Paul George Is The Sixers Best Hope For 2024-2025 Season
Over the last week, the Sixers landing Paul George was starting to feel like a pipe dream. Shams Charania reported that the Sixers interest in George had waned, and many thought he was on track to stay with the Clippers.
Certainly, for some fans, who never liked the idea of signing him to begin with, that was a relief. But many of the other options to land a 3rd star are now off the table. So if they are going to land another “high-end” player, as Daryl Morey put it, Paul George may be their best option.
Luckily, it seems the Sixers are very much still in play to land the 6-time All-NBA Forward. On Saturday, Paul George opted out of his deal with the Clippers. That news was quickly followed by a report that he would meet with the Clippers, Sixers, and Magic once “legal tampering” begins on Sunday Night.
Should The Sixers Pursue Paul George
With Tobias Harris gone, the Sixers have a max contract they can offer, not counting the max they are eventually going to give Tyrese Maxey. The question is who do they give it to?
The other free-agent options are not great. We have also seen just how pricey the trade market is. Mikal Bridges, who has 0 All-Star appearances, cost the Knicks 5 1st round picks. It continued a trend of exceptionally expensive trades, with Jrue Holiday and Rudy Gobert garnering similar returns.
The Sixers have several 1st round picks to trade, but rebuilding the roster will take more than 1 move. So if they trade all of their picks to get the 3rd star, it may make it hard to add pieces around their new core 3.
Related: Dei Lynam Believes Draft Night Was Just The Beginning For Daryl Morey
If they sign a free agent, they could then feasibly use those picks to trade for another good piece. Of the free agents, Paul George is likely their best option.
Why Paul George Is The Best Option For The Sixers
Is he a perfect option? No. George just turned 34 and would be 38 when a hypothetical 4-year Max Contract expires. He has also been injury-prone in the past, having played 70 games only once in the last 5 seasons.
That said, that 1 year was last season. Despite claims he is “over-the-hill, he outperformed his career averages last season. He averaged 22.6 points, shot 41.3% from deep, and made his 9th All-Star team.
Last season was his 9th straight season averaging at least 20 points per game. He also averaged 20 points in 7 of his last 8 playoff appearances. Not to mention making the NBA All-Defensive team 4 times.
Paul George still has a lot to offer. He would be coming to the Sixers as the 3rd star. The expectations wouldn’t be for him to be the main guy. You are basically swapping out Tobias Harris, for Paul George. Which even George’s biggest detractors would have to admit is a major upgrade.
Landing George is the Sixers’ best hope. He might be flawed, but a core group of Embiid, Maxey, and George, is good enough to compete with almost any team in the league, provided the pieces around them are half-decent, and they stay healthy. The Celtics may be the only exception, but if Morey could make other moves, you could get close enough to compete with them too.
We will find out how real their chances are at 6 pm on Sunday when Legal Tampering begins. But for now, it seems like they are in the mix. It is why Daryl Morey did what he did last season, to have the space to make a move like singing Paul George. We will see if it pays off.
Listen To Or Watch ‘The Best Show Ever?’ Live On The 97.5 The Fanatic And On NBC Sports Philly From 2 To 6 p.m. every Weekday
What The Sixers Would Look Like if They Could Only Use Local Players
PG- Kyle Lowry- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Lowry is not the player he once was. Several years ago you would be excited to start off with Kyle Lowry as your point guard. But not everyone is Lebron James and can continue to dominate into their late 30s. That said, Lowry is still a solid player. He is shooting over 40% from 3 to this point in the season, and can still be a facilitator.
Sixers fans have coveted him in the past. We have also hated him in the past when he was doing his usual antics against the Sixers. But if he had been a Sixer his whole career, he would likely be beloved. Not just because he is a local but because he is the type of guy you hate to play against, but love to root for when he is on your team.
SG- Mikal Bridges- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Bridges would be the star of this team. And it still hurts to think he could have actually come home and played for the Sixers. They drafted him. He was wearing a Sixers hat and talking about how happy he is to be a Sixer. Then they traded him for a package that included the draft pick they eventually used to get Tobias Harris. And for the first couple of years. Harris was the better player. But now that Bridges is on the Nets, and allowed to be the guy, we see just how good he is.
