Sixers Rumors

Sixers Sign Eric Gordon To Minimum-Salary Deal

July 10th, 2024 at 9:50am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10: Gordon’s minimum-salary contract with the Sixers is now official, the team confirmed in a press release.

“Eric is a proven shot-maker whose ability to create space and punish defenses that overextend will help solidify an already dynamic offense,” team president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement. “He plays bigger as the moments get bigger which will be key for our playoff run. I’ve known Eric for many years – he is devoted to his craft and continuously works on his game, allowing him to have such a long and successful career. We are lucky to have him in Philly.”

Gordon’s new contract will actually be for two years, with a second-year player option, Hoops Rumors has learned.

JUNE 30: Free agent guard Eric Gordon has agreed to sign with the Sixers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports reports (via Twitter) that it’ll be a minimum-salary contract, while Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) says it’ll be for one year.

Gordon inked a two-year minimum-salary deal with the Suns last season and averaged 11.0 points, 2.0 assists, and 1.8 rebounds in 27.8 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .443/.378/.797.

Because his deal included a second-year player option, he was able to opt out and return to the free agent market this summer in search of a new opportunity.

By signing in Philadelphia, Gordon will reunite with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who oversaw the Rockets’ front office during most of the veteran guard’s tenure with the franchise from 2016-23.

Since Gordon is receiving the veteran’s minimum, the 76ers will be able to wait until after they’ve used up all their cap room to officially sign him and won’t need to dedicate a chunk of that space to the 35-year-old.

Contract Details: Quickley, Barnes, Batum, Jones, CP3, Oubre, More

July 10th, 2024 at 7:15am CST by Luke Adams

Initially reported to be worth $175MM over five years, Immanuel Quickley‘s new contract with the Raptors actually has a base value of $162.5MM, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link). It also features $12.5MM in unlikely incentives – $2.5MM per year – that would allow the guard to max out at $175MM if he earns all of them. But for now the cap hits for Quickley will be $32.5MM annually.

Meanwhile, the “Rose rule” language in Scottie Barnes‘ new five-year, maximum-salary extension with the Raptors is fairly straightforward, Murphy notes (Twitter link). Barnes will have a starting salary worth 30% of the 2025/26 salary cap if he makes any All-NBA team – first, second, or third – next season, or if he wins MVP or Defensive Player of the Year. If he doesn’t earn any of those honors, his starting salary will be 25% of the ’25/26 cap, with 8% annual raises from there.

Based on the NBA’s latest salary cap projection, Barnes’ five-year extension would be worth $224,238,150 if it starts at 25% next year’s cap, or $269,085,780 if it starts at 30%.

Here are more details on a few of the contracts recently finalized around the NBA:

Nicolas Batum (15%) and Derrick Jones (5%) each received trade kickers on their new contracts with the Clippers, Hoops Rumors has learned. Batum’s deal is worth the full bi-annual exception ($9,569,400 over two years) with a second-year player option, while Jones’ three-year, $30MM deal was completed using a significant portion ($9,523,810) of the mid-level exception. Los Angeles still has $3,298,190 left on its MLE for now.
Chris Paul‘s one-year contract with the Spurs has a guaranteed base value of $10.46MM, with unlikely incentives that could push his total earnings as high as about $12.03MM, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. That structure allowed San Antonio to create the extra cap room necessary to accommodate Harrison Barnes‘ incoming salary while also putting Paul in position to earn more his initially reported salary of $11MM.
Kelly Oubre, whose two-year, $16,365,150 contract is worth the Sixers‘ entire room exception (and features a player option), waived his right to veto a trade in 2024/25, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Kings center Alex Len gave up that right as well on his one-year, minimum-salary contract, Hoops Rumors has learned.
As expected, the contracts signed by new Kings guard Jordan McLaughlin and new Pelicans center Daniel Theis are one-year deals worth the veteran’s minimum.

Suns Notes: Durant, Okogie, Lowry, Morris, Kessler, Plumlee

July 9th, 2024 at 4:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite both Suns owner Mat Ishbia and general manager James Jones shooting down the notion that the team is entertaining the idea of trading Kevin Durant, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith advised viewers on draft day to “pay no attention” to what the Suns were saying publicly, suggesting that the franchise wanted to move the star forward.

