It's Paul George or bust for the 76ers this offseason
Paul George.
The 76ers' goal of acquiring Paul George just became more realistic. Whether they do or not will determine if their offseason is a success or failure.
On Saturday, the six-time All-NBA team member opted out of the final year of his contract with the Clippers, making him an unrestricted free agent.
According to Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes, the Sixers are "expected to aggressively pursue" George when the league's legal tampering window opens on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.
Haynes also described Philadelphia as a "legitimate threat" to sign the nine-time All-Star.
The Sixers are coming off a disappointing first-round exit at the hands of the New York Knicks in the 2024 playoffs.
Center Joel Embiid (33 points per game) and guard Tyrese Maxey (29.8 points) were excellent in the six-game series, but the team around them came up short.
Forward Tobias Harris, a pending unrestricted free agent, averaged nine points per game during the series.
The Sixers have a glaring hole on their roster at the wing position and need another player to create their own shot.
George couldn't be a better fit, and Philadelphia, with a projected $58.4M in salary cap space, has the money to pay George what he wants.
Of course, the Sixers aren't the only team interested in him
The Warriors are expected to pursue George, and it's also possible he remains with the Clippers.
Either of those two scenarios would be devastating for Philadelphia. While it could pursue other players via trade, that would require the team to trade players and/or draft capital. Plus, it's unlikely anyone the front office can trade for would be a better player than George.
In 2023-24, George averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting a career-high 41.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Since drafting Embiid, the Sixers' front office has made multiple bad decisions, but adding George could lessen the pain of some of those stings.
Two of those mistakes — drafting Ben Simmons over Jaylen Brown in 2016 and Markelle Fultz over Jayson Tatum in 2017 — directly led to the Celtics' recent league-record 18th championship.
The miscues haven't been limited to the draft, either. In 2019, Philadelphia allowed forward Jimmy Butler to leave in free agency, and he's led the Heat to two NBA Finals appearances in the five years since.
Their trade for James Harden also didn't work out, either, with the guard demanding a trade last year.
A core of Embiid, Maxey and George would give Philadelphia arguably the league's most talented trios and one with a legitimate chance of winning an NBA title.
Ahead of Game 4 of this year's Finals, George and Embiid were both guests on ABC's "NBA Countdown," and the 2022-23 league MVP not-so-subtly hinted at his desire to play with George in Philadelphia.
"Hopefully, we can add some pieces," Embiid said while side-eyeing the four-time All-Defensive team member.
The Sixers need George, not only if they plan on contending for a title in 2024-25 but also, arguably, to keep their superstar center happy.
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