Tag: george

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Philadelphia isn’t a place free agents want to come.

Outside of the Eagles, that saying has often rang true. After the Phillies’ golden era ended, the local nine struggled to field a competitive roster. Then, something amazing happened.

With plenty of options and interest from around Major League Baseball, Bryce Harper, the baseball equivalent of LeBron James who was just entering his prime, chose Philadelphia. While it took a couple years and a slew of other changes, Harper has helped make the Phillies a perennial contender and reinvigorated the city’s love of its local ball club.

No pressure, Paul George.

While nobody will expect George to have a Harper-like impact, the nine-time All-Star choosing to join the Sixers is a franchise-altering moment. And none of it would’ve been possible without Daryl Morey having the guts to deploy a bold plan.

This was all set in motion a year ago when James Harden surprisingly opted into his $47.3 million player option and promptly demanded a trade. You might recall things got a bit ugly, with the former MVP calling Morey — who has a commissioned painting of The Beard in his home — a liar. The saga would persist for months until finally the Sixers and Clippers, the only team Harden wanted to go to, came to an agreement.

In that deal, Morey acquired serious draft capital and four players, all on expiring contracts. While Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris, Sr., KJ Martin and Robert Covington all helped to varying degrees, it was clear that Morey acquired them mostly for the flexibility their pending free agency’s provided. Including P.J. Tucker’s outgoing contract in the trade also proved to be a huge win.

The Sixers rode out the 2023-24 season, banking on Joel Embiid to improve upon his MVP season, Tyrese Maxey to continue his ascension and new head coach Nick Nurse to make his mark. Well, those things did happen early on with the Sixers getting off to a terrific start to the season. Embiid’s meniscus tear put a huge damper on things, but a strong playoff showing against a tough Knicks team provided hope — along with the unfathomable flexibility Morey gave himself this offseason.

Think about the gumption it takes to go into an offseason having just one player on a guaranteed contract. That just doesn’t happen. After the Sixers were eliminated by New York in Game 6, that was the case.

Embiid was the only player on a guaranteed deal for 2024-25. We all knew Maxey was going to get his max extension (he did), but Paul Reed’s contract was no longer guaranteed since the team failed to make the second round (joke’s on you, Danny Ainge). Ricky Council IV (who remains on the roster) and Jeff Dowtin, Jr. (who does not) were also on non-guaranteed contracts.

So, the slate was as clean as it had been since Morey inherited a roster with the ill-fitting Al Horford and Josh Richardson and the volatile Ben Simmons. The Sixers president of basketball operations was ready to build the team he wanted around his two stars in Embiid and Maxey.

But boy, did an awful lot have to go right.

Morey made it clear at his end-of-season presser that he was going star-hunting. Armed with loads of cap space and draft assets, he had the proper ammo, but who would be available? LeBron James? Donovan Mitchell? Jimmy Butler? As free agency crept up, the options seemed to fall off the board — except George.

The Clippers and George could’ve agreed to a four-year max extension at any point. They did not. LA was reportedly hellbent on not giving a fourth year. George was hellbent on getting one. Therein lay the opportunity for Morey to swoop in. After a roller coaster few weeks where it seemed like the Clippers were trying to call his bluff, George knew he had options.

He could’ve opted in, perhaps forcing a trade to the Warriors — though, as we saw in the case of Harden, that process isn’t always so smooth. He could’ve taken the three-year deal to stay home in Palmdale, taking another run at a title with Kawhi Leonard in the Clippers’ brand-new toilet-rich arena. He could’ve joined an up-and-coming Magic team loaded with young talent.

But on Sunday night/Monday morning, he chose Philadelphia. It’s not hyperbolic to say landing George makes this one of the greatest offseasons in franchise history.

Think about it: the last “big name” free agent to choose the Sixers was current GM Elton Brand — on what was then called the “Philly Max” — way back in 2008, the last time the Phillies won the World Series. Funny enough, the Clippers were also the team Brand left to join the Sixers. Before that, you’d have to go back to 1982, when reigning MVP Moses Malone signed an offer sheet with Philly, forcing the Rockets to match and complete a sign-and-trade.

One of those situations worked out slightly better than the other.

But in this moment, Sixers fans should enjoy it. An executive who’d become maligned in the Delaware Valley took a ballsy path and it worked. A nine-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA performer and four-time All-Defensive Team pick decided the Sixers were his best option. Is George perfect? Of course not. Because no player is. But he is damn good.

