To keep Paul Reed as backup center behind Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers had to match the offer presented by the Utah Jazz. This is how it works when a player is a “restricted free agent”, i.e. free to receive any offer which however – when it is tied by the team he belongs to – favors the latter, which does not lose its own player. And Paul Reed, player of the Sixers, from Utah has received the offer of a three-year contract worth 23 million dollars, formulated however in a rather interesting way. In fact, of the three-year contract, only the first (at 7.3 million) was guaranteed, while the last two became guaranteed only upon reaching the second round of the playoffs (or conference semifinals). Why this formula? Simply said: Utah missed the playoffs last season and is to be considered in a rebuilding phase; Philadelphia, on the other hand, despite never reaching the conference final, has played in the semifinals in 5 of the last 6 seasons, thus passing the first round.
Basically: if the 76ers hadn’t matched the offer, there’s a good chance that Reed’s contract would have cost the Jazz (in guaranteed money) only 7.3 million while in all likelihood holding back the long in Philly it will end up costing three times as much, given the team’s ambitions with the reigning NBA MVP on the roster. The Sixers, however, spared no expense, and even wanted to match the offer for Reed add Mo Bamba (outgoing from the Lakers) to the big department behind Embiid.