Joel Embiid signed a max contract extension with the 76ers in 2017 that wasn’t fully guaranteed for some injuries.
But Embiid could make the deal fully guaranteed by playing at least 1,650 minutes in three of four seasons beginning with 2017-18. Embiid’s playing time by season:
- 2017-18: 1,912 minutes
- 2018-19: 2,154 minutes
- 2019-20: 1,329 minutes
Based on a normal 82-game schedule, 1,650 minutes is 20.1 minutes per team games. Embiid played 20.4 minutes per team game this season before coronavirus forced the regular season to be shortened.
Did Embiid come close enough given the circumstances?
The NBA decided yes.
Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
This agreement will affect numerous players throughout the league. Embiid just had the highest-stakes inflection point – locking in $94,738,170 over the next three seasons (minus adjustments with league-wide revenue way down).
Of course, it was always highly unlikely the 76ers would waive Embiid, anyway. They couldn’t merely reduce is salary if he got hurt. To save money, they would’ve had to cut him.
Even with lingering health concerns, Embiid has proven to be way too good for that.