As has been chronicled, a contingent of managing partner Josh Harris, Morey, Brand and executive vice president of basketball operations Pete Dinwiddie, who has a relationship with George from when the two were with the Pacers, made the trip to visit George’s L.A. home. Joining them was franchise icon Julius Erving, who brought home the organization’s last championship with Malone back in 1983.

It was not Dr. J but another franchise icon who George was paying homage to that night as he planned to tell the team of his intentions. George was wearing an Allen Iverson t-shirt. Iverson of course was the biggest of cogs on the last Sixers team to get to the NBA Finals in 2001.

Wearing a t-shirt with The Answer on it to give the Sixers his answer. That’s some next-level pandering. Bryce Harper would be proud.

2024 NBA free agency: How the Sixers should exploit KJ Martin’s cheap cap hold after landing Paul George nba,free,agency,how,the,sixers,should,exploit,kj,martin,s,cheap,cap,hold,after,landing,paul,george,liberty,ballers,front-page,76ers-analysis,76ers-free-agency-rumors-news

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The Sixers made their big free-agent splash overnight Monday, agreeing with Paul George on a four-year, $211.6 million maximum contract. They’ve also agreed to re-sign Kelly Oubre Jr. (two years, $16.3 million), Andre Drummond (two years, “$10-plus million”) and Eric Gordon (one year, $3.3 million veteran minimum), which means they’ve already burned through most of their spending power this offseason.

From here, the Sixers must get creative to round out their roster. KJ Martin might be their best lottery ticket in that regard.

Martin is an unrestricted free agent, but he has a tiny $2.1 million cap hold, and the Sixers have his full Bird rights. They’d slightly cut into their cap space if they kept him on their books instead of an incomplete roster charge ($1.15 million), but having Bird rights on him allows them to re-sign him to anything up to his max salary.

The Sixers could take advantage of that cheap cap hold to both their own benefit and Martin’s. They could keep it on their books, spend the rest of their cap space and then overpay him on a two-year contract with a non-guaranteed second season. They could later look to flip him as salary filler in a midseason trade.

The Indiana Pacers gave Bruce Brown a two-year, $45 million contract last offseason, only to ship him to the Toronto Raptors six months later in the package for Pascal Siakam. The Sixers were reportedly open to emulating that strategy with Klay Thompson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope this offseason if they struck out on George, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Martin could enable them to do a miniature version of it.

If the Sixers had a specific midseason target in mind, they could do an exact dollar-for-dollar match on Martin’s new contract. That would enable both the Sixers and the other team to trade those contracts in a straight one-for-one deal and not trigger a hard cap. If they were instead just looking to add a tradable contract to their books, they could use the dollar amount of the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.168 million), room MLE ($7.983 million) or non-taxpayer MLE ($12.822 million) as options.

The Sixers could try to sign-and-trade Martin if they’re looking to fill that void more quickly, although as cap specialist Yossi Gozlan noted, Base Year Compensation rules would complicate that. Only 50 percent of Martin’s new contract would count as outgoing salary, which would make it more difficult for the Sixers or whichever team trades for him to avoid triggering a hard cap at the first apron. They’d be better off signing Martin to a balloon deal and preserving his contract for a midseason trade.

The only downside to this strategy is if the Sixers plan to hard-cap themselves at either apron with another move. They won’t be adding unnecessary salary to their books in that case. Otherwise, there’s no reason not to do this. They’re going to be over the luxury-tax threshold when they fill out their roster either way, so they might as well go deeper into it to increase their midseason flexibility.

Without Martin factored in, the Sixers can still create roughly $9.2 million in remaining cap space even if they keep Ricky Council IV ($1.9 million) but waive Paul Reed’s $7.7 million non-guaranteed contract. If they keep Martin’s cap hold as well, they could still have around $8.3 million in cap space. Based on the prices for Derrick Jones Jr. (three years, $30 million), Naji Marshall (three years, $27 million) Goga Bitadze (three years, $25 million) and Gary Harris (two years, $14 million), that should be able to net them at least one more solid player.

