Philadelphia 76ers Rumors: Lou Williams to Opt Out? Elton Brand to Be Amnestied?

Lou Williams has become an important part of the Philadelphia 76ers, helping their team in their run in the NBA Playoffs.

Williams averaged 15 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.4 rebounds for Philly coming off the bench. He came up in the big moments when Philly really needed him.

Williams could be looking to move elsewhere to take his talents, and possibly get more money than Philly could offer.

According to Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com, it seems likely as Williams could opt out of his contract. He'll join the rest of 2012's free agents, but he needs to exercise his early termination option.

It'll likely happen, as Moore tweeted this the other day:

Asked #Sixers prez Rod Thorn if Lou Williams has informed team he's opting out of contract. "Not officially but he will," he replied.

— Tom Moore (@tmoorepburbs) June 8, 2012

Williams will have until the end of this month to to tell the Sixers that he will be opting out of his contract.

Meanwhile, Elton Brand could be amnestied by the Sixers. Brand can exercise his early termination option as well, but there's no way in his mind that he will when he's making over $18 million per year now. Brand has no sights on leaving, either.

"I want to be here, absolutely." he told the Associated Press. "I definitely loved my time here."

Brand hasn't become the same player he used to be when he earned his contract, but he did improve a bit this year and was productive enough to help Philadelphia. However, at his age, he doesn't deserve the money he is getting right now.

Although he will be able to keep his contract, it may not be in a Philly uniform. Brand could be traded or amnestied. If the Sixers want to capitalize off this season, they will need cap space to get free agents, such as being able to keep Williams as mentioned above.

I don't know any team that would be likely to trade for Brand, thanks to his large contract. With that, the most likely scenario is that he could be amnestied.

Alex Kennedy of Hoops World confirmed the report that he could be amnestied:

The Philadelphia 76ers may amnesty Elton Brand this summer, according to sources. I heard that from several people at the NBA Draft Combine.

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) June 9, 2012

ESPN.com has also talked to personnel around the league, and they also believe Brand is a prime candidate to become amnestied this off-season in July.

The Sixers are headed into a wild off-season, especially as the rumors surrounding Andre Iguodala get bigger and bigger as well.

We'll see what goes in the City of Brotherly Love for this month.

Josh Dhani is the founder of FootBasket. He also contributes at Hoops Authority and Eight Points Nine Seconds. You can read more about him at his website. Follow him on Twitter @joshdhani.