The Philadelphia 76ers had an important decision to make regarding Paul Reed. The restricted free agent center was offered a 3-year, $23 million contract by the Utah Jazz. Since Reed is an RFA, the Sixers had the option of matching the offer given by the Jazz. Now, they've officially decided to match the Utah offer, effectively keeping the backup big man around, per Adrian Wojnarowski.

“The 76ers are matching Paul Reed’s three-year, $23M offer sheet with the Jazz, sources tell ESPN. Per sheet’s terms, Sixers must guarantee last two years of Reed’s deal if they win the opening round of playoffs this season.”

The second sentence is interesting to point out. That first-round win clause is actually a clause that the Jazz put in their offer sheet for Reed. Since the big man is an RFA, the Sixers had to match the contract offer to keep him… including all of the clauses. This is a big win for Reed, who effectively gets a chance to get guaranteed money from his team if they get out of the first round.

The Sixers had plenty of contingency plans if they let Reed walk. They signed ex-Lakers big Mo Bamba and retained Montrezl Harrell's services. However, Reed was always in their future plans, and for good reason. The big man is the quintessential backup big: he's able to soak valuable minutes while Embiid rests while providing quality defense and rebounding.

Now, Reed returns to Sixers squad that still has plenty of questions to answer in the offseason. James Harden's trade request still looms over everyone's heads. There's also the matter of a potential trade for Damian Lillard. For now, though, they at least keep their best backup center around for the next few years.