Once the Sixers used the rest of their cap space, they’d use a minimum exception to sign Gordon, officially sign Tyrese Maxey to his five-year, $203.9 million extension (without a player option!) and presumably use the $8.0 million room mid-level exception to sign Oubre. That means George and Drummond are the only two who are going into the Sixers’ cap space.

The Sixers could also take advantage of expanded salary-matching rules and look to flip Reed’s contract for a more expensive salary—they can take back up to $7.5 million more than they send out as long as they stay below the first apron. Staying below the first apron might be a challenge once they finalize Maxey’s new max deal, though. (Keep that in mind regarding any Dorian Finney-Smith trades you cook up over the coming days.)

They’d be better off spending the remainder of their cap space and then signing Martin to a 1+1 balloon deal with the intention of potentially moving him at the trade deadline. Signing him to such a deal would give the Sixers a way to upgrade midseason that they otherwise wouldn’t have. Again, the only risk here is if they hard-cap themselves some other way.

If not, the Sixers owners should be willing to foot a larger tax bill to improve their new Big Three’s chances of winning a championship. There are no more half-measures after signing George. The Sixers are all-in on winning now.

With some creativity, Martin—and his next contract—could help them do just that.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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In the wee hours of the night here on the East Coast, the Philadelphia 76ers were making it rain. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped the bombshell scoop that Paul George is signing a four-year $212M deal, with a player option for the 2027-2028 season, with the Philadelphia 76ers. Not long after that we learned that All-Star Tyrese Maxey was receiving a max extension and the team was also retaining last season’s stellar minimum level acquisition wing Kelly Oubre, Jr. on a new team-friendly deal. Big Penguin Andre Drummond is back on board, and Morey lands another one of his favorite former Rockets in Eric Gordon too.

Having utilized cap space for the nine-time All-Star George, Philadelphia still has the No. 16 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, sniper Jared McCain, the No. 41 overall pick, Adem Bona, an absolute freak athlete which he proved at the NBA pre-draft combine, plus the 76ers still possess four more future first-round picks to work with, and swaps.

We owe so much of it to our beloved Tyrese:

Tobias Harris is finally gone, landing big money to play for the Detroit Pistons (addition by subtraction?)

And they’ll look to round out the rest of the roster with a bit of remaining cap space before exceeding the cap by fleshing out the rest of the roster with veteran’s minimum deals for ring-chasing stars who can expect a fair amount of playing time — on such a now top-heavy roster.

Per Woj:

“George and his agent, Aaron Mintz of CAA, met in Los Angeles with a 76ers contingent that included owner Josh Harris, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, general manager Elton Brand and Sixers legend Julius Erving, sources said. The Sixers even brought a front office executive, Peter Dinwiddie, who is a familiar face and friend of George’s from their years together with the Indiana Pacers, sources said.

The meeting came on the heels of months of unsuccessful negotiations between George and the LA Clippers on a deal to stay in his Southern California home.”

Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and the gangs’ odds on Draft Kings were around +1000 back when we thought there was a chance they might sign George.

Then their odds dropped precipitously to +1400 when Shams Charania reported the Sixers’ interest in the six-time All-NBA teamer had “significantly waned.”

It also didn’t help the Sixers’ cause when the New York Knicks traded for Mikal Bridges, and were soon able to retain OG Anunoby.

But by the time many of us woke up Monday morning, odds makers’ opinions of the current NBA hierarchy had shifted dramatically. Daryl Morey’s group has now peaked at +800, pushing the Knicks’ down from +800 to +950, following their loss of Isaiah Hartenstein.

The Boston Celtics have re-signed Derrick White, and even though Kristaps Porzingis is set to miss significant time as he rehabs from surgery, the reigning champs are still given a massive edge, +295.

The Celtics’ implied odds to win the 2024-2025 title are now around 25 percent. Philadelphia’s are near 11 percent. As many of you might remember, Morey said that if you have about a five percent chance it makes sense to cash in your future picks to go for it. Well, if that’s still the case, possessing an implied 11 percent should certainly entice him to keep looking to add firepower.

We’ll see how this plays out because it’s gotta be relatively unprecedented for a team that basically only has a handful of players (e.g. Embiid, Maxey, George, Drummond, Gordon, Oubre, Jr. McCain, Bona) in tow to be favored so heavily. So we’ll pay close attention to what happens with the final few roster spots. One name to watch could be veteran guard Reggie Bullock (pronounced Bull-LOCK which likely helps him lock up opposing guards).

