Sixers Notes: Embiid, Roster Questions, New Arena

Last week, All-Star Sixers center Joel Embiid inked a three-season, $192.9MM contract extension that should keep him under team control through 2028/29. Per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, this agreement appears to signal a newfound stability in Philadelphia under team president Daryl Morey.

Mizell notes that, even with Embiid’s lengthy injury history, it was practically a given that the Sixers would lock up their best player long-term when given the opportunity. After All-Star point guard James Harden dramatically forced his way to the Clippers last season, this kind of steadying move is just what the doctor ordered.

Mizell notes that Tyrese Maxey has now evolved into an All-Star in Harden’s absence, and he, too, has been locked into a long-term new deal this summer.

There’s more out of the City of Brotherly Love:

• Mizell cooks up a question for each player on the Sixers roster heading into the 2024/25 season in another article. For Embiid, obviously the top question is how Philadelphia will manage the 30-year-old’s health throughout the regular season and heading into the playoffs. With new All-Star signing Paul George, the question becomes how he figures into the club’s system.
• Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker unpacked fresh details of the fresh agreement to build the new, $1.3 billion Sixers arena downtown, per The Associated Press. The team will fund the project itself, without relying on the city at all. The new deal will also require a $50MM contribution to schools, communities and local businesses to offset any potential disruptions made during the build. “I truly am proud having made this decision and negotiated an agreement that will definitely ensure that our Sixers are staying home right here in Philadelphia, where they should be,” Parker said.
• In case you missed it, the Sixers are recently inked a two-way deal with free agent guard Lester Quinones.