Getty Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on before playing against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Philadelphia 76ers have the best odds to land nine-time NBA All-Star Paul George if he switches teams this summer.
Bovada put the Sixers at +275 to acquire George to pair with Joel Embiid next season. The New York Knicks are a distant second at +950. The Los Angeles Clippers, however, are still the odds-on favorite to retain George at -220.
George, 33, and the Clippers remain far apart in the extension talks, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“It’s now been three months, give or take, and there’s been no agreement on Paul George, and the word in the NBA is that they’re apart,” Windhorst said on “The Hoops Collective” podcast. It’s not like, let’s have a big problem. They’re apart…
I think the league believes that Paul George wants to remain a Clipper, and there would be concern in the league about recruiting Paul George, especially if you had to give away players to open up space.”
The Sixers will not have that problem as they could have as much as $65 million in cap room, according to Bleacher Report’s salary cap guru Eric Pincus.
Philadelphia can offer George his four-year max deal worth $212.2 million in free agency.
“To get to that $49.4 million starting salary, the 76ers would need to initially wait on re-signing Tyrese Maxey (his cap hold as a free agent will be only $13 million) and pare their roster down to just Embiid. Everyone else is either a free agent or non-guaranteed (Paul Reed’s $7.7 million salary in 2024-25 becomes guaranteed only if the team advances to the second round of the playoffs this year),” Pincus wrote on March 27.
Sixers Insider Skeptical of Paul George Signing
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey reported that George is indeed the Sixers’ top free agent target, calling it the NBA’s worst-kept secret.
However, he is skeptical they can lure him out of his hometown Los Angeles.
“Call me a cynic… I believe the small forward’s stated interest in the Sixers is about creating leverage with the Clippers,” Pompey wrote on March 28.
George is eligible to sign a four-year extension with the Clippers worth up to $221.1 million until June 30. If he and the Clippers could not agree on an extension, George can decline his $48.8 million player option for the 2024-25 and become an unrestricted free agent.
NBA Insider’s Prediction
Windhorst believes George will follow Kawhi Leonard‘s lead to take less than the full max to give the Clippers the wiggle room to also re-sign former Sixers guard James Harden.
“My informed speculation is that, eventually, Paul will agree to a deal with the Clippers,” Windhorst said on “The Hoops Collective” podcast. “It may not be for the full max, but it may be for more than what the Clippers have been offering.”
The Clippers cannot afford to lose George as they will not be able to replace him if he bolts out via free agency.
Despite being hounded by issues of his durability as he turns 34 next season, George is on track to finish this season with the most games he’s played since joining the Clippers in 2019.
George averaged 22.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals while hitting 41.2% from the 3-point line across a six-year high 73 games as the Clippers clinched the Pacific Division title and currently holds the fourth seed in the West.
The Sixers view George as the perfect 3-and-D to form a new Big 3 with Embiid and Maxey.