The former Knick and Maverick is meeting with the Sixers and head coach Nick Nurse should be able to sell some helpful connective vets by offering a key role on a now true title contender.

Sixers 2024 NBA free agency tracker: With Paul George in the mix, what’s next? sixers,nba,free,agency,tracker,with,paul,george,in,the,mix,what,s,next,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-free-agency,76ers-news,76ers-free-agency-rumors-news

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As of 6 p.m. ET on June 30, the 2024 free agency period is underway. The Philadelphia 76ers have the opportunity for a pivotal offseason with decent cap space and draft picks at their disposal. The Sixers also have a number of players entering free agency that they will have to make tough decisions on.

In this post, we will keep you updated on Sixers’ signings, the destinations of their free agents, trade rumors and more.

Signing agreements

Paul George

Nine-time All-Star Paul George is set to become a Sixer. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news at 3:30 AM ET Monday morning that George and the Sixers had reached an agreement on a four-year, $212 million contract.

Tyrese Maxey

The Sixers have agreed in principal to a maximum contract extension for Tyrese Maxey. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the news just hours after the Sixers reached their agreement with Paul George. Talk about a huge morning.

Andre Drummond

Andre Drummond will return to Philadelphia on a two-year, $10 million deal, a source confirms to Liberty Ballers. Hoops Hype’s Michael Scotto was the first to report the news.

Eric Gordon

The Sixers will sign veteran guard Eric Gordon to a minimum contract, a source confirms to Liberty Ballers.

Sixers’ free agents news

Tobias Harris

After five long seasons, Tobias Harris is no longer a Sixer. As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports, Harris is set to return to the Detroit Pistons on a two-year, $52 million deal.

Kelly Oubre Jr.

Kelly Oubre Jr. has earned himself a bit of a raise and at least one more season with the Sixers after spending last season in Philadelphia on a veteran minimum. A source confirmed to Liberty Ballers that Oubre will re-sign with the Sixers on a two-year, $16.3 million deal with a player option for 2025-26. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Nicolas Batum

The Athletic’s Kelly Iko reported shortly after the opening of free agency that Nicolas Batum would not be returning to Philadelphia.

That being said, there has been no further reports on Batum’s next destination. Early Monday afternoon, Yahoo’s Jake Fischer reported that the San Antonio Spurs were interested in Batum.

Having already signed future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul, another veteran the Spurs are targeting in free agency is French forward Nic Batum, sources said, who would join countryman Victor Wembanyama.

Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry returning to Philadelphia is still up in the air, Marc Stein reported just before the opening of free agency:

One source close to the process told The Stein Line that a return to Philly is merely one option under consideration and that Lowry is expected to receive external interest from multiple interest once free agency officially beings.

Terquavion Smith

The Sixers will not extend a qualifying offer to Terquavion Smith, a source tells Liberty Ballers. That means the two-way guard becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Other Sixers’ free agents with no reports so far:

  • Robert Covington
  • KJ Martin
  • De’Anthony Melton
  • Mo Bamba
  • Cameron Payne
  • Buddy Hield

Meetings with other free agents

Klay Thompson

Klay Thompson is set to meet with multiple teams early in free agency, including the Sixers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Reggie Bullock

League veteran Reggie Bullock has been fielding his options after it was reported by The Athletic’s Kelly Iko that the Houston Rockets were unlikely to re-sign him. Iko further reported that Bullock has begun meeting with teams — including the Philadelphia 76ers.

Trade rumors

Nothing yet on the trade rumor front Sixers-wise. We will keep you posted.

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It appears James Harden did not scare away the Sixers’ “Plan A.”

Paul George will be a Sixer. The nine-time All-Star is leaving the Clippers and plans to sign with Philly for a four-year, $212 million max deal. ESPN’S Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news. The fourth and final year of the contract is a player option, per Woj.

While reports circulated about the Sixers’ interest waning and George perhaps opting into his deal with L.A., Daryl Morey got it done the cleanest way possible by signing the four-time All-Defensive Team pick into the team’s cap space. There was much to consider for George, a Palmdale native, leaving the West Coast, but the Sixers’ offer likely proved to be one he couldn’t refuse. Several reports indicated that L.A. was unwilling to offer George a fourth year.

