The Philadelphia 76ers are matching the Utah Jazz’s 3-year, $23 million offer sheet and re-signing backup big man Paul Reed. The news was first broken by a tweet from the team’s president of basketball operations Daryl Morey:
— Daryl MorΞy ?? (@dmorey) July 10, 2023
Reed, whose catchphrase is “Out The Mud,” established himself in the latter months of last season as the team’s primary backup center. Over the final 22 games of the regular season, Reed averaged 6.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 1 block per game. He then cemented himself further with a pair of strong performances in two games Joel Embiid missed last postseason.
The Sixers now have four centers on the roster, including Mo Bamba and Montrezl Harrell in addition to Embiid and Reed. One way for the Sixers to potentially mix things up with Reed is to experiment with playing him some at power forward. The 24-year old has the defensive versatility to succeed at that position, but his offense is a question mark. In order for the experiment to work, he will presumably have to show some ability to space the floor. He shot 44.1% from beyond the arc on 3.9 attempts per game between two years down at the G League. However, he has rarely taken any sort of jumpers at the NBA level.
While there are some options to experiment, rostering four centers is a curious decision. Reed should receive the majority of the backup center minutes. Bamba, who the team signed to a minimum contract, has some potential between his size (7-feet with a 7-foot-10 wingspan) and floor-spacing ability. Bringing back Harrell still makes little sense as on paper there is no role for him in the rotation.
The Sixers dragged things out almost until the 11:59 p.m. ET deadline for them to match Utah’s offer sheet. This could have been some payback to Utah for adding some quirky stipulations to their offer sheet to Reed. Those stipulations included the final two years becoming guaranteed if Reed’s team makes it to the second round of the playoffs in the 2023-24 season.
The decision to match the offer sheet and retain Reed does come with some small financial complications. The Sixers will now be operating as a team over the luxury tax. However, they were going to cross that threshold anyway due to having to fill out the rest of the roster. The organization has also been prioritizing financial flexibility for next offseason. With the Sixers likely to make it to the second round of the postseason, Reed’s contract will become fully guaranteed and his roughly $8 million salary will be added onto the books next offseason.
Despite any financial impacts, bringing Reed back was a no-brainer decision. He has made improvements in each of his three years with the Sixers. At just 24 years old, there is a good chance he continues to develop. The Sixers have been through their fair share of experiences dealing with poor backup center play. Now that they have Reed locked up, those memories should be relegated to things of the past. Sixers fans everywhere can relax now that the team is bringing back Reed, a fan favorite.
