The Philadelphia 76ers are expected to agree to a five-year, $170 million max extension with point guard Ben Simmons, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The organization offered Simmons a massive contract after he finished his third contractual season with the team after sitting out his rookie year in 2016-17 with a foot injury.
Only two years ago, Simmons’ teammate Joel Embiid agreed to a similar pact, though making only $148 million over five years.
The expanding salary cap has aided Simmons in securing an extra $22 million under the same rookie-scale construct, along with the stronger value of being a No. 1 overall pick back in 2016.
Simmons won the Rookie of the Year award in 2018 after his season debut in the NBA, posting of 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists as a first-year player. He followed that with a stark 16.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists in his second season, showing consistency in his triple-double-like line.
The Sixers have remained committed to remain as one of the powerhouses of the Eastern Conference, now having secured Embiid, Simmons, free agent Tobias Harris (five year, $180 million), Al Horford (four years, $109 million) and Josh Richardson through a sign-and-trade four-team deal.
General manager Elton Brand is not pulling any punches since being named as the successor to Bryan Colangelo, who was ousted from the organization after a social media burner account scandal that likely ended his career as an executive.
Since, the Sixers have traded their former No. 1 selection Markelle Fultz and rebuilt with guts and stones, hoping the young core of Simmons and Embiid can bolster this team to greater ambitions.
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