Philadelphia is keeping B-Ball Paul.
The 76ers have matched the Utah Jazz’s three-year, $23 million offer sheet, a story broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
With this signing, Reed now has veto power over any trade for the next year, and he can’t be traded to Utah in that time.
There were doubts in some quarters if Philadelphia would match because this signing pushes them $6.6 million into the luxury tax (with just 13 guaranteed contracts on the roster, so more players are coming in). Plus, the 76ers already have signed Mo Bamba and Montrezl Harrell to one-year contracts to play backup minutes behind Joel Embiid.
Philadelphia decided Reed was worth the price. While his counting stats have never impressed — 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds a game last season in 11 minutes a night — that doesn’t factor in the defense and energy Reed brings. When Reed started games while Embiid was out he averaged more than 11 points a game, and in this last year emerged as a quality backup big. Nick Nurse may want to get Reed more minutes than Doc Rivers.
This is an unusual offer sheet. Only the first season is fully guaranteed, the second two years become guaranteed only if the 76ers make the second round of the playoffs this upcoming season. It was a clever bit of strategy by the Jazz — the Sixers expect to make the second round of the playoffs next season, if the Jazz get that far it would be a surprise. It was a clever way for Utah to put a poison pill in the contract.
Reed was still worth it to the 76ers.
