Tyrese Maxey

Sixers Notes: Martin, Star Trio, Arena

October 20th, 2024 at 3:09pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

One of the most underrated Sixers free agent additions of the summer was versatile three-and-D combo forward Caleb Martin. The veteran wing may not be a marquee name like nine-time All-Star Paul George, but he’s eager to prove his mettle as a multifaceted role player, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Pompey notes that Martin could prove to be a crucial “glue guy” for the club as it seeks its first title in 42 seasons. Martin expressed enthusiasm about taking on a complementary role.

“That’s how you fit in,” Martin said. “That’s how you complete the pieces of the puzzle. If everybody’s got the same agenda, averaging 20 points, playing the most minutes, getting up the most shots, that’s not how you complete a team.”

Although he’s just 6’5″, the 29-year-old is projected to serve as Philadelphia’s starting power forward, as he did during much of his tenure with the Heat. Martin was a key member of Miami’s charmed 2023 playoff run, which saw the club reach the NBA Finals.

During his final season in Miami in 2023/24, Martin averaged a career-best 10.0 points per game on .431/.349/.778 shooting splits, along with 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contest. He inked a four-year, $35MM deal with the Sixers this summer.

There’s more out of Philadelphia:

Health will be paramount for the Sixers’ new “Big Three” of All-NBA center Joel Embiid, George, and All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey, Pompey writes in another Inquirer story. Maxey exited Friday’s preseason finale against the Magic after bruising his right thumb, but that was viewed as a precautionary decision. George is dealing with a hyperextended knee and is questionable to play in the team’s regular season opener Wednesday. Embiid hasn’t scrimmaged with the team or played a single game during the preseason as the 2023 MVP looks to manage his health with an eye towards playoff glory. Pompey notes that Philadelphia plans to exercise caution with the 34-year-old George in addition to Embiid.
Critics of the Sixers’ impending new arena in downtown Philadelphia have asked who will truly benefit from the building’s construction, according to Jeff Gammage, Sean Collins Walsh, and Anna Orsol of The Philadelphia Inquirer. While $50MM from team ownership has been allocated for the community, those critics question just how that money will be doled out. “We still have negotiations to do, and working with the development team and administration to make sure those changes that we believe are necessary will be put into either the legislation or the [agreement for the new arena,” city councilman Mark Squilla said.
In case you missed it, Philadelphia waived four players ahead of the start of the regular season.

Sixers Notes: Reserves, Embiid, George, Drummond, Maxey

October 14th, 2024 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

With the Sixers resting several veterans Saturday on the second night of a back-to-back set, the team’s youngsters and reserves were on the wrong end of a 50-point shellacking at the hands of the defending champion Celtics. As Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, many of the players who logged big minutes on Saturday are unlikely to play major roles during the season, but they’ll likely be needed at times, so the lopsided loss to Boston was an important learning experience.

“Teaching them how hard they have to play is something you have to do,” head coach Nick Nurse said after the game. “They’re young, and we’ve got to show them what it’s like. But it gives them some good experience out there against some really good players.”

There were some positives to take away from the blowout, including 20 points from rookie Jared McCain, another solid outing from big man Guerschon Yabusele, and promising on-ball defense from two-way player Justin Edwards, Mizell notes. But Nurse acknowledged that his team frequently got caught ball-watching and didn’t match the Celtics’ speed or intensity.

“It (stinks), obviously, (that) I’m on the opposing side of it,” McCain said of the 50-point loss. “But it’s great for me to learn from.”

Here’s more on the 76ers:

How should Sixers fans react to the news that Joel Embiid‘s preseason is over? Tony Jones of The Athletic explores that topic, suggesting that it looks like a case of the team just being cautious, but could lead to some additional growing pains for the new-look roster early in the regular season due to minimal preseason reps with the superstar center on the floor. It’s also likely a preview of the careful way in which the 76ers will handle Embiid’s playing time during the regular season, Jones adds.
Both Embiid and newcomer Paul George are unlikely to play both ends of “many back-to-backs, if any” this season, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
The Sixers had tried multiple times to reacquire Andre Drummond after having to give him up in the James Harden trade with Brooklyn in 2022, Bontemps reports within the same ESPN story. Embiid, aware that he’d need a high-quality backup center in order for Philadelphia to properly manage his minutes, was part of the recruiting effort when Drummond reached free agency over the summer. “Getting a phone call from the best center in the NBA saying, ‘I need you here’ … it’s hard to tell him no,” Drummond told Bontemps. “I spoke to a lot of teams this summer, and he was probably the third or fourth person to call me. I wasn’t even expecting to hear from him. … He just gave me an idea of what he was looking for and he needed me to come back to really help him out to win something bigger than him.”
While he may not have been thrilled on draft night in 2020 to fall to 21st overall, Tyrese Maxey realizes in retrospect that it was the best thing that could have happened to him, based on the situation he ended up in and how his career has progressed since then, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “As a young kid, 19 years old, you are looking at the draft. You are like, ‘Man, I want to go as high as I possibly can,'” Maxey said. “But then when you fall to a contending team and you are able to be on a team and soak up all the knowledge that they give you, man, you are blessed.”

