Philadelphia 76ers: Seven Players That Won't Be Back Next Season

With a few tweets sent out the morning of April 18, new Philadelphia 76ers owner Adam Aron sent a shockwave to the fanbase of the franchise.

If he's to be believed, the Sixers may very well be real players this offseason, for the first time since signing Elton Brand to a five-year, $80 million deal in the summer of 2008.

Frustrated with the Sixers' late-season swoon, Aron tweeted on the morning of the 18th, "Ownership fully understands all the fan angst about the Sixers 11-21 record since starting 20-9. Status quo is not good enough." He followed up by tweeting, "Real thinking and ACTION needed over the summer."

Gentlemen, start your engines. The Sixers have a few free agents coming off the books this summer, and with a little creativity and luck in the trade market, they could carve out a heap of cap space.

No matter what happens in the playoffs, Aron and the rest of management appear to understand that the Sixers, as currently constructed, won't be winning an NBA championship any time soon.

With that in mind, the following are seven players who may be playing their last game in a Sixers' uniform in these playoffs.

1. Lou Williams

2011-12 Salary: $5,917,500

The week before the playoffs started, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Lou Williams would be opting out of his nearly $6.4 million salary next year to become a free agent.

If that comes to fruition and he does opt out, this playoff series will almost assuredly be Williams' last with the Sixers.

This year, Sweet Lou lead the Sixers in scoring by averaging a career-high 14.9 points, third most of any bench player in the league. On a team that struggled in the halfcourt, he was also often the only player who could consistently create offense for himself.

But as Andre Iguodala told Sports Illustrated, Sweet Lou's got a fatal flaw: He can't guard anybody.

For a guy to opt out of a $6.4 million contract, one can only assume he's looking for more money. The Sixers can't afford to break the bank for a one-way player like Williams, even if he did provide a much-needed spark for their stagnancy in the halfcourt.

(PS: How much does this photo sum up Williams' career as a Sixer?)

2. Jodie Meeks

2011-12 Salary: $884,293

The Sixers effectively traded scraps and a 2010 second-round pick with Milwaukee for Jodie Meeks, whose 3-point shooting ability would theoretically help space the floor for Philadelphia.

Problem is, as a relatively undersized shooting guard (6-foot-4, 210 pounds), Meeks' field goal percentage has only trended downward since joining the Sixers.

In his first 19 games with Philly, Meeks shot 44 percent from the field and hit 38 percent from deep, providing a much-needed scoring threat from 3-point range. Last year, in 74 games, Meeks shot nearly 40 percent from downtown.

This year? Meeks shot 40.9 percent from the field and 36.5 from three, missing all sorts of wide-open opportunities in the process.

With Meeks bricking left and right, coach Doug Collins began shifting him in and out of the starting lineup in favor of Evan Turner, which never allowed either player to develop much consistency.

Collins finally made his pick in the playoffs, as Turner moved into the starting lineup and played 40 minutes against the Bulls in Game 2; Meeks played only one. Unless Meeks is ready to accept a permanent backup role, he won't be back next season.

3. Tony Battie

2011-12 Salary: $1,352,181

Every team needs a locker room leader as much as it needs an on-court star, and while the Sixers desperately lack the latter, Tony Battie's apparently filled the former role for the team this year.

Collins told the Philadelphia Inquirer last month that Battie was "a guy that's been around a long, long time to tell our guys what we're doing here and what we're trying to get accomplished..."

That's all well and good, but the Sixers' young players have now gained two years of playoff- and NBA experience, leaving one to wonder just how much the Sixers need a veteran presence who doesn't contribute on the court.

Battie averaged a whopping 1.6 points in 10.9 minutes during 27 games this season, including 11 he started when Spencer Hawes went down with a left Achilles injury in mid-January. He provided a warm body to fill the void at center, but little else.

Battie would be likely to sign for the veteran minimum in his 15th season, but unless the Sixers have the $1.3 million to spare, they should invest in a potential contributor in his place.

