The Philadelphia 76ers made the biggest splash of the summer so far when they traded Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks to the Boston Celtics for Jaylen Brown. However, their roster is going to get very expensive, very quickly. And VJ Edgecombe’s inevitable rookie-scale extension could force the Sixers to make a tough decision regarding Brown and Joel Embiid.
Edgecombe is one of the best young players in the NBA today. He’s an impressive scorer, a talented defender, and he looks primed to turn into one of Philadelphia’s future stars (if he isn’t that already). However, his eventual rookie-scale extension is going to kick in starting in the 2029-30 season. That’s also when Tyrese Maxey, Embiid, and Brown’s new extensions would kick in.
If Philly wants to keep all of them on board, they’re probably going to have to keep four max contracts on the roster. That’s not a very feasible reality with the new CBA in mind.
76ers cap situation will be bad when VJ Edgecombe makes max money
A lot could change in the three seasons from now until the 2029-30 campaign. By that point in time, the Sixers could have already gotten rid of one part of their new-look Big Four.
They just traded for Brown, and they gave up two future firsts and two future seconds for him, so it’s relatively clear they view him as part of their future. They want him to help bring a championship to Philly in the Maxey era.
With that logic in mind, it feels obvious that the Sixers would want to keep all of their core pieces on board moving forward. And that would mean signing Edgecombe, Maxey, Brown, and Embiid to new extensions.
The biggest question is, what will those extensions look like by the time 2029-30 comes around? Because Edgecombe is probably going to want pretty close to a max contract if things go well.
At that point, Edgecombe would be on a max contract. And it seems almost certain that Maxey will also be on a max at that point, because he’s the clear face of the franchise in Philly.
Brown is in the prime of his career. He’s almost definitely going to want another max contract, and he may want to sign it in the next few years. Embiid’s contract is a bit more questionable, but he’ll still want a payday.
And even if Embiid doesn’t sign a max deal, having three max contracts is a near impossibility in today’s NBA, or else the Sixers could pay some serious taxes and deal with significant penalties.
By the time Edgecombe’s rookie-scale extension comes into effect, the Sixers may have to get rid of Brown or Embiid.
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