Rich Paul declares VJ Egecombe’s money safe despite 76ers’ LeBron James, Jaylen Brown additions

The Philadelphia 76ers’ VJ Edgecombe finished third in the ROTY rankings last season after averaging 16 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, proving himself as a ‘can do it all’ star. The third overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft now finds himself as potentially the fifth option on a team that boasts of Joel Embiid, LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown.

However, Rich Paul still believes that both Maxey and Edgecombe in particular will benefit the most out of James and Brown’s arrival, per a post on X by NBA Courtside. Paul claimed in the Game Over episode that Edgecombe may end up averaging fewer points next season, but that simply will not have an impact on his growth as a player, and the kind of money he may command.

Rich Paul believes Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe will benefit the most with LeBron on the Sixers

Rich also doesn’t believe that VJ’s future money is affected by the additions of LeBron and Jaylen Brown

(Via Game Over) pic.twitter.com/DR8ES4Rh8w

— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) July 31, 2026

“I think Tyrese will benefit the most, in all ways because he is not the youngest, but, he is a perennial All-Star now and its his team. The second most benefactor is VJ Edgecombe and the reason why I say this is because, if he embraces it the right way and don’t listen to anybody or social media,” Paul explained.

James’ agent then cited the example of OG Anunoby, who earned a 5-year, $212.5 million deal despite never averaging 20 points per game in any of his last three seasons.

“Points don’t necessarily equate to a deal all the time. There is a lot to unpack. My thing with VJ is…yes VJ is ultra talented, can do it all, but sometimes, being able to do it all leads to you know, maybe it’s a bad shot attempt, maybe it’s not understanding the game. The reason why I say he will benefit is because now, he is gonna be able to become such an efficient player,” Paul claimed.

He then took the example of Tristan Thompson, who signed a five-year, $82 million contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers back in October 2016, two years after LeBron arrived for his second stint in 2014. Like Anunoby, Thompson was also not a high-scoring player, but his interior presence and defensive contributions were rewarded with a big-money contract.

Paul claimed that Edgecombe simply needs to ignore the noise on social media and embrace the GOAT’s presence on his team. There is no doubt that LeBron can be a major positive influence for a young star of Edgecombe’s caliber, and even if he ends up averaging fewer points and assists, he can still continue his development and eventually earn the kind of contract that his talents deserve.

Further, the presence of Brown and LeBron may also help him land his first championship, which is surely another huge advantage.

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