Speaking to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, Durant didn’t name Smith specifically, but appeared to reference that comment in dismissing the trade rumors that keep popping up around him.

“You could just press the ‘KD wants to leave’ button anytime you want some attention,” Durant said. “Yes, it’s a button. What else is gonna get people going around this time? Besides, ‘Oh, the journeyman is leaving again.’ That story is always gonna hit.

“… For somebody to say, ‘Phoenix wants to get out of the KD (business),’ I’m sitting here like, where is this coming from?” he continued. “It bothers me that people lie like that and that the audience eats up the headline. I get sad when people buy into lies and just make up s–t. It’s bigger than ball at that point for me. I can’t control that. I feel for people. It’s a bad practice to have when you just believe anything, for one. Just believe what you see on TV. And then it’s another bad habit when you’re just lying.”

Durant will turn 36 this September and could be entering the final stage of his Hall of Fame career, but he told Goodwill that he’s not thinking about retirement yet and suggested he’d be comfortable transitioning into a lesser role during his twilight years as a player.

“I just love to play the game. If it’s a good situation, if I’m still enjoying the game of basketball, my goal is to play this (game) till the wheels fall off, for whatever role that is, so we’ll see,” Durant said.

Here’s more on the Suns:

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Tuesday that Durant, who missed his fourth consecutive with a calf strain, won’t play in Wednesday’s exhibition vs. Team Canada (Twitter link via Tim Bontemps of ESPN).
The Suns continue to work on re-signing free agent wing Josh Okogie and remain engaged in talks with veteran guard Kyle Lowry, according to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter links). If Lowry ends up signing elsewhere – Bourguet suggests a return to the Sixers is in play – then Phoenix would be “more than comfortable” with Monte Morris in the backup point guard role, since he was one of the team’s top three offseason targets, says Bourguet.
Responding to an inquiry about whether the Suns could trade for Walker Kessler, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 rejects the idea, tweeting that the Jazz have already declined offers from two separate teams that featured two first-round picks apiece for the young center.
In a story for GoPHNX.com, Bourguet takes a closer look at what veteran big man Mason Plumlee will bring to the Suns, outlining why he’s a clear upgrade over Drew Eubanks at the five.

Heat Notes: Rozier, Highsmith, Martin, Roster, Burks

July 9th, 2024 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran Heat guard Terry Rozier, who missed the team’s final four regular season games and five playoff contests in the spring due to a neck injury, revealed on Tuesday that he was cleared to resume full basketball activities a couple weeks ago and has been doing on-court workouts, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Rozier said it was difficult not to be able to contribute to the team during its biggest games of the year after arriving in Miami in a midseason trade

“Obviously we all know why I came here, to be a big help for the playoffs and just to try to get this team some life,” Rozier said. “It just sucks that I couldn’t play in the most important part of the season, and I had to watch the guys that I go to war with. So it was tough. … It was just nonstop thinking about me just wishing I was out there with my guys. That’s why I’m glad that I’m cleared and everything else will take care of itself when the time comes.”

Rozier had to wear a neck brace while he recovered from the injury, but he made it clear on Tuesday that he never felt as if his career might be in jeopardy due to the ailment. The 30-year-old also indicated that he fully believes the Heat are capable of improving on last season’s result (46-36; No. 8 seed) even without any significant changes to the roster.

“I think the fans are bored right now, and they want to put as many scenarios as they can for us,” Rozier said. “But at the end of the day, we want to run it back with our same team, and we want to show the fans what we can bring to Miami. Obviously last year was tough on us, all of it as a whole. But we’re looking to get out there and impact, and make an impact all together.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

