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Sixers pick up options for T.J. McConnell, Richaun Holmes

Both players will become unrestricted free agents after next season if the Sixers don't extend their contracts.

Brett Brown turned to TJ McConnell to solve the Sixers' lack of players who can shoot and guard point guards, but McConnell is still not the perfect off-guard next to Ben Simmons.
Brett Brown turned to TJ McConnell to solve the Sixers' lack of players who can shoot and guard point guards, but McConnell is still not the perfect off-guard next to Ben Simmons. Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer
    by Keith Pompey | Columnist
    Published 

The 76ers have exercised the team options on the contracts for backup point guard T.J. McConnell and reserve center Richaun Holmes for the 2018-19 season, the team announced Wednesday.

The players will each earn a $1.6 million non-guaranteed salary next season. They will become unrestricted free agents after next season if the Sixers don't extend their contracts.

"Like I said, I want to be here," McConnell said last month when the team announced it would pick up his deal. "So I'm excited they picked it up. But that's not going to change how I approach every day.

"I'm going to have that same chip on my shoulder that I always had, and I have to continue to do that."

His averages of 5.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists are misleading. He was the major reason the Sixers won Game 4 of their series with Boston, starting the game alongside Simmons and responding with a career-high 19 points in a 103-92 victory. McConnell, who started Game 5, too, also had the best plus/minus of any player in that series at plus-41, slightly ahead of Boston's Al Horford (plus-40). In addition, McConnell, 26, had the highest offensive efficiency rating of any NBA player in the first two rounds of the playoffs.  He scored 1.31 points per possession.

Holmes averaged 6.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 48 appearances, including two starts, this season. He is a fan favorite because of his array of dunks and shot-blocking ability. Holmes saw limited action in three of the Sixers' 10 playoff games.