Sixers Notes: Embiid, Maxey, McCain, Yabusele

October 3rd, 2024 at 5:13pm CST by Tristan Tucker

By all measures, Joel Embiid‘s NBA career has been a resounding success. Having burst onto the scene in 2016 after missing his first two seasons with injury, Embiid has won an MVP award, received seven All-Star nods, has an Olympic gold medal and, as Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated writes, has locked in over $500MM in total (past and future) career earnings.

However, Embiid has never made it past the second round of the playoffs during his tenure with the Sixers. From 2017-23, Embiid’s teams went to the second round in six of seven seasons, but didn’t appear in the Eastern Finals. Teams like the 2019 Sixers gave it their all but lost to the eventual NBA champions. In other years, like in 2021 against the Hawks, the Sixers probably should’ve advanced on paper.

Regardless of the fact that teams like the reigning champion Celtics or the new-look Knicks stand in their way, Embiid is more than ready to add a championship to his resume, Mannix writes. At nearly 31 years old, he’s feeling the urgency to win now. After several injuries that have impacted him in the playoffs, the star center is prepared to do whatever it takes to get to the playoffs in a healthy and dominant state.

“Basically every single year of my career, I’ve been hurting in the playoffs,” Embiid said, after explaining that back-to-backs would be phased out for him this season. “So I think that’s the goal. And it is all about doing whatever it takes to get there.”

While the Sixers made plenty of strong moves this offseason, including adding Paul George and Caleb Martin, they all understand their postseason ceiling hinges on the availability of Embiid, who is now in his 30s. While the championship window may be limited overall, Embiid is excited by the success he enjoyed this summer with the Olympic team, per Mannix, and he’s hoping to keep that momentum going this season.

We have more from the Sixers:

On the subject of staying healthy, Embiid knows the medical staff will tell him to ease off more than he would like this season, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps writes. He understands that’s what he will need to do if he wants to make the postseason and stay there. “They know that if they have to punch me, slap me, take my stuff away from me [to] not to get on that court, they’re going to have to do it,” Embiid said. “I might get mad, I might curse people out, but I think it’s a relationship. We’ve been working together for years now. Now I look at the big picture, and I’ve always listened to them, but now it’s even more of the time where I should listen and see what they have to say.” According to Embiid, he has already lost 25-30 pounds before the season and is aiming to lose more in accordance with his conditioning.
Tyrese Maxey has consistently improved over the course of his four NBA seasons, but he’s now added muscle and is sounding different thus far in training camp, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Maxey is assuming the role of a veteran leader during training camp, which has included closely mentoring 2024 draftees Jared McCain and Adem Bona. All three went out together for dinner, Pompey adds. “I lead by example now,” Maxey said. “I get up early and work out early in the morning before practice. And I like to win. I want to win. I know how things work around here. I’m just trying to be what’s demanded and make us be more dominant.“
The Sixers used the 16th overall pick in the 2024 draft on McCain, a sweet-shooting guard prospect out of Duke. While he’s only 20 years old, the rookie is already impressing teammates in training camp. According to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link), Embiid called McCain the team’s best player in camp so far, making a point to highlight his competitiveness and shooting. McCain averaged 14.3 points per game and shot 41.4% from three in his first and only college season. He’ll compete for minutes with veterans Kyle Lowry and Reggie Jackson.
Former first round pick Guerschon Yabusele turned heads during the 2024 Olympics due to his play for France. Although he hasn’t played in the NBA since 2019, the Sixers are counting on the 6’8″ forward to make an impact as a high-energy reserve who can make hustle plays and hit the occasional deep shot. “Yabusele was a great pickup just from when you are looking at the whole roster all summer long,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “You are kind of thinking, ‘Where is a need there?’ And I think there was probably a need at the four spot, and that’s what he is.” According to Pompey in a separate story, Nurse said Yabusele will get a shot at regular rotation minutes.

