Philadelphia 76ers restricted free agent big man Paul Reed has signed a $23 million offer sheet with the Utah Jazz, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Sixers can choose to match the offer in order to keep Reed in Philly, and they have until midnight on Sunday, July 9 to do so.
The offer sheet that Reed signed with Utah is pretty unique, and it includes an interesting feature: The first season of the deal is fully guaranteed, while the next two seasons also become fully guaranteed if Reed's team makes it to the conference semifinals during the 2023-24 NBA season. This feature is the result of some crafty deal-making on Utah's part, and it was clearly included to try to deter the Sixers from matching the offer, as they're much more likely to make it to the second round next season than the Jazz are. So for Philadelphia, there's a very good chance that the deal would become a fully guaranteed three-year deal, while the likelihood of that happening in Utah is much lower.
Additionally, if the Sixers match the offer sheet, they'll exceed the league's luxury tax threshold and be forced to pay $14 million in tax penalties. Also, Reed would have veto power on a trade for the first year of the contract if he stays with the Sixers. All of that is not to say that the Sixers won't match, as the team was very happy with Reed's development last season, but doing so won't be cheap. For an organization aiming to maintain future financial flexibility, what to do with Reed could prove to be a difficult decision.
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The Sixers already seem to have hedged against the potential loss of Reed by bringing back Montrezl Harrell and signing Mo Bamba to back up reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid. Reed has played the vast majority of his career at the center spot, and bringing him back would mean that the Sixers would have three roster spots dedicated to backup centers, which seems slightly excessive.
The Sixers selected Reed late in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft. He has spent the past three seasons with the team and has quickly turned into a fan favorite in Philadelphia. With a major decision regarding his future now looming, we'll see how much the organization truly values what he brings to the table.