Sixers choose ducking luxury tax, clearing cap space over competing

Then they sent the Detroit Pistons a second-round pick to shed Danuel House's contract. 

Philadelphia also dealt Jaden Springer for a second-rounder to another rival, the Boston Celtics.

Their biggest move was sending a package of backups and second-round picks to the Indiana Pacers for sharpshooter Buddy Hield.

The end result was that Philadelphia lost five players, added two players and got far enough under the luxury tax that they could sign a buyout player, such as Charlotte Hornets guard Kyle Lowry. The result was not that the Sixers became a better team.

Embiid had surgery this week to repair his injured meniscus, but he won't even be evaluated to return for another four weeks. Based on these moves, it doesn't seem like the Sixers are expecting a full-strength Embiid for the playoffs.

But they will have a tremendous amount of financial freedom this summer. Only Embiid is signed past this season. While Tyrese Maxey is due a big contract, the Sixers have maximized their cap space for the summer.

There was one complicating factor that could have thrown a wrench in the plans. Big man Paul Reed has a non-guaranteed $7.7M deal for next season, but it would become guaranteed if the Sixers were to win a playoff round. Is it possible that team president Daryl Morey wanted max cap space so badly that he tanked the team's playoff chances? That could explain Thursday's bizarre series of moves.