CAMDEN, N.J. — Tyrese Maxey is heading into the final season of his rookie contract. Unlike the other high-level players in his draft class, the rising star guard did not agree to a contract extension with the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason.

News broke on media day that Devin Vassell had agreed to a five-year extension with the San Antonio Spurs. That deal brought the tally of 2020 draftees to land contract extensions to six with three weeks left until the deadline. Maxey knows he isn’t getting his bag by then — and he's doing the Sixers a gigantic solid by being content with that.

Because Philly owns his bird rights, they can go over the cap to sign him when his contract expires next offseason. Since he will also be a restricted free agent, the team can match any contract he signs elsewhere. Daryl Morey and the Sixers front office are keeping cap space open for next season and Maxey is the key to it all. Having his big payday delayed seems to have no impact on Maxey, who prides himself on being a team player. He was his usual, jovial self throughout media day and everyone in the franchise continues to sing his praises.

Morey called Maxey one of the NBA's premier up-and-comers. Joel Embiid said that Maxey is “ready to take another step.” Danny Green said that he believes Maxey has an All-Star level within reach. The Sixers are banking heavily on Maxey playing a massive role in keeping their status as title hopefuls afloat — but still have to wait until next offseason to pay him to keep their ultra-flexibility plan intact.

In the final question of his time at the podium, when asked why he trusts the organization in such a huge way that is rarely seen by budding stars, Tyrese Maxey explained what the Sixers mean to him and stated that at this point, his focus is now on the season ahead.

“Yeah, I mean I'm grateful for them taking the chance at me, drafting me at 21 [overall],” Maxey said. “I feel like I've tried to give them my all in this organization. I work hard every single day and I’m just gonna go ahead and focus on the season right now, focusing on how we can get better, how I can be better, how at the end of the day, like I said, it's a competition and we have one goal in mind. And I love Philly. I know this is a business, I know it's how it goes and I'm a happy person.”

Maxey and his representation are rolling the dice by going along with the Sixers' plans. Philly values him immensely and wants to keep him around for the long run but playing without the security of a contract is risky. Any injury or performance below what the Sixers expect could come back to bite him.

However, Maxey also has the chance to earn himself a bigger contract than he would have otherwise gotten. With James Harden seemingly out of the picture as he tries to pout his way into a trade, Maxey is going to get the ball more by necessity. He might prefer having Harden with the team and ready to win but now is the chance to grow as a legitimate star.

“I think the first thing is Tyrese gets the ball in his hands a lot more,” Nurse said when asked what Harden's absence means for the young guard. “So, that just automatically is going to give him opportunities for pace. It's going to give him opportunities for offensive creation, both for himself and for his teammates. It's gonna give him just experience reading defenses, he'll have to go through a learning curve with that because he'll see different schemes, different defenses, different matchups, all those things that'll look different to him than they did a year ago.”

Nurse has talked constantly about his desire to turn Maxey into a generator of offense this season. He's already a weapon off the ball with his quick first step and feathery jumper. The Sixers need him to do more of the grunt work for everyone else. Knowing the pressure coming his way, Maxey said that he “prepared in a different way” this offseason.

Many players would buckle under the weight of what the 22-year-old Tyrese Maxey has in store for the 2023-24 season. The Sixers are extremely fortunate that Maxey's receptors for gloominess are permanently shut off. His devotion to the team deserves to be rewarded handsomely.

And on the off chance that his loyalty isn’t reciprocated, he at least has a side gig lined up. In true podcast host fashion, Maxey couldn’t conclude his final response of media day without plugging his show, “Maxey on the Mic.” He started his appearance by getting Joel Embiid to praise it and then ended it by doing so himself.

“This is my life, I'm happy with it,” Tyrese Maxey said before leaving the podium. “And you can hear more about all these wonderful stories that we’re gonna have on my podcast. There we go!”