He is an All-NBA caliber defender and scores over 20 points per game. Philly fans loved him on the Suns and Nets. They would adore him had he stayed in Philly.
SF- De'Andre Hunter- Philadelphia, PA
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Another solid player to add to the starting lineup. Hunter is no star, but he is a guy you love to have on the roster. Hunter has been around a 14 ppg guy his whole career. On that end of the floor, he can make a difference. His defensive game however leaves a ton to be desired. But playing next to Mikal Bridges should help cover up some of those issues.
PF- Marcus Morris- Philadelphia, PA
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
The Morris brothers are Philly through and through. Even after they moved on to new cities when drafted, they continue to be a big part of a community, focusing charity efforts on their hometown, doing things like making sure every student has backpacks, haircuts, school supplies, vision care, and more. Marcus finally came home this year in the Harden trade. While neither of them are the same guy anymore at 34, we can still see Marcus has something left in the tank.
C- Dereck Lively II- Philadelphia, PA
(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
Lively is currently enjoying a solid rookie season. The 12th overall pick out of Duke averages 8.6 points, 7.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 25.1 minutes per game. In his one year at Duke, he got All-Freshman and All-Defense honors. He has a chance to grow into a solid NBA player. Would it be nice to have a more sure thing at center and let Lively grow behind him? Sure. But the pool of active big men to pull from in the local area left a lot to be desired.
Bench- Lonnie Walker- Reading, Pa
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
You could do a lot worse than having Lonnie Walker as your main guy off of the bench. Walker averages 14.6 points per game this season off of the bench with the Nets and has been a double-digit guy for the past several seasons. Like Hunter, he is not good defensively. And this likely will not be a good defensive team in general outside of Bridges and Lively. But they may be able to put up some points, and Walker will help with that.
Bench- Markieff Morris- Philadlephia, Pa
(Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
Like his brother, Markieff is not the player he once was. His fall-off is even greater than his brother’s. He is down to just 7 minutes per game and has only played 3 games this year with the Mavericks. But the Sixers needed a big guy off the bench, and he was the best available. So they unite the Morris brothers on one roster.
Bench- Bones Hyland- Wilmington, DE
(Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
Bones Hyland loves playing in Philly. He put up 21 on the Sixers, including 4 3s, in a 114-110 Nuggets win. Maybe there is something top playing in front of his friends and family from Delaware that takes his game to another level. And maybe that would give the Sixers a big boost off the bench. He can also provide solid defense at times. Hyland is a solid player and would be a plus player off the bench for this version of the Sixers.
Bench- Cam Reddish- Norristown, Pa
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Cam Reddish had a lot of hype at times. But it hasn’t quite worked out anywhere he went yet. Which is why he has bounced around between 4 teams. But there is still skill there. He has the tools to be a starter. But he lacks consistency. He eventually fell out of the rotation with the Knicks for that reason. But it is definitely worth having him off the bench to hope you can pull that potential out of him.
Bench- Collin Gillespie- Huntingdon Valley
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
I was expecting a huge Nova presence on this team. But so many of the guys we remember from those great Nova teams aren’t actually from Philly. Jalen Brunson is from New Brunswick. Josh Hart is from Maryland. Seddiq Bey is from North Carolina. So they end up with Lowry, Bridges, Gillespie, and Arcidiacono. Gillespie has yet to make an impact in his rookie season with the Nuggets. But he was a ton of fun, and clutch as hell, when with Nova.
Bench- Ryan Arcidiacono- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Arcidiacono was a superstar at Nova. But he has yet to turn into anything in the NBA. Now in his 7th season, he has never averaged more than 6.7 points per game. But just keeping a job that long in the NBA is impressive. In this case, he would be on of the last guys off of the Sixers bench. That has been his role wherever he went so far in the NBA, so he might as well do it for the home team as well.
Bench- Dion Waiters- Philadelphia, PA
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Dion Waiters has been out of the league for a few years. But in this case, Sixers would have a very limited pool of players to pick from. And if they were looking to round out their bench, a guy who has been a bucket at some points in his career would be hard to pass on. He is still only 31, and has been a double-digit points guy in the poast. In this case, it would be worth having him off the bench to see if he can help.