After officially re-signing with the Heat on Monday, Haywood Highsmith admitted that his first real foray into free agency was an “up-and-down roller coaster,” but said he was “really satisfied” with the two-year, $11MM contract he received from Miami, according to Chiang.
Asked about reports that he turned down a four-year, $58MM extension from the Heat prior to free agency, Caleb Martin explained why he passed on Miami’s offer and ultimately settled for a more modest free agent deal from the Sixers. “Just certain things didn’t work. There’s a lot of things behind the scenes that went on, but ultimately, there was a lot in making that decision and there’s a lot that contributed to how everything went, but past is past,” Martin said (Twitter link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer). “Can’t do nothing about that and like I said, I’m looking forward to being here and being a part of Philly and try to bring everything I can in order to try to win a championship so that’s my main focus now.” Martin’s offer from the Heat would’ve required him to pick up his $7.1MM player option for 2024/25, so he’ll at least earn a higher first-year salary in Philadelphia than he would’ve if he’d opted in.
Examining the Heat’s financial situation, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sentinel lays out why the roster is essentially set for the season unless they make a trade, since signing another free agent currently isn’t a viable option for the team.
Veteran guard Alec Burks will be earning a minimum salary for just the second time in his NBA career in 2024/25, but he feels good about ending up in Miami, as Winderman writes for The Sun Sentinel. “The Heat Culture from afar, then I talked to (head coach Erik Spoelstra), made my decision,” Burks said when asked about choosing to sign with the Heat. “We had a great conversation. I think that’s the real reason I picked the team.”

Atlantic Notes: Martin, Sixers, Embiid, Vezenkov, Celtics

July 8th, 2024 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

In order to maximize their cap room, the Sixers renounced the rights to nearly all of their free agents, including a handful of players who hadn’t actually been on the roster for years, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter links). However, there was one notable exception: KJ Martin‘s cap hold remains on the team’s books.

Martin’s cap hold is worth the veteran’s minimum of $2,087,519, but Philadelphia holds his full Bird rights, allowing the team to go over the cap to re-sign him to a contract worth any salary up to the maximum.

Of course, Martin won’t get the max, but it could be in the 76ers’ best interests to re-sign him to a deal worth more than the minimum. Besides potentially vying for rotation minutes, Martin might come in handy as a trade chip on a roster where so many players will be earning either maximum- or minimum-salary contracts.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

A year after James Harden‘s trade demand hung over the Sixers‘ offseason like a dark cloud, there’s more optimism this summer in Philadelphia about the new-look roster, headed by Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey. Speaking to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Embiid cautioned that the team still needs to make it work on the court, but admitted he’s excited about how the new big three looks. “On paper, and as far as the fit, it looks fantastic because you got both guys that can play off the ball, and they can play on ball and they’re great shooters and they can handle the ball, and then you also got me,” he said with a smile.“So, yeah, it looks great.”
Addressing the Sasha Vezenkov situation on Monday, Raptors president Masai Ujiri said he has had discussions with Vezenkov, his representatives, GM Bobby Webster, and head coach Darko Rajakovic about the matter. As Keith Smith of Spotrac details in depth, Vezenkov has reportedly reached a deal with Olympiacos but remains under contract with Toronto on a guaranteed NBA contract, preventing him from returning to Greece without the Raptors’ cooperation. “I think that should develop in the next few days or we’ll see whether it’s a few months,” Ujiri said. “We acquired a player in a trade and we feel we have communicated well. We communicated well with the agent and the team before. And so we’ll see how that goes.”
Taking a closer look at the Celtics‘ decision to put majority control of the franchise up for sale, Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe says he believe H. Irving Grousbeck is ‘the one driving this sale” and that his son Wyc Grousbeck – the team’s governor and CEO – actually owns a “relatively small stake” in the team.

Paul George Explains Decision To Leave Clippers

July 8th, 2024 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Paul George said in a his latest podcast (Twitter video link) that he “never wanted to leave L.A.,” but he was frustrated by negotiations with the Clippers, including an initial offer that he viewed as “kinda disrespectful.”

Wearing his new Sixers jersey, George explained that his preference was to re-sign with the Clippers and try to help them win their first-ever title. He emphasized that there are “no hard feelings” toward the organization, but said the first offer he received when contract talks started in October was $60MM over two years, which he called “crazy.”

