As the Philadelphia 76ers head toward free agency Tuesday, it’s difficult not to be intrigued.President of basketball operations Mike Gansey and general manager Jameer Nelson will ride in their first rodeo as decision makers. After the Sixers drafted Labaron Philon Jr. last week, there are still plenty of moves left to be made. So which way does Philadelphia go?Do they break up the big four of Joel Embiid, Paul George, VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey? Probably not. Do they look to add a bunch of guards and perimeter players? Do they go big? Do they take a hybrid approach?So far, the Gansey experience has been shrouded in relative secrecy. In a league full of rumors and innuendo, there have been precious few around the NBA about the Sixers, who have been able to go about their business quietly. That makes free agency all the more interesting. We want to see how Gansey operates, how he maneuvers, what kind of players he covets, and frankly, how he keeps the Sixers afloat in an Eastern Conference that looks to be deeper, more talented and tougher than in previous seasons.On Monday, the curtain was pulled back, if only by a smidge. In moves first reported by The Athletic, the front office picked up team options on power forward Dominick Barlow and small forward Dalen Terry, and declined a team option on power forward Trendon Watford, who was a celebrated signing in free agency around this time last year.The Sixers also have their own unrestricted free agents to deal with in Kelly Oubre Jr., Quentin Grimes and Andre Drummond. All three were vital members of head coach Nick Nurse’s playing rotation last season for a team that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals.Here is what Philly is working with heading into the live period: The four best players at the head of the roster are entrenched. Philon is the third guard, and yeah, the Sixers only have three guards at the moment. Big man Adem Bona will return after playing a lot of minutes last season at center. There’s Barlow, who started 59 regular-season games in the frontcourt. Justin Edwards joins George as the only true wings on the roster. The 6-foot-10 Johni Broome also returns, but the second-year man out of Auburn barely played any minutes last season.As you can tell, the cupboard is pretty thin beyond the Sixers’ top four.By any reasonable evaluation, the Sixers need at least one more guard and could certainly use another wing and more help up front. Bona had his moments last season, particularly protecting the rim, but the Sixers need a center talented enough to play major minutes on the inevitable nights without Embiid. Barlow was terrific in his role, but a power forward capable of soaking up major minutes could be a target. Finding more shooting, playmaking and wing depth is also important.As of Monday night, whether Oubre and Grimes would return was still up in the air. If the Sixers move on from one or both of them, they’ll have even more work to do.When Gansey was introduced, Sixers executive Bob Myers spoke of the team developing an identity after lacking one last season. There are tools to work with in terms of finances: The Sixers will have access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which gives them around $15 million to spend, along with the biannual exception, which is worth a projected $5.5 million. Those two exceptions, along with veterans on minimum deals, should give Gansey and Nelson the room to bring people into the fold.There are starter-level power forwards on the market in John Collins, Dean Wade, Rui Hachimura and Sandro Mamukelashvili. And the Sixers know how helpful Oubre was last season. His length, athleticism and defensive effort are attractive qualities. One of the reasons the Sixers were able to erase a 3-1 deficit against the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs was the work he put in on defense against Boston’s star forward, Jaylen Brown.What Gansey has to decide is whether to build the roster around the talents of Maxey and Edgecombe or around the talents of Embiid and George. It looks like a simple choice, considering how young Maxey and Edgecombe are. But Embiid is still an all-world talent and George was terrific last season.The eventual champion Knicks blasted the Sixers in the second round, largely because of Philadelphia’s glaring lack of depth. They can reasonably address that, but it’s a matter of doing it correctly.To use the Knicks as an example: Jose Alvarado, Jordan Clarkson and Landry Shamet, all journeymen, thrived in the system coach Mike Brown instituted. The way he used his depth brought out their best. The Sixers have the top-end talent. Now they need a full roster.The situation will make for an interesting week and a fascinating first glimpse of what Gansey values.Jun 30, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms