The unspoken path the 76ers can take to move forward

When the NBA’s latest collective bargaining agreement was put it place, the restrictive nature of both the first and second aprons sent a clear signal to expensive teams willing to exceed either: There will be consequences.

As a result, teams have become less enthused about major payrolls, as they’d have to navigate challenges such as 100% salary matching in trades, no acquisition of players via sign-and-trade, salary aggregation limitations, and a small laundry list of additional items, directly preventing them from upgrading their rosters.

These changes, in many ways, translate into one larger goal: contract efficiency.

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Teams that now carry dead money or bad contracts will be at an enormous disadvantage from a competitive perspective.

This should make fans of the Philadelphia 76ers squirm, as the franchise currently finds itself in the worst salary-cap situation of any team in the NBA.

With the recent news of star center Joel Embiid being shut down for the season due to a left knee issue, the Sixers are facing some severe long-term questions in regard to how they should move forward.

In September, the Sixers extended the contract of Embiid by adding three years and $192 million to his existing deal, which is now scheduled to expire in 2029, immediately following a year in which Embiid would have earned over $69 million.

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A couple of months prior, the Sixers handed out a max-level contract to former All-Star Paul George in July. That deal came in at $211.5 million, which will run over four seasons, including this one.

Philadelphia, through team president Daryl Morey, inexplicably gave George a player option on the final year of his deal worth $56.5 million, making you wonder who exactly the Sixers were negotiating against for his services.

George, who’ll turn 35 in May, is playing some of the worst basketball of…