Sixers Notes: Jrue Holiday gets contract extension

Right before he took the court against Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson, I chatted up Jrue Holiday in front of his locker about the approaching deadline for him to get an extension done with the Sixers.

Holiday told me that Sixers had come back with an offer that he and his agent, Tony Dutt, felt comfortable signing – after the game.

"Uh, yeah they came back with something," Holiday said. "I think Ty and Steph' (Stephen Curry in Golden State) getting their deals done kind of helped me out and I feel they want to get my deal done too. My agent is doing a good job of keeping me informed because I've got some other things to focus on."

Holiday didn't want to tell me what the numbers were on his deal prior to the deal – I guessed four years at $11 million per and he looked at me sort of cockeyed - but a little after midnight they had an agreement: four years for $41 million.

The new deal prevents Holiday, who with 14 points and 11 assists in the Sixers' 84-75 win over Denver matched his double-double output for all of last season, from hitting the market as a free agent.

As the members of his 2009 draft class got their deals done this past week, Holiday, recently named team captain, grew more optimistic that the Sixers would prevent him from hitting the market as restricted free agent this summer.

First Lawson signed for four years and $48 million. Then Curry signed on the dotted line for four years and $44 million. And shortly the game between the Sixers and the Nuggets got his deal done with Toronto for four years and $38 million.

Always a pleasure to talk to, Holiday will have a whole lot to smile when he addresses the media later today following practice.

Front-office search. The Sixers are getting close to hiring a director of analytics, according to the team's managing owner, Joshua Harris.

"We are in final negotiations with a candidate," Harris said. "We think we are going to get something done there in the next month."

Harris became convinced that that adding an "analytical mind" to the Sixers' personnel department was a good idea about midway through last season, his first as the team's managing owner. There was some thought that the Sixers would pursue a person with this type of background for the general manager's position. However, Harris opted to go with Tony DiLeo, a player personnel evaluator with a long history with the Sixers.

"You have to understand that we have many tools in our toolbox," Harris said. "We want to give our front office every opportunity to be as competitive as possible and to use everything at their disposal to make this organization one of the finest, and analytics is a part of that. I look at it as a tool in our tool box that needs to be sharpened."

Harris did not name the candidate, who was chosen after several interviews.

Before the start of the game, the Sixers honored former players Moses Malone, the center on the 1983 championship team, and Dikembe Mutombo, a member of the 2001 Eastern Conference champions.