George, 76ers Reach 4-Year Deal – Several hours after the Los Angeles Clippers put out a statement that nine-time All-Star Paul George would be parting ways with the Clippers, reports surfaced at 2:30 am ET Monday morning that the George had come to terms on a four-year, $212 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
George is excited to link up with new All-Star teammates Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, potentially forming Philadelphia’s best chance at advancing beyond the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2001, where they made the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
With George now on board, joining 2023 Kia MVP Embiid and All-Star guard Maxey, the 76ers will be poised to display one of the most formidable trios in the league as they attempt to put together a nucleus that will challenge and can compete with the New York Knicks and NBA champion Boston Celtics.
George chose the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ after he dismissed the Clippers 3-year, $152M offer and declined a player option in his contract for $48.8 million in 2024-2025 on Saturday, ending a five-year run with the organization where he averaged at least 21.5 points each season.
After numerous rounds at the negotiating table, the Clippers surprisingly elected to move on in a different direction to maintain some semblance of flexibility under the new team-building restrictions of the collective bargaining agreement.
“Paul has informed us that he is signing his next contract with another team,” the Clippers said in a release Sunday night.
The team added, “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.”
George had a $48.8 million option for this coming season but did not exercise it, entering free agency, which opened Sunday night, instead. There was optimism that there was still an opportunity that George and the Clippers could work something out in the eleventh hour, but the team made it clear that those hopes were dashed.
“We will miss Paul,” the Clippers said.
George arrived in lockstep with Kawhi Leonard during the league-altering summer of 2019. The duo was at their peak with a run to the Western Conference Finals in 2021, but missed the playoffs all together the following season and were eliminated in the opening round twice after that.
The 34-year-old George joins a Sixers team that has been a constant underachiever, even as Embiid grew into one of the best players in the NBA. They have not won an NBA title since 1983 or even advanced out of the semifinals of the Eastern Conference since 2001.
George was an absolute bucket, averaging 22.6 points this past season, the ninth consecutive season in which he has averaged at least 20 points per game.
Embiid, who is ready to suit up for Team USA at the Paris Olympics, sparked rumors George was headed to Philadelphia during a TV appearance together on ESPN’ NBA Countdown during the NBA Finals.
“Hopefully this offseason, we find a way to get better, and you know,” Embiid said, pausing to side-eye George, “add some pieces.”
The 76ers have tried and failed miserably to find the right pieces to put a winner around Embiid, failing with Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, James Harden and the list goes on. Team president Daryl Morey had prepared for an opportunity like this for years, constructing a roster with essentially all expiring contracts at the end of this past season. Embiid and Maxey, expected to sign a five-year, $205 million contract this summer, are the only key holdovers on a team that lost to the New York Knicks in the first round of the East playoffs.
The 76ers did strengthen their roster with the reported addition of center Andre Drummond as Morey is set to build the rest of the roster around their latest attempt at a Big 3.
Much like Embiid, George’s lengthy injury history should give the 76ers reason for some concern. George played 74 games last season, the first time he played more than 56 since 2018-19.
Still, with limited options, and roughly $65 million in salary cap space, the 76ers had little choice but to chase an aging, yet, still elite star such as George.
“We’re planning on being the best team in the East next season,” Morey said during the NBA Draft last week. George at least keeps them in the mix in the East.
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Maxey, 76ers Agree to Extension – To no one’s surprise, Joel Embiid’s NBA All-Star teammate is not going anywhere and is staying with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Restricted free-agent guard Tyrese Maxey agreed to a five-year, $204 million contract with the Sixers on Monday, according to ESPN’s senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski. The 23-year-old is signed through the 2028-29 season, joining newest 76er Paul George as Philadelphia has brought in new life with a new Big 3 to compete with the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
Maxey came into his own, averaging career highs of 25.9 points (45/37/87 shooting splits), 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game this past season, earning Most Improved Player honors and making his first All-Star appearance.
Embiid and Maxey led Philadelphia to a 47-35 record, seventh place in the East and a berth in the play-in tournament this past season. The Sixers lost in six games to the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. Maxey numbers elevated even more in the postseason, averaging 29.8 points (48/40/89), 6.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game in the series.
Maxey’s methodical rise to max-salaried star came out of nowhere. The 21st overall draft pick in 2020 out of Kentucky, he played 15 minutes a night as a rookie, almost exclusively as a reserve, averaging just eight points on 30.1% from 3-point range. He started 74 games the following season, finishing sixth in the Most Improved Player voting. two years before he captured the award. He played 41 games of the 2022-23 season off the bench, making room for backcourt partner James Harden, before taking over the point guard duties full time after Harden’s departure last year.
This past season was a total success for Maxey, though his lack of defensive prowess might garner scrutiny now that he will be paid 25% of the salary cap. New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson outshined Maxey in their first-round playoff series, despite Maxey’s 46-point outburst in Game 5 at Madison Squar Garden.
Maxey still has some holes in his game and is far from a finished product. Embiid’s happiness in Philadelphia will depend a greatly on Maxey’s development, along with the team’s prospects in free agency. The Sixers entered this summer with more than $50 million in cap space, which is pretty much evaporated at this point, as the teams also agreed to free agent deals with center Andre Drummond and wing Kelly Oubre Jr.