“As we kept going, they would go up inches, inches, inches, to where it was like 44, 45,” George said, “but this was like a couple months in between before we got it to 40-something. I’m still like, ‘Nah, I’m not doing that. Then I hear wind of what they’re going to give Kawhi (Leonard). So I’m like ‘Just give me what Kawhi got. Y’all view us the same. We came here together. … I’ll take what Kawhi got.’ I was cool with that.”

George noted that Leonard accepted less than the max when he agreed to a three-year, $152.4MM extension in January, adding that he was willing to do the same to keep the core of the team together. George’s negotiations remained unproductive until he halted talks around the All-Star break because he didn’t want the new contract to be a distraction for the rest of the season.

“Season ends, I finish healthy, 74 games played and had one of my most efficient seasons,” George said. “So now we go into negotiations, now they bring it to three years, $150MM. It sucks that we had to get to this point, that we couldn’t get this figured out a lot sooner. I’m like all right, now we’re in the ballpark. Now we can have a conversation here.”

George said he was willing to accept that offer as long as the Clippers included a no-trade clause to make sure he got to stay in Southern California. When the team refused, he increased his asking price to four years at $212MM.

“If y’all going to trade me, y’all going to trade me,” he said. “But at least now I’m not in a situation where I could have got more had I just gone to free agency than take this deal and y’all can just ship me wherever (you) want. Now I’m on this deal that I didn’t want. They didn’t want to do that.”

George said that’s when he became open to exploring offers from other teams. That led him to schedule free agency meetings with the Sixers and Magic and ultimately accept a four-year max offer from Philadelphia.

“Through negotiations, they weren’t budging, they weren’t going to budge,” George said of Clippers management. “I wasn’t going to budge. I thought I played well enough for them to, you know, be like ‘He’s a part of our future.’ I thought I did that. I thought I earned that. Granted we didn’t win while I was there, but luck has a lot to do with that. We couldn’t remain healthy as a unit. But I thought I did enough to earn that.

“… I love (Clippers owner Steve Ballmer). I love (team president Lawrence Frank), but at that point it didn’t even feel right to come back with that type of energy and be comfortable playing back in L.A.”

Contract Details: George, Martin, Wiseman, Isaac, Hield, More

July 8th, 2024 at 6:49am CST by Luke Adams

Following the end of the July moratorium on Saturday, teams wasted no time in officially finalizing many of the contracts they’d agreed to up until that point.

Now that those contracts have been completed, we have the official details on many of them. Here, via several reporters – including Keith Smith of Spotrac, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, and cap expert Yossi Gozlan – as well as our own sources, are some of those notable details:

Players with trade kickers:

Lakers forward LeBron James (15%), Knicks forward OG Anunoby (15%), Sixers forward Paul George (15%), Sixers forward Caleb Martin (15%), Mavericks sharpshooter Klay Thompson (15%), and Mavericks forward Naji Marshall (5%) received trade kickers on their new free agent deals, while Celtics guard Derrick White (15%) got one on his contract extension.

As an aside, James’ exact starting salary in 2024/25 is $48,728,845, which is $1,258,873 below the maximum he could have earned.

Players who waived their right to veto a trade:

A player who re-signs with his team on a one-year contract (or two-year contract with a second-year option) is typically awarded the right to veto a trade, but has the option to waive that option.

Heat center Thomas Bryant, Rockets guard Aaron Holiday, Raptors wing Garrett Temple, and Magic teammates Gary Harris and Moritz Wagner all surrendered their right to veto a trade in 2024/25 and could be moved freely.

Unlikely incentives:

Nets center Nic Claxton ($97MM base + $3MM incentives), Pacers forward Obi Toppin ($58MM +$2MM), Suns forward Royce O’Neale ($42MM +$2MM), and Sixers forward Martin ($35,040,704 + $5,256,106) are among the players whose contracts include unlikely bonuses that would boost the total guaranteed salary if those incentives are reached.

