Sixers rumors: Tyrese Maxey to get player option? PG latest & new draft intel

The 2024 NBA Draft is set for this coming Wednesday. We can guess that Daryl Morey, Elton Brand and the rest of the Philadelphia 76ers front office are busy investigating pretty much every option under the sun.

We’re also less than a week away from what could become a Philly-legacy-shaping free agency period for the Joel Embiid era. No biggie. Let’s jump right in.

All-Star and Most Improved Player Tyrese Maxey’s big option

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According to Hoops Hype’s Michael Scotto, Tyrese Maxey, expected to sign a five-year max deal at some point in time this summer, could receive a player option for the final year of his pending deal.

Per Scotto:

“The most certain thing for Philadelphia is Tyrese Maxey re-signing on a max extension, league sources said. However, after having to wait a year and being patient with Philadelphia’s front office as it prioritized max cap space, keep an eye on Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul wanting a player option on the final year of Maxey’s new contract and the full 15 percent trade kicker he’s eligible for in negotiations, HoopsHype has learned.”

Maxey could have inked himself a max extension one year ago. The constantly evolving combo guard deferred for 12 months in a win-win player-team maneuver. Maxey rolled the dice to bet on himself both to grant the team more cap-flex this summer as well as Maxeymize his own potential earnings.

After falling short of the votes the Garland, Texas native needed to make an All-NBA team, his max earnings will come in around $205M on a five-year deal (it would have been a substantially higher figure if he made any of the three All-NBA teams).

But as a your welcome for deferring, it sounds like Maxey’s Klutch Sports agent, Rich Paul, is gunning to negotiate Maxey an option for the 2028 summer. In a perfect outcome for Morey, one can guess the Team President would have preferred to lock up the first-time All-Star, still just 23-years old, for as long as humanly possible. But he probably won’t quibble much here.

Whatever you want, Tyrese. We love you, we value you dearly, you’re essentially untouchable, and we want you to retire with No. 0 hanging in our future new arena’s rafters one day next to Joel’s No. 21 and a new championship banner or five.

Draft intel

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According to ESPN’s resident NBA draft guru, Jonathon Givony, the Sixers are still widely expected to shop their upcoming pick at No. 16. But there are a couple of names to keep an eye on if they opt to retain their selection.

Per Givony:

“The Sixers are known to have conducted only a handful of workouts, possibly the fewest of any team drafting in the first round. That info has caused some speculation that this pick could be on the move, depending on which player falls to No. 16.

Regardless of who is picking, [Jared] McCain has an easy niche he can fill in the NBA with his scoring versatility, basketball instincts, competitiveness and smarts, making him an attractive option for teams drafting in this range.”

Givony also noted that one of the few players the team hosted was Pacome Dadiet, a soon-to-be 19-year-old out of France.

The Sixers have also worked out USC’s Isaiah Collier.

Scotto also threw Ja’Kobe Walter, a shooter from Baylor’s name out there, in the event the 76ers cannot re-sign free-agent-to-be, sniper Buddy Hield:

“Lastly, with sharpshooter Buddy Hield entering unrestricted free agency, Ja’Kobe Walter offers a cheaper 3-and-D replacement and a much better perimeter defender with a 6-foot-10 wingspan in the draft.”

Paul George

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Of course, no rumor roundup is complete without some of the latest on Los Angeles Clippers’ star Paul George. Is he the Sixers “Plan A?” Has their interest “significantly waned?” Liberty Ballers analyzed that in-depth, processing loads of intel over the weekend.

But Monday offered us even more slop to feast on.

Per Brian Windhorst on ESPN’s “Get Up:”

Per Windy:

“Well, let’s remember that Paul George has three options. One is to re-sign with the Clippers. Two is to enter free agency and go somewhere else like Philly or Orlando. Three, he can opt into his contract and get traded by this weekend. That is something that is gonna come to a head in the next day or two if he wants to go with that option. ’Cause obviously you’d have to negotiate a trade and then the team wouldn’t necessarily need salary cap space. So the Paul George sweepstakes is gonna come to a head, at least that aspect of it, faster than those other players who are gonna be free agents like Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan. So Paul George has a different menu of options and we’re gonna see some action in that probably coming up very quickly after the draft.”

When Windhorst says that the sweepstakes is going to come to a head faster than players who are more definitively set to hit free agency on July 1, it’s my belief that he expects that to happen — even if he is not certain.

I’m also basing this opinion off what he said a few days ago on a similarly themed ESPN appearance:

“If Paul George changes teams, it’s very likely going to be a situation where he opts into his contract and requests a trade. The Clippers have an offer on the table that is believed to be similar to what they gave Kawhi Leonard, which is a 3-year deal at just below the max.”

