76ers PG Tyrese Maxey reveals true feelings on long wait for Philly contract extension

When the Philadelphia 76ers announced Paul George as the newest member of their roster in a special press conference in Camden, New Jersey, the nine-time All-Star actually batted second in the proverbial order, with Tyrese Maxey coming up two hours earlier to discuss his big contract extension with the red, white, and blue.

Now to some, this may have felt natural, as Maxey effectively served as the opening act for PG-13, but as Daryl Morey and company pointed out multiple times during the first media session, there would be no George signing without the first-time All-Star waiting to sign his max extention until all of Philly's available cap space was eaten up.

Discussing the decision to wait out his extension, “Trust the Process,” and ultimately lay the roadwork on which the former Clipper walked into Philadelphia, George celebrated Maxey's commitment in a shared appearance on his Podcast P Presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment, as he set the 76ers up for their future success.

“I want to congratulate you on a new deal. Obviously that's major life-changing money right there coming out of your rookie deal to then sign that you waited a year before signing, which is another level of maturity right there,” Paul George explained. “Talk to us a little bit about that process and them coming to you like this is the future of what the team could look like, but we need you to hold out if you can to sign the following year.”

Maxey responded, letting George know that we was happy to trust the franchise, especially since it got him such a fantastic teammate to play with into the future.

“This is going to be my first time really being able to talk about it. So for me, it was hard, you know what I'm saying? Way hard. I put in a lot of work, then when the work shows, and the results come, and you perform at the highest level as far as just stepping into different roles and doing whatever they ask you to do… do all those different things, and you want to reap the benefits of course,” Tyrese Maxey noted. “So it's like when it came to me, when the opportunity presented itself, it's hard. You see your peers get paid, you see your peers reap the benefits that they deserve, and you just feel like you failed yourself because all the work that you put in. But I understood, where they were coming from, and I think it worked out. It worked out in the long run. I feel like not just for myself but for the team as well. Now I think I'm sitting here with one of my teammates because of it.”

If Maxey and his management really pushed for an extension last summer, the 76ers would probably still be a pretty good team in 2024, as they would have targeted different kinds of players in the trade market last spring instead of one-year rentals and would have still used the tools at their disposal to add talent this summer. Still, because of Maxey's willingness to play ball, the Sixers were one of the rare contenders to enter the offseason with cap space and left the summer with plenty of quality players to add to their rotation, including George, who will certainly earn plenty of new followers for his podcast in South Philly this fall.

Daryl Morey credits Tyrese Maxey for the Philadelphia 76ers' offseason

Discussing Maxey's decision to play a full season sans much certainty for the 76ers last offseason, Morey pubically showered his young guard with praise, as if it wasn't for his trust in the organization, George would probably still be a member of the Clippers.

“This offseason wouldn’t have been possible without him,” Morey told reporters via Sixerswire. “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 wanna make sure we thank Tyrese for that.”

Originally drafted at pick 21 in the 2021-22 NBA Draft, Maxey was never supposed to be more than a sparkplug sixth man coming off the bench. And yet, despite Ben Simmons quitting on the team and Doc Rivers using him inconsistently during his run with James Harden, Maxey worked himself into an All-Star and is now the proud owner of a max contract. If any player deserves the success that has come to them, it has to be the pride of Garland, Texas.