As cap expert Albert Nahmad observes, the structure of Martin’s contract helped the 76ers maximize their cap room, since his unlikely incentives don’t count toward the cap once he signs.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Martin’s “unlikely” incentives are easier to earn than a typical player’s incentives would be — I don’t expect them to be for making an All-Star team or anything like that. An incentive is considered unlikely for cap purposes if the player wouldn’t have met the criteria the year before. For example, as Nahmad suggests, a bonus related to Martin making 24 or more starts would be considered unlikely because he started 23 games last season. Martin’s bonuses – considered “unlikely” for cap purposes but perhaps “likely” to be earned in reality – could have served as a way to strengthen the Sixers’ offer without sacrificing that extra cap room.

It’s also worth noting that a player’s unlikely incentives can’t exceed 15% of his guaranteed base salary, and Martin’s $5,256,106 in incentives represent exactly 15% of his overall $35,040,704 salary.

Partial or non-guarantees and options:

James Wiseman‘s two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Pacers is guaranteed for $500K in year one, with a team option for 2025/26. That team option would be guaranteed for $569,041 if exercised (ie. the same percentage as his first-year salary).

Luka Garza got a similarly structured two-year, minimum-salary deal with the Timberwolves, except his first year is fully guaranteed prior to his second-year team option. That 2025/26 option would be guaranteed if picked up.

As previously reported, Isaiah Hartenstein‘s three-year, $87MM deal with the Thunder includes a team option for 2026/27. It’s worth $28.5MM, with $58.5MM in guaranteed money across the first two seasons.

Magic teammates Harris ($7.5MM) and Wagner ($11MM) each have second-year team options on their two-year deals.

The Rockets used their full bi-annual exception to give Holiday a two-year deal worth $9,569,400 that includes a second-year team option ($4,901,400).

Neemias Queta‘s three-year, minimum-salary contract with the Celtics is fully guaranteed in year one with a partial guarantee of exactly 50% ($1,174,789 of $2,349,578) in year two, plus a third-year team option for 2026/27. The third-year option ($2,667,944) would be guaranteed for 50% ($1,333,972) if exercised. Since his minimum deal covers more than two years, a team wouldn’t be able to acquire Queta via the minimum salary exception if he’s traded down the road.

Jonathan Isaac‘s new long-term deal with the Magic is partially guaranteed ($8MM of $14MM) in 2026/27, with non-guaranteed salaries of $14.5MM in 2027/28 and $15MM in 2028/29. However, each of those salaries would become fully guaranteed if Isaac plays at least 52 games in the prior season. For instance, if Isaac were to appear in 54 games in 2026/27, his $14.5MM salary for ’27/28 would be fully guaranteed.

Sign-and-trade contracts:

Interestingly, Kyle Anderson‘s and Buddy Hield‘s new contracts with the Warriors have the exact same salaries for the first three seasons: $8,780,488, $9,219,512, and $9,658,536. Anderson’s three-year deal is fully guaranteed for the first two years and non-guaranteed in year three.

As for Hield, his four-year contract is fully guaranteed for the first two years, with a partial guarantee of $3MM for year three. His fourth year is a $10,097,560 player option that would be partially guaranteed for $3,136,364 if exercised.

Klay Thompson’s three-year contract with the Mavericks comes in at exactly $50MM, as reported — it starts at $15,873,016 and features 5% annual raises.

Jonas Valanciunas‘ three-year contract with the Wizards is worth $30,295,000 in total, beginning at $9.9MM (which is the amount of the trade exception generated for the Pelicans). It’s fully guaranteed for the first two seasons and non-guaranteed in year three.

Cody Zeller got a three-year, $11,025,000 deal in the sign-and-trade that sent him from New Orleans to the Hawks. The first year is guaranteed for $3.5MM, with two non-guaranteed seasons after that.

Finally, as part of the Mikal Bridges trade, new Nets guard Shake Milton got a three-year, $9,162,405 contract that has a guaranteed first-year salary of $2,875,000, with two non-guaranteed years after that ($3MM in 2025/26 and $3,287,406 in ’26/27). His teammate Mamadi Diakite, who was also sent to Brooklyn in the trade, had his $2,273,252 salary partially guaranteed for $1,392,150.

Milton’s $2,875,000 salary, Diakite’s $1,392,150 partial guarantee, and Bojan Bogdanovic‘s $19,032,850 salary add up to $23.3MM, which is equivalent to Bridges’ salary — the exact amount of outgoing salary the Knicks needed to send to avoid being hard-capped at the first tax apron.

