After a promising rookie season with in Philadelphia, the 76ers rewarded forward Justin Edwards with a three-year, $7 million contract with a club option in the third year.
A value play for the organization, the contract pays Edwards a little over $2 million a year, roughly in line with the league minimum at the moment. In 26 minutes per game last season, he averaged 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting 36.3 percent from deep.
Edwards went undrafted out of Kentucky, where he averaged just 8.8 points per game. There wasn’t much to be impressed about with his collegiate tape, but coming out of high school, he was a top-ranked player in the 2023 class, ahead of players like 2024 first round pick Matas Buzelis, last year’s Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, and even the 76ers’ own Jared McCain.
Justin Edwards has been an enigma for the 76ers so far this season
It’s early in the season with just three games ticked off of Philadelphia’s schedule, but Edwards sits at second-to-last in minutes per game at 10.7. His minutes have increased with each game, from six seconds of play in the season opener, to almost 20 minutes in a win over the Orlando Magic, but that increase also coincides with an injury to Dominick Barlow, who started the first two games at forward with Kelly Oubre Jr.
Even after Barlow’s injury, Jabari Walker filled his spot in the starting lineup, with Edwards picking up his minutes off the bench. As Paul George is still recovering from knee surgery, there’s a surplus of minutes available on the wing, but it took an injury to Barlow for the sophomore forward to see an increase in his time on the court.
It has always been about potential with Justin Edwards. When he landed at Kentucky, his status as a recruit coming out of high school came with hopes of being a high lottery pick in the NBA draft. Bleacher Report even projected him to be drafted in the top 10 before his one and only year in college even began.
His play at Kentucky was not the thing that landed him on an NBA roster. If a three-star recruit performed how he did in college, their NBA dreams would be just that — dreams.
Those labels carry weight in the basketball world, where there is nothing more enticing than potential. Yes, Edwards played his role well in his rookie year, but make no mistake; the new contract he received wasn’t so he could average 10 minutes a game off the bench. It’s a gamble for something greater, a belief in the promise of what Edwards could be.
Is that more valuable than the veteran wing that would be taking his place, a player where you know exactly what you’re getting and nothing more? For a 76ers team with such a wide range of outcomes possible in its future, it’s hard to tell. Will they regret not filling that position with a sure thing as they try to contend for a championship or will that gamble on potential pay off? Only time knows the answer.