixers’ reality is that they require a bargain or two.