Sixers Sign Tyrese Maxey To Five-Year Max Contract

July 7th, 2024 at 7:31pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

“Tyrese subscribes to the philosophy that every day is a chance to get one percent better and he’s proven that and then some in his first four seasons in the NBA,” top exec Daryl Morey said. “He comes from an amazing family and is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met. … This extension is a reflection of our belief in Tyrese and I can’t wait to watch his continued evolution as a leader and superstar.”

JULY 1: As expected, the Sixers and restricted free agent guard Tyrese Maxey have reached an agreement in principle on a five-year, maximum-salary contract, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

As our breakdown of the maximum salaries for 2024/25 shows, Maxey’s new deal will start at $35,147,000 (25% of this year’s salary cap) and will be worth a total of $203,852,600. It’ll be fully guaranteed, with no option in year five, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).

Maxey initially became eligible for a rookie scale extension last July, but word broke just over a year ago that the Sixers wouldn’t be pursuing a new deal with the rising star at that time, since they wanted to maximize their cap room for 2024.

By letting Maxey reach free agency instead of extending him early, Philadelphia is carrying a cap hold worth just $13MM for the guard this summer instead of having him on the books for $35MM+, which helped clear the path for the team to land Paul George on a maximum-salary contract.

After Maxey agreed to put off his payday by a year, there was always an expectation that the 76ers would take care of him in restricted free agency, but he made that decision even easier by leveling up as the club’s lead guard in 2024/25 following the early-season trade of James Harden.

Maxey averaged 25.9 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.7 rebounds in 37.5 minutes per game across 70 outings (all starts) this past season, posting a shooting line of .450/.373/.868. The performance earned him the 2024 Most Improved Player award.

The No. 2 free agent on our top-50 list, Maxey is the third player in the 2024 FA class to agree to a maximum-salary contract this summer, joining his new teammate George and Pacers forward Pascal Siakam. Lakers star LeBron James could join that group in the coming days, though the terms of his next deal remain up in the air as L.A. considers its roster options.

If he had made an All-NBA team this season, Maxey would’ve qualified for a contract that started at up to 30% of this year’s cap instead of 25%, increasing his potential earnings to $244.6MM. While he did earn All-NBA votes, the 23-year-old finished a little outside of the top 15, missing out on meeting the Rose Rule criteria.

The 76ers will use up all their cap room before going over the cap to officially re-sign Maxey using his Bird rights.

Sixers Notes: Embiid, George, McCain, Depth

July 7th, 2024 at 8:36am CST by Arthur Hill

A few weeks after working together on ESPN’s coverage of the NBA Finals, Joel Embiid and Paul George are Sixers teammates, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid dropped a not-so-subtle hint during that broadcast, saying that Philadelphia needed to upgrade its roster and glancing at George, who was involved in extension negotiations with the Clippers at the time that ultimately collapsed and resulted in his free agency.

Speaking to reporters Saturday after Team USA’s first practice to prepare for the Summer Olympics, Embiid talked about what a difference it will make to have another All-Star joining him and Tyrese Maxey in Philadelphia.

“My focus is on helping [my teammates] as much as possible,” Embiid said. “Making the game easy for them, so I don’t have to do a lot, like in the past years. It was exciting [getting George]. Obviously, that’s a great job that [the front office] did. But we’ve still got to go on the court and try to win.”

Embiid has been one of the league’s most dominant players over the last two years, winning MVP honors in 2023 and possibly heading for a repeat before being sidelined with a torn meniscus in January. However, he has also frequently broken down in the playoffs and should benefit from not having to carry the team as much during the regular season.

The addition of George, along with Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond, has the Sixers looking like legitimate title contenders, but Embiid cautioned that everything might not click right away.

“Obviously, everybody always has the mindset [of] winning a championship, and that’s the goal,” he said. “But you’ve also got to understand it’s going to take a while for everybody to be on the same page. Hopefully it doesn’t take us a while and we just [have it] from the beginning, but that’s kind of rare.”

