The Philadelphia 76ers took their first step in keeping Ben Simmons in the City of Brotherly Love for the foreseeable future.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday that the Sixers have offered the All-Star point guard a five-year, $168 million max contract.
He added that Simmons and his agent, Rich Paul, are “expected to work through the details toward an eventual agreement.”
Simmons continued his progression in his second year in the NBA, garnering his first All-Star nod as one of the more enigmatic point guards in the game.
While he averaged 16.9 points and 7.7 assists per game last season, questions about his jump shot remain a concern. It had many speculating if the 76ers were going to offer a max deal this offseason. Simmons has one year left on his deal before becoming a restricted free agent.
SIXERS MADE OFFER TO BUTLER
It seems as though the 76ers made a play for Jimmy Butler after all.
A source informed NBC Sports’ Tom Harberstroh that the Sixers offered a five-year, $190 million max contract in an attempt to secure Butler in Philadelphia for the long haul.
It contradicts the report put forth by Wojnarowski and the Athletic’s Shams Charania — two fo the NBA’s biggest insiders — who noted that the team was not interested in offering a max deal.
With Butler unwilling to want to stay with the Sixers, the organization opted to pull off a sign-and-trade, sending him to the Miami Heat for Josh Richardson.
Richardson provides a younger, more promising shooting guard to replace JJ Redick, who opted to sign with the New Orleans Pelicans.
At 25 years old, Richardson is coming off a career year in which he averaged 16.6 points and 4.1 assists per game.
The returning Tobias Harris will take Butler’s spot at the 3 while the newly-acquired Al Horford will take over at the 4 in front of Joel Embiid.
