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Philadelphia 76ers managing partner Josh Harris and interim president of basketball operations Bob Meyers discuss the franchise's issue with the luxury tax.

The Philadelphia 76ers were embarrassed and sent home after getting swept by the New York Knicks in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. With this, the 76ers are now back at square one after another season filled with injuries and questionable moves.

After the franchise decided to part ways with the president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey, 76ers managing partner Josh Harris and interim president of basketball operations, Bob Meyers, addressed the media on Thursday.

One topic of discussion was the 76ers’ move to avoid the luxury tax to maintain financial flexibility throughout the season.

The issue is that teams often exceed the tax limit during windows when they consider themselves title contenders. Although Philadelphia’s goal has been to win championships, its previous financial decisions have said otherwise.

Josh Harris Discusses 76ers Failing to Use Luxury Tax

On Thursday, Josh Harris was asked about the team’s goals regarding the NBA’s luxury tax line.

“The front office absolutely has the green light to go into the luxury tax,” Harris stated. “In fact, we’ve been in and out of the luxury tax. It’s not an issue. We’re building an arena here. I can tell you that the amount of dollars you spend on that versus the luxury tax, it’s magnitudes more.

We’ve built this facility, we’ve signed a number of max deals, so there’s no issue with the luxury tax.”

Philadelphia has exceeded the threshold in just two of the past 15 seasons (2020-21 and 2021-22).

There are multiple factors that have played into the Philadelphia 76ers’ frustrating seasons over the years. Whether it’s money, injuries, building the right rosters, front office members, etc. Harris was able to express his own frustrations.

“I care deeply for the team. No one’s more frustrated than I am. I understand people’s frustration… I’m sweating it really hard. I’m sweating it just as hard or harder than any of the fans,” Harris added.

Bob Meyers: Luxury Tax ‘Has to Make Sense.’

During Josh Harris and Bob Meyer’s press conference, Myers had his own words to say on the 76ers using the luxury tax in the future.

“If (Harris) says no, which he won’t, I wouldn’t work for somebody like that,” the interim president of basketball operations said. “If you look at the history of teams that have won a championship, I was one of them, we were in the tax.

It would be great if you could win a championship while not being in the tax. It’s very hard to do, but it has to make sense.”

While Myers served as president of basketball operations and general manager of the Golden State Warriors from 2011 to 2023, the franchise paid the luxury tax in three of the four championship-winning seasons (2017, 2018, and 2022).

Heading into the offseason, the 76ers have a projected $18.2 million of tax space, according to Spotrac.

Of the 76ers’ current tax allocations, the franchise’s big three in Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey make up for nearly 84% of Philadelphia’s payroll.

This may show that the organization is uncertain with the rest of the roster outside of those top three players.