Atlantic Notes: Morris, Knicks, Embiid, George, Nets

October 1st, 2024 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward Marcus Morris has decided not to rejoin the Knicks on a new training camp deal after being waived by New York over the weekend, tweets James L. Edwards of The Athletic. Ian Begley of SNY.tv confirms (via Twitter) that Morris has declined an offer to return to the Knicks.

Morris’ release appeared to be a logistical move that would allow the Knicks to open up the roster spots needed to complete the sign-and-trades involved in their Karl-Anthony Towns trade with Minnesota. There would be nothing stopping the veteran forward from re-signing with New York once that deal is official.

However, as Edwards explains, the financial restrictions created by the Towns trade will make Morris less likely to make the Knicks’ regular season roster, so he’s looking to join a new team before the NBA’s season begins three weeks from Tuesday.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

The Knicks made a series of splashy, ill-fated roster moves earlier in the 21st century, but the trade for Towns is something different, according to Howard Beck of The Ringer, who makes the case for why this big swing actually makes sense for the organization.
Having expressed on Monday that his number one goal this season is to make sure he’s healthy for the playoffs, Sixers center Joel Embiid told reporters that the quality and depth of the team’s roster should take some pressure off him during the regular season, as Aaron Carter of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays. “In the past, I felt like I had to (take over),” Embiid said. “This year, I don’t think I’m going to have to do it, unless I have to do it. So I really have a lot of confidence in these guys to figure it out and for me to just use myself as a decoy to allow (them) to be themselves and be good at what they do best.”
Discussing his fit in Philadelphia, new Sixers wing Paul George said this will be the first time that he’s played alongside “an elite point guard and elite big man all at once,” per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Like Embiid, George is bullish on the idea that the Sixers’ stars and quality role players can all make life easier for one another. “Having the floor spaced around (Tyrese Maxey) and myself, being able to play off a big man and play in transition with Tyrese, I think all three of us can flow and make the game easy for all of us,” George said. “I love sharing the ball and I love being aggressive to score. So I kind of think all three of us look at the game the same way.”
The Nets are using an unflattering over/under line from oddsmakers (19.5 wins) as motivation as they prepare for the 2024/25 season, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “I find it disrespectful. Just because we’ve got a lot of guys that people don’t know doesn’t mean we’re going to win just 19 games,” center Day’Ron Sharpe said on Monday. “You can’t be one foot out and one foot in. I’m trying to win as many games as possible and a lot of people are going to doubt us and we’re gonna show them.”

Sixers Notes: George, Maxey, Embiid, McCain

July 23rd, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters at his introductory press conference on Tuesday, new Sixers forward Paul George expressed gratitude to the Clippers for the “amazing” time he spent with his hometown team and said he had “no ill will” toward the franchise over how his five-year run ended, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. George believes “everything just aligned perfectly” for him to make the move to Philadelphia this summer.

“Where they’re at and where they’re trying to go and where I’m trying to get to, as well. I think we got a real legitimate shot,” George said of the Sixers’ ability to contend in the East. “I’ve always been a fan of Tyrese (Maxey) and Joel (Embiid) from afar, and Joel has secretly been one of my closest All-Star Game friends. And so, it kind of felt inevitable that at some point we would link up and be teammates. So, I’m all-in. My family’s here all-in, and I’m excited, and looking forward to this next opportunity.”

Acknowledging that injuries to himself and his teammates were a factor in the Clippers ultimately not making the sort of deep playoff runs they’d hoped for, George expressed optimism that sharing the workload with Maxey and Embiid in Philadelphia will help all three stars stay healthier.

“I think just taking the pressure off Joel,” George said. “I think I can kind of help him get through a season healthy. And again, it’s just not putting so much pressure on him. Regardless of how good you feel, I think pressure causes a lot of injuries as well, and you think you have to get overplayed, you have to touch every possession, that kind of just wears you down, especially for how physical he is. So that’s the key. Everybody do their part, make sure we’re working on our bodies, and that we don’t just put that pressure on one individual to go out and win games for us.”

