Report: Paul George signing 4-year, $212m deal with Philadelphia 76ers

LOS ANGELES – Star forward Paul George and the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed on a four-year, $212 million (S$287.5 million) maximum contract, ESPN reported on July 1.

George accepted the deal at a meeting with members of Philadelphia’s front office, as per the report. Team owner Josh Harris, general manager Elton Brand, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and Sixers Hall of Famer Julius Erving reportedly were among those on hand when the sides got together in Los Angeles.

The 76ers’ contingent also featured team executive Peter Dinwiddie, who used to work for the Pacers and became close with George during his time in Indiana.

ESPN reported that George’s new deal includes a player option for the 2027-28 National Basketball Association (NBA) campaign, the final season of the contract.

George, 34, spent the past five seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, who released a statement on June 30 that revealed his plans to sign elsewhere.

“Paul has informed us that he is signing his next contract with another team,” the statement read. “Paul is a tremendous talent and an elite two-way player. We feel fortunate for the five years we spent with him. ...

“We negotiated for months with Paul and his representative on a contract that would make sense for both sides, and we were left far apart. The gap was significant. We understand and respect Paul’s decision to look elsewhere for his next contract.”

Shortly after that, a report from ESPN indicated that the Sixers were the front-runners to bring George into the fold.

Philadelphia have seemingly succeeded in that quest, establishing a formidable trio that also include 2023 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Joel Embiid and All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey. The 76ers went 47-35 last season and locked down the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference with a play-in victory before they were knocked out by the New York Knicks in the first round of the play-offs.

George played at least 60 games for Los Angeles for the first time in 2023-24, appearing in 74 contests, all starts. He averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals, while shooting 47.1 per cent from the field and 41.3 per cent from three-point range.

In 14 NBA seasons with the Pacers (2010-17), the Oklahoma City Thunder (2017-19) and the Clippers, George has career averages of 20.8 points, 6.3 boards, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals across 867 games (819 starts).

Elsewhere, free agent point guard Chris Paul, reportedly waived by the Golden State Warriors on June 30, is going to the San Antonio Spurs on a one-year contract worth more than $11 million, according to ESPN.

The deadline for the Warriors to guarantee Paul’s $30 million contract for 2025 was June 30. The team and Paul reportedly agreed to push back the deadline from June 28 to June 30 as the Warriors sought a trade partner, multiple outlets reported.

According to Bleacher Report, Golden State turned down an offer of guard Zach LaVine in return for Paul and Andrew Wiggins.

Paul, 39, is a 12-time All-Star who was traded last summer from the Phoenix Suns to Washington Wizards, then dealt again two weeks later to the Warriors.

Playing in 58 games for Golden State last season (18 starts), Paul averaged 9.2 points with 6.8 assists in a career-low 26.4 minutes per game.

Paul has averaged 17.5 points and 9.4 assists in 1,272 games (1,232 starts) over 19 seasons. He was named Rookie of the Year in 2006 and has finished in the top five of MVP voting five times, but his scoring average has dipped in each of the past four seasons.

Paul ranks third in NBA history in both steals (2,614) and assists (11,894).

Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings are reportedly in talks with the New Orleans Pelicans towards acquiring high-scoring forward Brandon Ingram.

Ingram, who averaged 20.8 points per game and a 49.2 field goal percentage, just off his career high, won’t be offered a full four-year maximum contract. The Pelicans were expected to seek a lower-cost extension or look into trading him, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Sacramento TV station KTXL noted Ingram’s links to then Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry, who is the Kings’ vice-president of basketball engagement.

In eight NBA seasons – the first three with the Los Angeles Lakers before he joined New Orleans in a three-team trade that brought Anthony Davis to the Lakers – Ingram is averaging 19.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 33 minutes per game. REUTERS