As the Golden State Warriors look to clinch the seventh-seed against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night, a host of other teams sit on the outside looking in with their season done and dusted.
For some of these teams, this positioning is intentional. With a projected generational talent such as Cooper Flagg in the upcoming draft, many organizations like the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards have done all they can to increase their odds in this year's draft lottery.
For some teams, however, being outside of the playoff picture is a major disappointment. For the Philadelphia 76ers, disappointment is not a strong enough term.
With a roster of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George, the 76ers finished at a woeful 24-58 record and subsequently missed the Play-In by 13 games. Now, as a result of their cap situation, they will be hindered in what they can accomplish in the offseason, and the Warriors could take advantage.
Warriors will have an opportunity to grab a difference-making 76ers castaway
The 76ers will have a combined $143 million tied up in their star trio next season, in all likelihood leaving them the ability to only sign one of Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele, both of whom will be free agents this summer.
Grimes, who was acquired from the Dallas Mavericks at the trade deadline in order to alleviate their own cap situation, was stellar in his time with Philadelphia. In 28 games, the 24-year-old averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists, including a stunning 44-point explosion in their last matchup against Golden State.
Were the Warriors able to move on from Buddy Hield, Grimes could be an ideal replacement and could even compete with Brandin Podziemski for the starting shooting guard spot.
However, given the fact that Grimes will be a restricted free agent and probably command an annual value upwards of $20 million, it is unlikely that Golden State is able to stretch their cap enough, even with a sign-and-trade, to add Grimes to the roster.
Yabusele, meanwhile, returned to the NBA after a four-year absence, signing a one-year, $2 million deal with the 76ers. An unrestricted free agent this offseason, his presence on the team has been one of the only silver linings for Philadelphia this season where he averaged 11 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
While the Warriors added Jimmy Butler and have often played the 6x All-Star at the power forward position, they are lacking size and physicality off the bench. Yabusele would be a great fit next to Draymond Green, giving head coach Steve Kerr even more viable rotation combinations to work with.
With the increasing likelihood that pending restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga will be off the roster this offseason, the Warriors could add Yabusele at a discount in order to fortify their roster, capitalizing off of the 76ers' disastrous cap situation.