An ominous report was released late Thursday that the Philadelphia 76ers were pursuing Paul George, and the NBA world is now waiting to see what impact it will have across the league.
According to The Athletic, the 76ers, led by general manager Daryl Morey, are said to be reluctant to acquire George, who could become a free agent by declining his player option.
“The Philadelphia 76ers’ interest in acquiring Paul George has waned significantly in recent days, with the team expected to use its salary-cap flexibility and draft capital to be aggressive in other areas ahead of next week’s NBA Draft,” The Athletic reports. Shams Charania reports on X.
Morey previously said the 76ers were facing a lot of change this offseason after their first-round playoff loss to the Knicks.
George, who has a $48.8 million player option for the 2024-25 season, would like to sign a max contract with either the Clippers or a potential free-agent suitor like the 76ers, who have plenty of cap space.
Morey has always made the unexpected happen throughout his career coaching the Rockets and 76ers.
He traded for Chris Paul, James Harden twice, Russell Westbrook, and even signed Dwight Howard in his prime.
Many of these moves were shocking and unexpected, as Paul was running mates with Blake Griffin in Los Angeles and James Harden was seen as the Thunder franchise’s cornerstone.
Morey’s decision to pass on George this early in the process likely means he has another trick up his sleeve or two as he attempts to build a team around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
The general assumption was that Morey would target a third star like George, and that option could still remain open, or Morey could target a lower-level complementary player, as the Knicks appear to be doing.
General managers like Houdini have plenty of assets at their disposal, and George is not the only star available.
Former 76ers player Jimmy Butler appears to be out of place in Miami.
Butler spent one season in Miami before moving to South Beach.
Unless Butler is an option to fill the 76ers’ vast cap space, ESPN pegs it at around $53 million.Molly might have a shot at bringing LeBron James to the City of Brotherly Love.
James is set to opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent in July.
Whatever Morey is up to, we can assume he will keep it a secret until July to avoid any fraud fines.
