Sources: 76ers not planning to extend Tyrese Maxey this summer to preserve flexibility

The Philadelphia 76ers are not planning to extend Tyrese Maxey this summer, sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne on Friday.

He is still seen as a big part of their future, but the team wants to delay an extension for him to preserve flexibility, sources said.

Maxey, 22, is heading into the final year of his rookie deal and will hit restricted free agency in the summer of 2024. The only guaranteed contracts the Sixers have on their books for the 2024-25 season are forJoel Embiid and P.J. Tucker, meaning the team could have two max contract slots next summer, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.

Maxey has steadily improved over each of his three seasons in Philadelphia after the 76ers selected him with the 21st pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

After playing 15 minutes per game off the bench as a rookie, Maxey was thrust squarely into the spotlight in his second NBA season as a protracted holdout by Ben Simmons led to Maxey taking over as the team's starting point guard.

He responded by taking a significant jump in just about every statistical category and then fit in seamlessly as a secondary creator and perimeter scorer after James Harden arrived in Philadelphia in a deadline blockbuster for Simmons last season.

Most impressively, Maxey -- one of the fastest players in the NBA -- has also become a terrific shooter, hitting over 43% of his triples last season on more than six attempts per game. Overall, he averaged 20.3 points and 3.5 assists in just his third season in the league -- numbers he maintained in the postseason.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.