As expected, Joel Embiid‘s NBA All-Star playing partner is not leaving the Philadelphia 76ers.
Restricted free-agent guard Tyrese Maxey agreed to a five-year, $204 million contract with the Sixers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The 23-year-old is signed through the 2028-29 season, joining newest 76er Paul George as Philadelphia is retooled with a new Big 3 to challenge the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
Maxey averaged career highs of 25.9 points (45/37/87 shooting splits), 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game this past season, capturing Most Improved Player honors and making his first All-Star appearance.
Embiid and Maxey led Philadelphia to a 47-35 record, seventh place in the East and a berth in the play-in tournament this past season. The Sixers lost in six games to the New York Knicks in the opening round of the playoffs. Maxey averaged 29.8 points (48/40/89), 6.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game in the series.
Maxey’s rise to max-salaried star was unexpected. The 21st overall draft pick in 2020, he played 15 minutes a night as a rookie, almost entirely off the bench, averaging just eight points on 30.1% 3-point shooting. He started 74 games the following season, finishing sixth in the Most Improved Player voting — two years before he won the award. He played half the 2022-23 season off the bench, making room for backcourt partner James Harden, before assuming the point guard duties upon Harden’s exit last year.
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This past season marked an unmitigated success for Maxey, though his defensive deficiencies may come under a microscope now that he will be paid 25% of the salary cap. New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson outperformed Maxey in their first-round playoff series, despite Maxey’s 46-point outburst in Game 5.
Maxey is still far from a finished product. Embiid’s happiness in Philadelphia will depend a great deal on Maxey’s development, along with the team’s prospects in free agency. The Sixers entered this summer with more than $50 million in cap space, which is pretty much spent as the teams also agreed to free agent deals with center Andre Drummond and wing Kelly Oubre Jr.
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