There may have been nothing more certain in NBA free agency than this:
The Philadephia 76ers have agreed to max out point guard Tyrese Maxey on a five-year, $204 million rookie contract extension, a story broken by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and confirmed by Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Maxey, Joel Embiid and the just-signed Paul Goerge, make up a new Big 3 in Philly.
A new big 3️⃣ in Philly. pic.twitter.com/1pAsmPE5Zm
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) July 1, 2024
The $204 million — which is 25% of the salary cap — was the most the 76ers could have offered. Maxey worked with Philadelphia and GM Daryl Morey, waiting a year to sign his extension (which he was eligible to do after his third season) to allow the team to have max cap space this offseason and sign someone like George. If Maxey had signed his extension last summer, come June 30 he would have been on the books for $35.1 million, instead his cap hold was $13 million. Now, he will get that $35.1 as part of the first year of his contract on a title contender.
Maxey made his first All-Star team last season and was voted Most Improved Player as he averaged 25.9 points and 6.2 assists a game while shooting 37.3% for the 76ers. He was brilliant when Joel Embiid was healthy — and on a possible All-NBA pace, which would have bumped his max up to $244.6 million — but he struggled some when Embiid was injured and Maxey became the name at the top of the opponents’ scouting report.
Next season, with some health luck, he won’t have to deal with that.