Here’s more out of Philadelphia:

The Sixers also held a press conference on Tuesday in honor of Maxey’s new five-year, maximum-salary deal. The guard could have pushed to receive that contract a year ago but was willing to wait until this summer to allow Philadelphia to maximize its cap room, earning praise from president of basketball operations Daryl Morey for his patience. “This offseason wouldn’t be possible without him,” Morey said, per Jeff Neiburg of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He was very clearly on his way to being what he has become, an All-Star, one of the great future stars of this league, and by being patient he allowed us to put this offseason together, to really put us in this position to be one of the very few legitimate contenders in the league this year.”
Speaking to David Marchese of The New York Times on an episode of The Interview podcast, Embiid suggested he believes he could be in the conversation for the NBA’s greatest player of all time if not for the injuries that have cost him so many games over the years. “I think I’m that talented. Obviously you need to win championships, and to win championships you need other guys,” Embiid said. “… If you think about it, the thing that stopped me all these years is just freak injuries. Every single playoffs, regular season, people falling on my knee or breaking my face — twice. It’s always freak injuries at the wrong time.”
It was a tough Summer League experience for first-round pick Jared McCain in both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, as he made just 28.6% of his shots from the field in his eight games for the Sixers, including 25.5% of his three-point tries. As Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays, McCain is determined to view the summer as a learning experience and not to let his July struggles shake his confidence. “One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Whatever you’re going through, you are growing through,'” McCain said. “So whatever I’m doing in life, it’s always a learning lesson from it.”

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.

Eastern Notes: LaVine, Maxey, Vezenkov, Knicks, Prince

July 4th, 2024 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Bulls continue to explore the trade market for a possible Zach LaVine deal, agent Rich Paul wants it known that his client is handling the situation professionally and isn’t agitating for a move or taking issue with the team’s actions, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.

“I want to make this clean and clear: This whole idea that Zach has been anything but professional in this situation is false,” Paul told Johnson over the phone. “This guy has played hurt. He has represented the franchise with class. A lot has taken place during his time with the Bulls and he’s taken the high road every time. Does every player get frustrated at times? Yes. But Zach has been the ultimate professional and deserves better. The Bulls have business to do. And we’re letting them handle their business.”

LaVine’s trade value is at an all-time low, primarily due to his contract — the three years and $138MM left on his deal look especially onerous in the NBA’s tax apron era. He’s also coming off foot surgery that ended his season in January, but Johnson reports that LaVine is healthy and going through his typical offseason routine after having beaten the estimated recovery timeline of four-to-six months following his procedure.

The Bulls have presented “upwards of 15” LaVine trade proposals to various teams this offseason, according to Johnson, who hears that the Kings and Golden State have shown the most interest in the two-time All-Star. However, the Warriors‘ imminent additions of De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, and Kyle Anderson probably signal that they’re going in a different direction, Johnson acknowledges.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Speaking to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey said management is “doing a good job so far” in free agency adding players who will help the team win, adding that he was happy his willingness to wait a year for his own long-term contract helped Philadelphia open up enough cap room to land Paul George. “When we talked about it last year, it’s a trust thing,” Maxey said. “I trusted (the front office), and I feel like it worked out for us so far. It’s a cool deal. I wasn’t too worried about it.”
Rumors about a possible return to Europe continue to swirl around Sasha Vezenkov. According to Michalis Stefanou of Eurohoops, Vezenkov and his former EuroLeague team Olympiacos have agreed in principle on a lucrative long-term deal, but the 28-year-old forward remains under contract with the Raptors (with a $6.66MM cap hit in 2024/25), so his return to Greece would likely be contingent on negotiating a buyout with Toronto. Recent reporting indicated the Raptors expect Vezenkov to be with them in camp in the fall.
Ever since they agreed to an early version of the Mikal Bridges trade last week, the Knicks sought to expand it, making it clear to the Nets that they’d eventually circle back with more details, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. Now that New York has amended the Bridges deal to ensure its hard cap is at the second apron instead of the first apron, Katz explores what’s next for the team, suggesting that re-signing Precious Achiuwa and adding another player using the taxpayer mid-level exception should be doable, assuming Achiuwa’s price is modest enough.
Following up on news that the Bucks have agreed to sign Taurean Prince, Eric Nehm of The Athletic considers what the veteran forward will bring to Milwaukee, opining that Prince looks like a good fit for the roster and should see regular minutes next season.

Option/QO Notes: Green, Watanabe, Bertans, Barlow, Kings, More

June 30th, 2024 at 6:50am CST by Luke Adams

Saturday represented the deadline for teams and players to exercise 2024/25 contract options and for teams to issue qualifying offers to players eligible for free agency. While there was a flurry of news about those options and QO decisions yesterday, a few players still slipped through the cracks.

