With every playoff game you’re forced to endure this late in the season, the Sixers’ “what if” lists grow.
What if they had been the ones to trade for Pascal Siakam instead of the Indiana Pacers at the deadline? Would they continue competing? What if the Chicago Bulls hadn’t lost that game by one point on the final day of the regular season and the Sixers had taken third place? Would they have defeated a Bucks team without Giannis and a banged-up Damian Lillard? If so, could they simply be gaining momentum against a Knicks team that is starting to run out of gas? Or a Pacers team that isn’t so scary? What if they didn’t have to face an officiating crew led by Scott Foster twice in six games, as well as Goble’s crew that botched the end of Game 2?
And if….
And now all we’re left with is a much bigger “what if.” What if Paul George was willing to join the Sixers this offseason?
ESPN senior writer Brian Windhorst seemed confident when he declared: “The player at the top of the list (for the 76ers) is Paul George… I think Philadelphia will present a maximum offer to Paul George and the Clippers will have to decide Max or No and Paul George will have to decide if I want to stay here or not.”
That means that by noon on July 6, there is a non-zero chance that we will get that wild Woj bomb.
I bet it would be the dream scenario for the Sixers front office. But why?
George is now 34 years old. He will turn 35 in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. He has missed more than 100 regular season games over the past four seasons. He is no longer (assuming he ever was) a 1A, and we’re not sure if he’ll age well enough to remain a top-tier No. 2. If Windy is right that Philly will come with a max, it would mean compromising. four years and $212,205,000 guaranteed out the door for such an old guy, the league’s 38-and-older rule prevents the Clippers from even offering him a fifth year.
Our own Bryan Toporek witnessed 27-year-old Donovan Mitchell average 31.7 points per game on 53.3% from long range in the first round, including a road win in Boston, where Spida scored a maximum of +38 in the game, and still opposed the exchange. For him as a third star!
Bryan doesn’t even want Spida to get into his prime, and Dave, do you want a guy who hasn’t shot better than 37 percent from deep in a playoff run since the 2016-2017 postseason? A guy who literally once made the playoffs alongside Roy Hibbert, Lance Stephenson and Tyler Hansbrough?
(Sighs). Guilty as charged. And here’s why.
George’s case
Desperate times call for desperate measures. I think the Sixers should look at Joel Embiid’s prime right now as a roughly two-and-a-half-year window and look ahead to next season.
The nine-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA talent can still play. The young Trece was part of the All-Star team the last two seasons. He averaged 22.6 points, 3.5 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game while shooting over 41 percent from three last year.
PG helped keep the Clips afloat without Kawhi Leonard, even winning two of the first four games against the Mavs in this first round. PG turned back the clock by going 7 of 10 from long range for 33 points, plus eight dimes, four steals and six rebounds in a huge road win in Game 4, where LA held Luka Doncic to just 1 of 9 from a distance. distance.
Paul George at halftime against the Mavericks in game 4:
26 POINTS
64% GF
6/9 3pm
Hit them with the pajama pose.
The P play-off is here
The Clippers can’t miss pic.twitter.com/wiHKVHPdgU
—Beastbrook (@Beastbr00k0) April 28, 2024
It was impressive that PG and James Harden, a three-star team missing its snakehead in Leonard, put up such a decent fight against a team comprised of MVP candidate Doncic, All-Star Kyrie Irving and some good players . -Rounded depth pieces in Dallas.
He wouldn’t take the ball out of Tyrese Maxey’s hands like Donovan Mitchell or Jimmy Butler probably wanted to. He adapts perfectly without the ball and has the ability to create. He remains a defender with a silky release.
The Sixers need a two-way, triple-threat star wing in the worst way possible. And PG could change his entire future simply by doing a Nick Foles and telling his agent, Aaron Mintz, “Do you want Philly, Philly? Let’s do it.”
Ink a stud and keep up to five first-round picks.
And here is the most important factor of all. George, assuming he doesn’t prefer to stay out West, can get him for cash. Unlike non-free agents like Jimmy Butler or Brandon Ingram, whose names Windy also linked to Philadelphia, the Sixers could sign Playoff P and retain all five first-round picks (plus a few trades) that will be eligible to trade on Draft day. .
Upon entering PG for a maximum, your new salary would start at $49,350,000. With Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey included, the Sixers could still target players who will make approximately $16.7 million in 2024-2025.
Feel free to look at names like OKC’s Lu Dort ($16.5 million), Washington’s Deni Avdija ($15.6 million), Brooklyn’s Dorian Finney-Smith ($14.9 million), Bulls’ Alex Caruso ($9.8 million), Cody Martin of Charlotte ($8.2 million).
They could even afford to add Caruso plus Toronto’s Grady Dick ($4.76 million) or Minny’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker ($4.3 million) and another minimum-salary player in this PG scenario.
Hell, Daryl Morey could do what he does best and make outlandish calls offering up to five tops and some trades for big names like Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Scottie Barnes, Herb Jones, Scoot Henderson or Jaden Ivey. Go crazy with this as long as it stays under $16.7 million, and you understand that would only leave you with an $8 million room exception and a $2.1 million stack of veteran minimums or two-way signings for the rest of the template.
But that part is kind of a Morey specialty. If they found names like Georges Niang a couple of years ago, and names like Kyle Lowry and Kelly Oubre, Jr. more recently on minimal deals, maybe they wouldn’t totally fail in this scenario either?
Or you could use the remaining space to keep some names on the team and maintain at least some continuity, while basically trading Tobias Harris for a nine-time All-Star.
If the Sixers did something like this above, conserving their draft capital, you could bet his name would appear months before the 2025 NBA trade deadline next winter in relation to any potential big name available; as long as they had an average salary agreement for 2025.
PG may not be as good as Donovan Mitchell or Jimmy Butler at this point in his career. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he aged better than Jimmy, given his ability to actually shoot. But he fits better than both of them and is still a significantly better player than Brandon Ingram.
And most importantly, unlike those names, PG could be had for cash, leaving Morey with all his options to go big-game hunting or find a top-tier role player or two. And this is probably why Windy is right: The Sixers plan to offer PG a max at the dawn of free agency.
I have yet to see a path laid out. I prefer this. The decline after major free agents sign becomes quite dangerous.
That’s why I say don’t ask what PG can do for you, but ask what you can do with PG and five picks.
Keynote USA
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