Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a five-year max contract worth a projected $204 million contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. It’s the second big-money move in a few hours for the 76ers, who agreed to a $212 million deal with Paul George early Monday morning. Maxey is coming off of a breakout season in Philadelphia after James Harden’s trade demand forced him to step up as the No. 2 scorer on the 76ers.
He averaged a career-high 25.9 points per game while making his first All-Star team and winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, and then in the postseason, he averaged 29.8 points per game against the New York Knicks.
The 76ers took a bold approach to Maxey’s contract. He was technically eligible for a rookie extension last offseason. However, Philadelphia elected not to pay him so that it could preserve as much cap space as possible for this offseason. Had Maxey signed last offseason, his cap figure at the start of the offseason would have been whatever his salary turns out to be for next season.
However, by waiting, the 76ers could instead use his $13 million cap hold as a restricted free agent as his cap figure without risking losing him. By agreeing to this deal, the 76ers have secured Maxey’s services for the long haul.
However, agreeing to this deal now doesn’t mean anything as far as his cap figure is concerned. That $13 million hold sits in place until Maxey actually signs his new deal, so as long as he does so after Philadelphia uses its space, the 76ers will be able to maximize every penny on outside players this offseason.
Maxey may not have chosen to wait the extra year for his long-term contract, but the fact that he did opened up several possible offseason paths for the 76ers. In the end, he is going to get paid, and Daryl Morey has all of the flexibility he needs to put a winner around him.