There’s more on the Sixers:

First-round pick Jared McCain plans to turn to Maxey as a mentor as he adjusts to the NBA game, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey notes that both players fell out of the lottery even though they were coming off productive seasons at traditional college powers. “Whether it’s the work ethic, how is transition was from college to the NBA, I’m going to try to learn everything I can from (Maxey),” McCain said. “He’s an All-Star now. Everything I can, I’m going to try and figure it out and learn from him.”
While the Sixers have been very active in adding players in free agency, they also lost several veterans and currently only have nine players on standard contracts, including Ricky Council‘s non-guaranteed salary for 2024/25. David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer takes a look at how the team might fill out the rest of its roster.
In case you missed it, the Sixers have officially signed former Heat wing Caleb Martin to a four-year contract. They also waived big man Paul Reed, who was on a non-guaranteed deal, to create cap room for Martin’s addition.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Paul George Signs Four-Year Max Contract With Sixers

July 6th, 2024 at 10:52pm CST by Tristan Tucker

JULY 6: The Sixers have made it official with George, announcing in a press release that he has officially signed with the franchise.

“We are thrilled to welcome Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers. Paul is an elite wing on both ends of the floor who fits perfectly with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey,” president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement. “His dedication, hard work, and impressive career to date have him well on his way to the Hall of Fame. We are excited about the impact he will have as we strive to bring another championship to Philadelphia.”

JULY 1: The Sixers are signing star free agent forward Paul George to a four-year, maximum-salary contract worth nearly $212MM, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The fourth year of the deal will be a player option.

George will return to the Eastern Conference for the first time since being traded from the Pacers to the Thunder in 2017, joining a Sixers team led by former MVP Joel Embiid and reigning Most Improved Player Tyrese Maxey.

According to Wojnarowski, George and his agent, Aaron Mintz of CAA met with a contingent of Sixers officials – including team owner Josh Harris, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, executive VP of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie (a former Pacers executive and a friend of George), and GM Elton Brand, along with franchise legend Julius Erving – and committed to Philadelphia.

The Sixers, Clippers, and Magic entered Sunday expected to be in the running for George, but all the momentum seemed to be in Philadelphia’s favor, with the Clippers formally bowing out of the running and Orlando committing a significant chunk of its cap room to another player (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope).

The Clippers released a statement earlier Sunday announcing the Los Angeles native would be departing his hometown team to sign with another club, explaining that the two sides were “far apart” in negotiations and citing the challenges of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The Clippers originally acquired George in the summer of 2019 in a trade that sent out Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and several first-round picks and swaps to the Thunder. The Clippers brought in George and Kawhi Leonard, who was fresh off winning a title with the Raptors.

George earned three All-Star nods in his five seasons with the Clippers, averaging 23.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per contest across 263 games with the franchise. While the Clippers never wound up winning a title with George on the team, he did help lead the franchise to its first-ever Western Conference Finals appearance in 2020/21.

The Clippers signed Leonard to a three-year, $152MM contract extension during the season, but they couldn’t agree to a deal with George as the season wound to a close. As explained earlier Sunday, the Clippers are being cautious about handing out contracts longer than three years given the restrictions the second apron imposes.

Since the Clippers didn’t feel comfortable giving George more money or years than they gave Leonard, the star forward declined his open to reach the open market. Now, he’s going to be a Sixer, and the Clippers will continue turn to other targets in free agency. They’ve already reached contract agreements with Derrick Jones Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. in addition to striking a deal to bring back James Harden.

George holds career averages of 20.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 867 career NBA games. At 34 years old, George is cashing in one last huge multiyear payday, teaming up with Embiid and Maxey in the hopes of raising the Sixers’ standing within the Eastern Conference hierarchy.

Besides agreeing to terms with George, Philadelphia has also reached deals with Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre, and Eric Gordon during the early part of free agency.

As our breakdown of maximum salaries for 2024/25 shows, George will earn $49,205,800 in the first year of his max deal, with 5% annual raises after that, for a total of $211,584,940 across the next four years. It’s a massive investment in a player who has an injury history (he appeared in more than 56 games in a regular season just once in his time in L.A.) and who will turn 38 before the contract expires.

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