Waiting it out wasn’t easy, but Maxey knows he made Sixers’ big summer possible

Waiting it out wasn’t easy, but Maxey knows he made Sixers’ big summer possible originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CAMDEN, N.J. — Basketball doesn’t often look like a grind for Tyrese Maxey.

He whizzes past defenders, swishes 28-foot jumpers and rarely looks uncomfortable.

Last summer wasn’t so easy for the the Sixers’ star guard. Instead of signing Maxey to a contract extension, the Sixers decided to hold off in the name of salary-cap flexibility. Maxey played the 2023-24 season — a year in which he became an All-Star, won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, and scored 46 incredible points in a season-saving playoff performance — under his $4.3 million fourth-year option.

Maxey sat between Sixers managing partner Josh Harris and president of basketball operations Daryl Morey at the Sixers training complex Tuesday after signing a five-year, approximately $204 million new deal.

“I want to really thank Tyrese for his patience,” Morey said. “This offseason wouldn’t have been possible without him. He was very clearly on his way to being what he has become — an All-Star, a great future star in this league.

“And by being patient, he allowed us to put this offseason together and really put us in this position to be one of the very few legitimate contenders in the league this year. So I want to make sure we thank Tyrese for that.”

Morey’s offseason pickups have included Paul George, Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson.

“I think it worked out well, honestly,” Maxey said. “When I heard about it last summer, it’s hard. It’s a very hard thing to do, especially when you work extremely hard and tirelessly … to try to get the second contract. … You’ve got to be professional. You’ve got to understand what’s going on. You don’t have many opportunities as a franchise to do something like that, so I understood.

“I had a lot of conversations with Joel (Embiid) about it last year. I appreciate him for that too, because he was big in helping me with that. It was great. It was more calming the people down in front of me … (family). That was the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/waiting-wasnt-easy-maxey-knows-204901099.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-07-23 20:49:01

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