The Philadelphia 76ers are giving Joel Embiid some big money.
The Sixers are locking Embiid up on a five-year, $148 million rookie max contract extension, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported.
Embiid’s current rookie deal paid him $6.1 million for this season, and the Sixers could have offered him a qualifying offer for $8 million next season. However, Philly wants to lock him up long term and is showing a lot of confidence in him in doing so.
Embiid was the No. 3 pick in 2014 and missed his first two seasons due to foot surgeries. He finally made his NBA debut last season but played in just 31 games due to a knee injury. The team is taking it slowly with him in his recovery entering this season.
There is no doubt about Embiid’s talent. When he was on the floor, Philly was a legitimate playoff contender. The 7-footer averaged 20 points and 7.8 rebounds despite being limited to just 25.4 minutes per game. Still, given his injury history and chronic foot problems, the long-term commitment is questionable.
Both Woj and The Vertical’s Shams Charania say the Sixers due have some protection. Charania says about 50 percent of the max salary is guaranteed.
Sources: Joel Embiid's 5-year extension with 76ers contains guarantee of approximately 50 percent of max $148M salary, w/ super max trigger.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 9, 2017
Woj says the Sixers will have some salary cap protection if Embiid misses significant playing time due to injury.
News of the extension should not come as a surprise given reports last month suggested it could be coming.
