What does Joel Embiid's extension mean for him and the Philadelphia 76ers?
The Sixers announced Tuesday morning that Embiid had signed a multiyear extension. Per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, it's a four-year supermax deal for Embiid worth a projected $196 million. (The exact amount will be determined by the salary cap in 2023-24, when the extension begins.)
Embiid's extension is the most important business in what's been a quiet summer so far for Philadelphia. However, that could change if the 76ers trade their other All-Star, Ben Simmons. With Embiid signed up long-term, where does Philly stand? Let's take a look.
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Embiid locks in the supermax
Because Embiid has two years remaining on the rookie extension he signed with the Sixers in 2017, when he'd played just 31 total NBA games over his first three seasons thanks to injuries, this extension was limited to four years rather than the five possible had Embiid waited to extend his contract next summer or re-signed with Philadelphia as a free agent.
Given his health history, Embiid surely saw little upside to waiting.
Eligibility for the designated veteran extension -- better known as the supermax -- is determined by earning qualifying awards (including making an All-NBA team, as Embiid did) in either two of the previous three seasons or the most recent season. So Embiid qualified now, but he would have needed to make All-NBA again (or win Defensive Player of the Year or MVP without making those teams) in 2021-22 to be eligible next summer because he was left off the All-NBA teams in 2019-20.
Understandably, that seemed like too much of a risk for Embiid, who has played just 51 games each of the past two seasons (out of a possible 73 and 72, respectively) because of rest and injury. That didn't prevent him from being an easy All-NBA pick last season, when Embiid finished second in MVP voting but was forced to the All-NBA second team because winner Nikola Jokic is also a center. Still, back-to-back injury-plagued seasons could have prevented Embiid from being eligible for the higher starting salary either of the next two years.
The 76ers are certainly taking on some risk of their own with the possibility that Embiid's health worsens in his 30s. He'll be 29 when this contract begins and turn 33 by its conclusion. When on the court, however, Embiid has shown as much ability to affect a game as any other player in the NBA. And even at less than 100%, Embiid wasn't the reason Philadelphia crashed out of the playoffs in the second round as the top seed in the East.
The Sixers are tinkering at best -- for now
Embiid's extension is far and away the biggest contract Philadelphia has handed out so far this summer. Thus far, the 76ers' front office, led by president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and GM Elton Brand, has sought to retain the core of last season's Eastern Conference No. 1 seed while working around the edges of the bench.
Philadelphia re-signed its only starter hitting free agency, wing Danny Green, to a team-friendly deal that pays him $10 million this season and is non-guaranteed for an identical $10 million in 2022-23. The Sixers also brought back reserve guard Furkan Korkmaz on a three-year, $15 million deal.
As far as outside free agents, Philadelphia's biggest contract was giving reserve forward Georges Niang $7.8 million over two years to add a spacing option at power forward. The 76ers also signed All-Star center Andre Drummond to a one-year deal at the veterans minimum to back up Embiid. Those two additions, plus first-round pick Jaden Springer, give Philly 13 players under guaranteed contract with two more partial guarantees for G League MVP Paul Reed and veteran Anthony Tolliver.
To some extent, the 76ers' spending was limited by their position in the luxury tax. Assuming they keep Reed and their 13 players under contract, they would begin the season about $4 million over the tax line. I'd still argue the bigger factor is the deal the Sixers haven't yet made.
A Simmons trade possibility still looms large
No matter what Philly did in free agency, its biggest possible move this offseason would be a trade involving Simmons, who was a nonfactor in crunch time during the 76ers' seven-game loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the East semifinals.
Based on reports suggesting exorbitant asking prices for a Simmons trade, it's unclear just how serious Philadelphia is about dealing him this offseason. But that position might soften as training camp draws closer and the potential challenges of going into the 2021-22 season with Simmons on the roster become clearer.
Back in June, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Morey and Brand had met with Simmons' agent (Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul) at the NBA draft combine to discuss the possibility of a trade. Although Wojnarowski indicated no trade request was made, it's certainly possible that Simmons would like a fresh start without the kind of media scrutiny that's inevitable in Philly.
Managing the decision of when to trade Simmons to maximize his value -- and whether to trade him at all -- will be far and away the most important task the Sixers face this offseason. It will go a long way toward determining whether they can continue to put a championship-caliber supporting cast alongside Embiid over the life of his new supermax extension.
Whatever happens with Simmons, Embiid's extension means Philadelphia now knows at least one of the team's top picks from the "Process" era will be sticking around for years to come.