The Philadelphia 76ers like the idea of a core built around Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner and Andrew Bynum.
Now comes the time the have to start to pay to keep that core together.
It starts with Holiday, who at the last minute before the Wednesday night deadline reached terms for then signed a four-year, $41 million extension that includes $5 million in incentives, reports CSNPhilly.com’s John Finger.
To give some perspective, that is less of an extension than Ty Lawson got ($48 million) but more than Taj Gibson ($38 million) or DeMar DeRozan (a head-scratching $40 million).
Holiday gave the Sixers 13.5 points and 4.5 assists per game last season and looked even better in helping lead Philly to a 84-75 win over Denver Wednesday when he had 14 points and 11 assists. They need a steady outside presence to go with Bynum and Thaddeus Young down low, and now they have Holiday.
This summer they will have to pay up to keep Bynum, who becomes a free agent (but is likely to stay in Philly unless this season goes very wrong) and they will be able to offer an extension to Evan Turner this summer and next fall as well. Both of those will not come cheaply either.