4. Andre Iguodala

2011-12 Salary: $13,531,750

Sixers fans have an ongoing love-hate relationship with Andre Iguodala (a little lopsided toward the latter, perhaps).

On the one hand, he's an absolute menace on the defensive end of the court, no matter what the Defensive Player of the Year votes may suggest (he finished 7th in one of his finest defensive years yet).

On the other, he's paid like a No. 1 or No. 2 option, but he doesn't produce offensively like a Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Durant. He's much more well-rounded, which, unfortunately, doesn't translate as well to non-diehard fans as a 30-point scorer would.

Iguodala's been linked to trade rumors for years, with Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer even going so far last May as to tell fans to bid goodbye to him.

Now, he's dealing with tendinitis in his right Achilles tendon, according to Tom Moore from PhillyBurbs.com, which could cause Collins to lean more heavily on Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner, who both thrived in Game 2.  

It's never been more clear that Holiday and Turner, not Iguodala, are the direction this franchise needs to move toward. With only two years and roughly $30 million left on his deal, the Sixers oft-rumored Iguodala trade very well could come to fruition this summer.

5. Spencer Hawes

2011-12 Salary: $4,051,023

This was a tale of two seasons for Spencer Hawes, who helped the Sixers jump out to an early lead in the Eastern Conference by shooting nearly 57 percent before the All-Star break.

Since the break, Hawes has barely shot better than 44 percent from the field, an unacceptable figure for a big man who should be taking most of his shots from the paint.

Alarmingly, Hawes only played 19 "clutch" minutes (when the score is within 5 points during the last 5 minutes of a game) this entire season, according to NBA StatsCube. He's not an awful free throw shooter, so Collins' lack of confidence in Hawes during late-game situations speaks volumes.

The guys at SBNation's Liberty Ballers aren't shy about how badly they want the Sixers to ditch Hawes this summer, when he's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. Dennis Deitch of the Delaware County Times tweeted Wednesday that there was "no shot" the Sixers brought back Hawes.

The Sixers do need plenty of big man help, but they're likely to look anywhere but Hawes' direction this summer during free agency.

6. Sam Young

2011-12 Salary: $947,800

The Memphis Grizzlies sent Sam Young to the Sixers for the rights to Ricky Sanchez back in mid-March, but Young could never find a way to earn consistent minutes in Collins' rotation.

Wonder why? He only played 14 games as a Sixer, shooting below 30 percent from the field in less than 10 minutes of play per game.

Even though the Sixers essentially obtained him for free, it's tough to imagine a team trading for the chance to have Young for half a season.

It's possible the Sixers expected widespread changes to their wing rotation this summer and wanted to give themselves a decent backup option in Young.

Still, it's difficult to imagine the Sixers being that attached to a player who averaged below 30 percent for them. The Sixers shouldn't be getting into a bidding war for Young, who's an unrestricted free agent this summer.

7. Elton Brand

2011-12 Salary: $17,059,726; expiring contract of $18,160,354 in 2012-13

Two years ago, if you told Sixers fans that they'd develop a soft spot for Brand, you'd have been laughed out of any bar in Philadelphia.

Now, after a year where Brand averaged a career-low 11 points per game, it's somewhat bittersweet to imagine this Sixers team without No. 42 next year.

The 32-year-old Brand still has some explosiveness left after coming back from an Achilles injury a few years back, but he's also about to enter a year where he's got an expiring contract of nearly $18.2 million hanging over his head.

It's unclear how the new collective bargaining agreement, and more importantly, the amnesty clause, will affect teams' willingness to trade for expiring contracts moving forward. Antawn Jamison of the Cleveland Cavaliers was a likely guinea pig under this new CBA until he broke his pinky in late February.

If the Sixers can't find any biters on Brand's contract, they'll have a real decision to make about whether or not to exercise their amnesty clause on him. Since the amnesty can only be used on players signed before July 1, 2011, this summer represents the Sixers' only chance to get out of their largest financial obligation, scot-free.