Sixers make rookie signings official

The Philadelphia 76ers have officially signed all three rookies from their 2020 NBA Draft selections.

From a Sixers’ press release:

PHILADELPHIA – DEC. 3, 2020 – Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed Tyrese Maxey (No. 21 overall) and Isaiah Joe (No. 49 overall) to standard NBA contracts and Paul Reed (No. 58 overall) to a two-way contract. Maxey, Joe and Reed were selected by Philadelphia in the 2020 NBA Draft. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Maxey, a Texas native, played one collegiate season at Kentucky, appearing in 31 games (28 starts) and tallying 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in a team-high 34.5 minutes per contest. Following his freshman season, Maxey was named to the 2019-20 All-SEC Second Team as well as the SEC All-Freshman Team. The former McDonald’s All-American notched a team-best 19.0 points per game in contests against top-25 opponents last season. Internationally, Maxey helped the United States earn a gold medal with the U-18 U.S. National Team in the 2018 U-18 FIBA Americas.

Joe spent two collegiate seasons at Arkansas, in his home state, where he saw action in 60 games (59 starts), notching 15.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 33.1 minutes per contest. Last season, Joe led the SEC with 3.6 threes per game, finishing with the fourth-highest average in the nation. Joe set an SEC freshman record with 113 three-pointers in his first season at Arkansas and was selected to the 2018-19 SEC All-Freshman Team.

Reed, originally from Florida, played his college ball at DePaul, appearing in 93 games (58 starts) over three seasons, posting 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per contest. As a junior, Reed averaged a double-double with 15.1 points and 10.7 rebounds, as he was named to the All-Big East Second Team. Reed, who improved his scoring and rebounding averages over each of his three seasons with the Blue Demons, tallied 142 career blocked shots as a collegian, third in DePaul school history.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted to have a maximum of two players under two-way contracts in addition to the players under standard NBA contracts. A two-way player for the 76ers will provide services to the team’s G League affiliate – the Delaware Blue Coats – but may not be active for more than 50 NBA games.

Maxey will wear No. 0, Joe will wear No. 7 and Reed will sport No. 44 for the 76ers.

Some things to note:

• Tyrese Maxey and Isaiah Joe have signed standard NBA contracts. Paul Reed has signed a two-way deal, meaning he can bounce between the Sixers and their G-League affiliate, Delaware Blue Coats. Reed cannot play more than 50 NBA games on his two-way deal.
• Maxey will wear no. 0. I haven’t purchased a Sixers jersey in a long time and I was toying with the idea of a Maxey shirt jersey. Unfortunately, I will not wear a no. 0, so I’ll have to pass. I swear it’s part of what made Josh Richardson’s stint in Philly so aesthetically unappealing. Other Sixers to have rocked the goose egg include: Justin Patton, Jeremy Pargo, Jerryd Bayless, Brandon Davies, and Isaiah Canaan. Wearing no. 0 should not even be legal in sports.
• Joe will wear no. 7. Others to have worn no. 7 in recent history include Liberty Ballers All-Star and All-Time NBA name-haver Haywood Highsmith, Andre Miller, Tony Kukoc, and Ersan Ilyasova (who also wore no. 23).
• Reed will wear no. 44, which suits him perfectly — don’t ask me why, it just does. He joins the likes of Derrick Coleman.