We’ll start with Rockets forward Jeff Green. Reporting last week indicated that Houston planned to exercise his $8MM team option for 2024/25 and the team did just that, per RealGM’s transaction log. Green’s salary technically remains non-guaranteed until July 11 even now that his option has been picked up, but the expectation is that he’ll be retained — his expiring deal could be a useful salary-matching piece in a trade, and he also played rotation minutes for Houston last season, averaging 16.8 MPG in 78 appearances.

While there was no official confirmation on Saturday (as far as we could tell), Grizzlies forward Yuta Watanabe had long been expected to decline his $2.65MM player option for the 2024/25 season, since he’s on track to return to his home country of Japan and play for the Chiba Jets. There’s no indication that those plans have changed or that he picked up his option, so we’re assuming it was declined and that he’ll be off the board for NBA teams this offseason.

Finally, Davis Bertans‘ option with the Hornets was technically an early termination option rather than a player option, meaning that instead of needing to actively exercise it if he wanted to opt in, he needed to do nothing to opt in. He did just that, and will remain under contract with Charlotte for the time being, rather than becoming a free agent. However, his $16MM option salary is only partially guaranteed for $5.25MM, so he’s not assured of having the rest of that salary guaranteed, especially if the Hornets are looking to maximize their cap flexibility this offseason.

Here are a few more updates left over from a busy Saturday:

Dominick Barlow, a 21-year-old forward who has spent the past two seasons with the Spurs, didn’t receive a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). San Antonio isn’t necessarily planning to part ways with Barlow, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News, who tweets that the Spurs still have interest in discussing a new deal. However, he’ll have interest from other teams as well, says Wojnarowski.
The Kings didn’t tender qualifying offers to their three players eligible for restricted free agency (Kessler Edwards, Jordan Ford, or Jalen Slawson), confirms Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 Sacramento (Twitter link). All three players will be unrestricted free agents.
According to RealGM, players who did receive qualifying offers that weren’t previously reported (that we saw) include no-brainers like Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey and Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley, as well as Mavericks two-way player Brandon Williams.
We’ve previously published trackers for this year’s team option decisions and player option decisions, which are now fully up to date. We’ll be posting a full qualifying offer recap later this morning.

Sixers Rumors: George, Butler, Anunoby, KCP, LaVine, Maxey

June 24th, 2024 at 11:18am CST by Arthur Hill

A report last week suggested the Sixers‘ interest in acquiring Clippers star Paul George has “waned,” but sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that Philadelphia still has “significant interest” in signing George if he opts for free agency.

George, the number one name on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents, has until Saturday to decide whether to exercise his $48.8MM option for next season. If George is unable to reach an extension agreement with L.A. by then, he can either decline the option and test free agency or opt in and demand a trade.

George has long been considered an offseason priority for Philadelphia, which has the ability to create more than $60MM in cap room. The Magic are among the teams that are also expected to pursue George if he reaches the open market.

Sources inform Scotto that a trade for Heat forward Jimmy Butler remains a viable option for the Sixers if they can’t acquire George. Butler spent most of the 2018/19 season in Philadelphia before being traded to Miami and has maintained a strong relationship with Joel Embiid.

Another option, according to Scotto, could be a “short-term, higher market average annual salary” deal with Knicks free agent forward OG Anunoby. Scotto also hears the Sixers may also offer Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a two-year contract similar to what Bruce Brown got last year, with a large salary for next season and a team option for 2025/26.

There’s more on the Sixers, all courtesy of Scotto:

Sources tell Scotto that Philadelphia has less interest in trading for Bulls guard Zach LaVine now that Alex Caruso can no longer be part of the deal. Caruso was shipped to Oklahoma City on Friday in a trade for Josh Giddey. The Sixers are reluctant to take on the three years and $138MM left on LaVine’s contract without other assets attached.
Tyrese Maxey is considered virtually certain to sign a max extension this summer, but Klutch CEO Rich Paul may want something in return for waiting a year while the team worked to maximize its cap space, Scotto adds. He suggests Paul might ask for a player option on the final year of Maxey’s next contract, along with a 15% trade kicker.
With Buddy Hield possibly departing in free agency, Scotto sees Baylor guard Ja’Kobe Walter as a potential replacement in the draft. He notes that Walter has a 6’10” wingspan and is considered a much better perimeter defender than Hield.

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