Freakishly talented but infrequently healthy Philadelphia 76ers centre Joel Embiid has long stated he ‘trusts the process’, and the Sixers have today shown they trust him too.
The 76ers have signed Embiid to a five-year, $148 million maximum contract extension, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Philadelphia center Joel Embiid has agreed to a five-year, $148 million designated rookie scale max extension, league sources told ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 9, 2017
The whopping contract also stipulates that Embiid could push that figure out to $178 million if he earns an All-NBA first, second or third team selection this season.
This is a bold statement from the Sixers.
On one hand, they have a guy with all the potential in the world, who loves the city, and trusts the process.
The flip side is that he has played 31 games since being drafted in 2014 and no one can be sure that his body will ever be able to handle the rigours of an 82-game season.
But Philly threw away one of many seasons specifically in order to get this guy and they clearly weren’t prepared to let all it all be for nothing.
Embiid has long been a player with one of the highest ceilings and lowest floors – the floor being Greg Oden and the ceiling being Hakeem Olajuwon – and Philly just doubled down and went all in.
From here, only time will tell.