Windhorst has bandied the idea that PG could land up with the New York Knicks. And Marc Stein, via Substack newsletter, over the weekend mentioned that possibility as well:

Per Stein:

“Another trusted source has advised me to keep the Knicks on the list as a potential trade suitor for George if the All-NBA swingman indeed opts into the final season of his current contract at 48.8M. That would position George to push for a trade to another team.”

And Scotto on this one too:

“As Marc Stein reported, the Knicks have interest in Paul George, who can opt into his $48.8 million player option to facilitate a trade.

New York’s interest dates back to last year at the NBA Draft when the Knicks discussed a package featuring Obi Toppin, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, and three first-round picks in exchange for George, as previously reported by HoopsHype.

The George interest surfaced at a curious time, after the Knicks low-balled forward OG Anunoby during early free agent discussions on a potential new deal, as Brian Windhorst first reported, and league sources confirmed to HoopsHype.

When the Knicks first acquired Anunoby, the belief was that he’d land a deal in the $30-35 million a year range annually, league sources told HoopsHype. Now, however, that value has gone up, starting at $35 million annually to his maximum starting salary for next season, sources said.”

Boiling this down, if the Clippers are not willing to offer George more than a three-year $150Mish extension (as has been reported from numerous sources now), then he could earn substantially more by changing teams.

He can opt out and net up to $212M from both Philly and Orlando.

If he opts in and is traded, any acquiring team then possessing his Bird Rights, can offer him 8 percent raises (as opposed to 5%) on a four-year total deal, approaching near $221M.

So if Windy thinks PG opting in and being traded is the most likely scenario, and the Knicks have been most commonly mentioned as the team to watch in that hypothetical, then perhaps Knicks’ President Leon Rose is looking for yet another CAA All-Star client for his already well-rounded team.

But of course, the Knicks must also handle their OG Anunoby situation noted above. It feels like a game of chicken between George, the Clips, Sixers, Knicks, Magic, and perhaps even the Golden State Warriors— as has been speculated too.

How long until we hear that the Heat and Lakers are sniffing around too?

It’s been rumored that the Knicks are hoping to come in with a $35M annual deal for the former Raptors wing, Anunoby. And that the Sixers still have interest there.

Scotto continues:

“Despite a recent report that Philadelphia’s interest in Paul George has cooled amid uncertainty about whether he’d go across the country and sign with Philadelphia in free agency, there remains significant interest from the 76ers in signing him as a free agent, league sources told HoopsHype.

Should the Sixers whiff on George, trying to trade for Jimmy Butler or sign OG Anunoby to a short-term, higher market average annual salary free agent deal are also options.”

When Scotto mentions that last scenario, we’ve already learned names like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Klay Thompson may remain fall back free agent options for Morey and co.

Scotto echoes the sentiment once more: “Another backup contingency free agency plan is the possibility of giving Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a similar two-year deal to Bruce Brown with a higher first-year salary and team option in the second year, league sources told HoopsHype.”

Oh, and for whatever it’s worth, Udonis Haslem, former Heat lifer and current Miami Vice President of Basketball Development, thinks PG would fit best in Philly.

Per the UD the OG of Heat Culture OG’s:

“I would go to Philly if I’m Paul George....so he can definitely help that team, if he wants to win, ’cause I know he said ‘I ain’t ring chasing,’ that’s a damn lie. Everybody wants to win. Everybody ring chasing nowadays....you want a ring and you ain’t got one... you’re gonna have to go to the East, you ain’t gonna get one out West.”

Haslem was also asked on the “First Take” guest spot if he thinks there are questions around the league about the risk of joining forces with Embiid, given his health history. Haslem said there have been questions there but a player like PG should show up and have an authentic conversation about Joel’s “habits,” and the idea of forming a Big Three with Embiid and Tyrese Maxey that can defeat the Boston Celtics would appeal if he were in PG’s shoes.

Udonis “light years” Haslem. I guess this could even mean the Miami Heat are not a team to watch then for a Paul George trade.

An Alex Caruso ‘what if?’

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Finally, Scotto leaves us with one last what-if regarding Alex Caruso, recently traded by the Chicago Bulls to the Oklahoma City Thunder for guard Josh Giddey:

“While Philadelphia was also linked to a potential trade for Bulls guard Zach LaVine, the 76ers have less interest in taking on the remaining $138 million on his contract with Alex Caruso no longer able to be attached in trade talks, league sources told HoopsHype.”

So I guess Philly would have considered adding LaVine more seriously if it also included the stud defensive guard, now with the Thunder.