IN 2019 THE NBA amended the official start of its free agent negotiating period to begin at a more reasonable hour: 6 p.m. ET on June 30 instead of midnight ET on July 1. The idea was to allow for the first round of calls and meetings to be done in time for everyone to sleep on their decisions.
It was all done with good intentions. But weather-related travel delays have no such empathy. Not even for billionaires with private planes like Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris and franchise legend Julius Erving, who found themselves delayed by two hours for the most important free agent meeting of 2024, sources told ESPN.
The Sixers had religiously protected their salary cap space for this summer to be in position to land a third star to team with former MVP Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, who ascended to All-Star status ahead of his own free agency this summer. Philadelphia had delayed giving Maxey an extension, then endured an uncomfortable three-month standoff with disgruntled star James Harden, all in an attempt to preserve a max cap slot for this moment. They passed on trades at the February deadline that might have helped in the short term, but would have hurt their long-term goal of building a championship roster around Embiid, a generationally talented big man who appeared to be on his way to a second consecutive MVP before injuries derailed his 2023-24 season.
Executives like to talk about “championship windows” when building around homegrown superstars like Embiid. The bare minimum is usually five years, once the player reaches his prime years and a franchise has had time to surround him with complementary players. If you’re lucky, you get 10 years and a patient superstar. If you’re not, you get a trade request or the kind of drama Philadelphia has endured acquiring and dismissing previous co-stars like Harden, Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler. Only the chosen few get 15 years to contend in relative peace, like the Golden State Warriors have had with Stephen Curry or the San Antonio Spurs had with Tim Duncan.
Philadelphia is entering Year 10 with the 30-year-old Embiid. He has been patient and shown no indication that would waiver in the future. But everyone involved understands the window to win with him won’t stay open forever.
Whatever the Sixers did with their $60 million in cap space this summer, the thinking went,…
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