In signing George, the Sixers get the player many believed to be the team’s “Plan A” with its cap space plan. George, a six-time All-NBA selection, adds size, scoring, playmaking and defense on the wing. With his ability to make threes at a high volume (41.3% on 7.9 attempts per game last season) and add complementary scoring, he is an ideal running mate for Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

The concerns with George will be mostly tied to his age. He turned 34 in May, meaning he will be 37 entering the final year of his deal with the Sixers. On top of that, there are some durability concerns. While he played in 74 games last season, that was his highest amount played since he was a member of the Thunder in 2018-19. In the previous four years, George played 189 out of a possible 318 games — or less than 60%. On a team that features Embiid, that could loom large.

So, what’s next? The Sixers will still have cap space to spend and draft assets to play with. Now that they’ve got their three stars locked in, it’s time to finish building out the roster around them.

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As various dominoes have fallen in recent weeks, the clearest path for the Philadelphia 76ers to improve this offseason appears to be signing Paul George. That possibility came closer to reality yesterday when George officially declined his player option with the Los Angeles Clippers and became an unrestricted free agent. The Sixers were absolutely in the mix with George reported to be taking meetings with Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Orlando. Now, the flames on the hot stove are rising even further with this reporting from NBA Insider Chris Haynes.

Haynes’ sourcing is generally pretty rock solid, so we can put more stock in this report than the usual musings to come across the timeline.

While people may be worried about paying max money to a 37-year-old George in four years, it’s hard to make an argument that there’s a better way to make the team better in the present. Slotting George in as a third option, 3-and-D wing between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey would be a dream fit. With Embiid now 30 years old and the injuries continue to pile up, taking a win-now mentality makes all the sense in the world. Cap space in 2027-28 is Future Daryl Morey’s problem, and at the very least, George’s high volume, three-point shooting will age well.

We’ll see what happens in the coming hours/days as free agency officially opens. Undoubtedly, an Embiid-Maxey-George big three would be an exciting start to the roster heading into next season. Make it happen, Daryl.

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Buckle up Sixers’ fans.

Paul George has opted out of his $48.7M player option and is set to take some meetings this weekend. What the SoCal native decides to ultimately do next will begin a chain of dominoes around the NBA. Reports indicate he will meet with the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers sometime after 6 p.m. Sunday once rival teams can make their pitches to UFAs.

Teams like the Sixers and Magic can offer George up to $212M on a four-year deal. Because of the NBA’s over 38 rule, the Clippers can only offer him up to a max salary beginning in the same range, although L.A. — possessing PG’s Bird Rights — can offer 8 percent raises increasing the total to $221M. But they don’t seem to have any interest in even offering him a fourth year so far. Whether or not that’s a bluff and they’ll cave to his demands is yet to be determined.

Players like Klay Thompson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, DeMar DeRozan and a handful of multi-billion dollar franchises’ fates hang in the balance of what’s the 2024 summer version of “The Decision.”

George was rumored to be considering an extension with the Clippers at multiple points during this season and offseason. More recently, we also learned that he was considering opting in and seeking a trade. Well, neither of those materialized, and perhaps Daryl Morey and the Sixers’ $60M in cap space might have appeal, along with stars in place like Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

Here we’ll track some of the latest rumors before he makes his big decision.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, appearing on Sports Center:

Per Woj:

“Paul George has had a year to negotiate a deal with the Clippers that he wants to take and they’ve gone back and forth, certainly in the last several months…. He wants that fourth year on his contract, the Clippers have not offered it. And certainly he’s looking at that Clipper roster and asking himself too ‘are we a championship contender?’ All other factors. I think being in Southern California and being part of the Clippers as they go into the new Intuit Dome, I think those are things that are still very appealing to him but Philadelphia out in the marketplace, Orlando to an extent out in the marketplace for him, can offer him that fourth year. And Philadelphia certainly. Is there a clear path in the Eastern Conference to try to win? Although you still have to be able to go through Boston and Philly sees Paul George as a player that can help them get through the Celtics.”

According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, there is more than a bit of room for optimism here.

Per Pompey:

“Sources believe Philly is the frontrunner to acquire the 6-foot-8, 220-pounder. However, the Orlando Magic, another potential destination, cleared up available cap space to offer the max. And you have to wonder if he’ll remain in Los Angeles if the Clippers give into his demands for a fourth year….If he comes to Philly, sources believe George will help recruit solid role players for the Sixers’ pursuit of an NBA championship-caliber roster.”

If the Sixers whiff on PG, they may continue to look at names above like KCP and Klay as free agents, although Thompson has now been connected with the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers.

Pompey adds that Brandon Ingram is another possibility via trade:

“But the Pelicans are “unlikely” to offer a maximum salary and will look to trade him if no deal is reached. However, their asking price has been steep.”

The problem there is that Ingram isn’t as good as George, and would cost them significant draft capital to acquire. What more they can add with those picks should PG sign into Philly’s cap space will definitely be part of Daryl Morey’s pitch to George this weekend.

Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report thinks the Sixers are a legitimate threat in this race.

Monte Poole with NBCS, who covers the Golden State Warriors, believes the Clippers still have the inside track here.

With this much interest around the NBA, I can’t help but wonder if the Clippers don’t find SOME number in between their current three-year bid and the four-year max Philly and Orlando will likely offer — ultimately retaining PG.

Heck, the Clippers could always sign him and then turn around and try to trade him before February’s 2025 NBA Trade Deadline in exchange for some draft picks and maybe a young player or an expiring contract at least then, right? That all seems better than nothing. But then again, maybe PG would remember what happened once to Blake Griffin (signing a max then quickly getting shipped off to Detroit) and worry he’d later land somewhere far less preferable than Philadelphia and their live title aspirations.

If I were PG, weather, and family aside, I’d head to the Sixers. He’s already considered one of the best to ever do it. A championship ring on his finger would vault him way up that all-time ladder, and since Morey would still have up to four first-round picks to play around with, this would be his best chance to get there, in our biased opinion.

Game on.

We will continue to update this post as news develops over what’s set to become a landmark weekend for the Joel Embiid era.

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Well, it appears the Sixers’ Plan A is still intact.

Paul George has reportedly opted out of his contract with the LA Clippers, making him an unrestricted free agent when the bell rings Sunday evening. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news.

Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes adds that the Sixers will be a “legitimate threat” to sign George.

The best-case scenario for the Sixers was George declining his $48.7 million player option for the 2024-25 season. Now the team has the chance to woo the six-time All-NBA pick in free agency and offer him a four-year, $212 million max deal — one the Clippers have been reportedly unwilling to offer.

George could’ve opted into his current deal and potentially been traded to the Warriors, who were reportedly ready to offer him a max contract. As we learned with the James Harden saga last year, these types of situations can linger. It’s also fair to note that LA could’ve played hardball here, not wanting to help Golden State in their quest to get Steph Curry another ring (anyone who still has PTSD from the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade should get that).

So, what now?

Expect the Sixers to roll out the red carpet for George when free agency begins at 6 p.m. Sunday night. Geography is not the Sixers’ friend here as all indications are that the nine-time All-Star wing has a strong desire to stay on the West Coast with his family. It will be up to the team to convince the Palmdale native that moving across the country to partner with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey is the right move.

So, what happens if they whiff on PG-13?

Well, Brandon Ingram is still a Pelican even after New Orleans dealt for Hawks’ guard Dejounte Murray Friday night. While it still feels like a long shot, there’s a chance the Jazz could trade All-Star Lauri Markkanen — and the Sixers would be well positioned to give Utah its best offer. In free agency, they could pivot to elite role players, like Denver’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Free agency begins at 6 p.m. Sunday when teams are free to negotiate with free agents. We’ll see what Daryl Morey has up his sleeve.

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The Sixers drafted a guard in Jared McCain in round one.

McCain already seems like a lot of fun, with an infectious personality and drive, reminiscent of the enchanting “he’ll smile dazzlingly while going full Mortal Kombat Kano fatality on you,” Tyrese Maxey.

McCain’s TikTok videos and nail polish all clearly belie a dude with an obvious hypomaniacal drive to perfect his footwork on movement triples. At 20 years old, the Duke product’s shooting form is already flawless, which makes it impossible not to reminisce about another Duke alum and former Sixer in JJ Redick — whose offseason and pregame form-work obsession was simply unmatched for the better part of two decades spanning the Lakers’ new head coach’s college freshman days as a Blue Devil through his final NBA season with the Dallas Mavericks.

In round two of the draft the Sixers selected big man, Adem “The Nigerian-Turkish Terminator” Bona, the hardest competitor in the entire draft (that nickname I cooked up isn’t working so you’d better help us workshop some better ones in the replies section below).

So with Joel Embiid, Maxey and McCain all penciled in, possessing options to retain Paul Reed, Jeff Downtin, Jr. and Ricky Council IV, they’ve got somewhere between 3-6 players in tow as Bona is still unsigned.

At 6 p.m. Eastern Sunday, teams can negotiate with rival free agents. Saturday is the deadline for Paul George, the NBA’s biggest story now, to opt in or out of his $48.7M player option with the Los Angeles Clippers.

What’s going to happen? Let’s get to the latest rumors.

KCP looking more and more likely to join the bell-ringing bunch

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope makes a lot of sense for the Sixers. He is currently what they once hoped Danny Green could be for them.

He’s a multi-time champion who plays stalwart D and knocks down over 40 percent from distance on roughly four tries per battle. He’s willing to dive and get dirty, and doesn’t need the rock to be effective. The price won’t be cheap, but he’s a terrific fit that won’t force Daryl Morey to put all of his eggs in one basket. By signing KCP to a $20-plus million dollar deal, it would still leave room to sign another high-end free agent or two, plus a big-time trade acquisition as well — since the Sixers have over $60M to spend.

Jayson Tatum sure wouldn’t be as thrilled to have to square off against KCP as he would have facing Kyle Lowry or Tyrese Maxey; neither would Jalen Brunson.

It does not sound as if the Nuggets intend to retain the Thomaston, Georgia native’s services:

According to Marc Stein, via recent Substack newsletter:

“Denver’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is emerging as one of the focal points of NBA free agency. A difference-maker, league sources say, who suddenly appears more likely than not to switch teams. The Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers, meanwhile, appear especially well-positioned to capitalize on Caldwell-Pope’s expected availability if they choose. The Nuggets have been unable to come to terms on a contract extension with Caldwell-Pope, who is expected to decline his $15.4 million player option for next season to become a free agent before this season’s marketplace officially opens Sunday at 6 PM ET.”

Stein mentioned that the reigning West champs, the Dallas Mavericks, are also interested in landing the former Georgia Bulldog, but Denver has little interest in helping a team that recently supplanted them in the conference pecking order. Dallas almost certainly doesn’t have the cap space to make a winning KCP bid so they’d need help from the Nuggets via sign-and-trade. That seems farfetched.

With Paul George’s situation in flux, this KCP-to-Philly scenario is beginning to feel more and more realistic by the hour.

Klay Thompson ring that bell brother?

Philadelphia 76ers v Golden State Warriors

Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

Stein continued:

“[Klay] Thompson is said to be seeking a three-year deal at a minimum. The cap space teams [Philadelphia and Orlando] are believed to prefer shorter contract structures than Thompson covets but can offset that with higher dollar amounts than teams like the Nuggets and Mavericks can muster.”

More on Klay from The Athletic. Sam Amick and Anthony Slater combined to confirm reports that the Sixers have interest in the five-time All-Star and four-time NBA Champion sniper.

Per Amick and Slater:

“A league source said Philadelphia has interest in Thompson. If the Nuggets lose free-agent-to-be Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who has decided to decline his player option and enter the market, a league source said Denver has pegged Thompson as a possible replacement. Caldwell-Pope, as it were, is believed to be a strong possibility for Orlando. There are a handful of other rival teams also in play for Thompson, depending on his price tag.”

So if the Sixers were to sign KCP, that might diminish their ability to acquire Klay, creating scenarios where The Splash Brother lands in Denver (or Orlando). But Philly does sound interested in Thompson as a fallback plan, provided they could get him on a one or two-year deal; even if that short-term deal approached similar totals as the three-year iterations.

“Overpaying” for Klay (or KCP) on purpose, heading into a potential expiring contract by summer of ’25 or ’26 might also keep Philly’s big game-hunting options open since they’d have a solid player on a hefty short-term annual deal — helping to match for the next disgruntled star to seek a trade.

These types of “fallback plans” would also likely leave the Sixers more total spend if they intend to keep Kelly Oubre, Jr., De’Anthony Melton, or Buddy Hield; names expected to command more money than a Kyle Lowry or a Nico Batum.

So if Philadelphia executed a Jimmy Butler blockbuster by February via draft picks and large short term-deals for example, they might still be able to keep a few players on their current roster in addition; something they could probably not do if they sign Paul George outright next week.

And yeah, it’s no secret that Joel Embiid is simply dominant when there’s spacing around him, and who’s to say Thompson can’t thrive in a reduced role, as his catastrophic injuries wane further into the rearview mirror?

Brandon ‘Tiny Dog’ Ingram

New Orleans Pelicans v Philadelphia 76ers

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer, a Liberty Ballers alum, offered the latest on Brandon Ingram — long connected to Philadelphia this offseason as another possible fallback plan.

Per Fischer:

“Ingram has been listed among Philadelphia’s targets this offseason, sources said, somewhere below George, although it’s not exactly clear where Ingram ranks among the Sixers’ proverbial group of wing targets to slot between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. In the event George spurns Philadelphia, the Sixers could easily acquire Ingram into their $60-plus million in cap space, but could Philly’s three first-round picks prove enough for Ingram?”

This is the first I’ve heard of a potential price tag discussed regarding Ingram to Philly.

It’s my current understanding that the Sixers can trade up to four first round-picks: 2026 (their own or the HOU/LAC/OKC pick), 2028 (their own or LAC’s), 2029, 2031.

They’d have to put some conditional language on the 2029 and 2031 picks, but there are swaps and possible second-rounders (which still occasionally hold considerable value as evidenced by day two of the 2024 NBA Draft). If Ingram could be had for three future firsts, would the Sixers pony up? If so, they’d still have some draft ammo remaining, as well as another ~$30Mish in cap space to work with. Former Lakers’ BI and KCP to P anyone?

High-stakes PG-13 game of chicken

LA Clippers v Philadelphia 76ers

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Alas, no roundup is complete without the deluge of speculation regarding Paul George’s future.

According to Hoops Hype, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently offered the following, on a “Brian Windhorst & the Hoop Collective” pod:

“To my mind, there’s only three real options that I know about that Paul George really has. Stay in LA, which I would still put as the highest percentage chance of happening. Stay in LA for similar to what Kawhi got. Opt-in and trade, probably to the Warriors. The Warriors I know are interested in this. Third, sign straight up with the Sixers.”

And it’s sounding more and more like the Golden State Warriors could offer PG a max extension worth north of $212M should he opt in by Saturday — then quickly extend him upon trade; as well as the opportunity to remain on the West Coast — something that is reportedly quite important to the Cali native, who has family there.

But the Clippers may not want to take on Andrew Wiggins’ lengthy and exorbitant price tag. That makes Wigz a third-team trade candidate and has the Dubs playing some real hardball with the 2022 champ, apparently barring Maple Jordan from even taking part in the Olympic games, fearing an injury that could derail trade talks.

Still, Stein emphasizes that Steph Curry’s team is basically all-in on landing PG here.

The Golden State Warriors could also choose to guarantee Chris Paul’s $30M 2024-2025 salary and use him as trade bait.

But that doesn’t mean Clips’ owner Steve Ballmer and Team Prez Lawrence Frank have to cooperate in helping a Conference rival.

According to The Athletic’s John Hollinger:

“The cleanest way to do this would be to guarantee Chris Paul and Andrew Wiggins, except that would cap the Clippers at the first apron and make it impossible for them to re-sign James Harden. A simpler pathway would be to cut Paul and aggregate Wiggins, Gary Payton II and Moses Moody; the Warriors can also trade up to two first-round picks and three pick swaps to bait the hook for LA.

However, several other options exist if you prowl deeper in the weeds; for instance, it’s possible to do a Paul-Payton-Moody deal with the Clippers for George, trade Kevon Looney to a third team and get under the apron that way. Even more options exist if a Wiggins side deal emerges. The new complication of the tax apron has made putting together blockbusters a much more tangled, confusing business than it was 12 months ago.”

So the NBA world, Golden State, L.A., Philadelphia, and Orlando, in particular (but who knows what other teams may be lying in wait to pounce) will wait and see what George does next.

His opt in deadline is now a matter of hours away and this thing could be finalized swiftly, or drag on into the season. If the Clippers call PG’s bluff and he does opt out, would they then cave in and offer him a four-year, $200M deal, and then look to shop him between July and February?

Or even just keep him in the fold, new CBA-be-damned if they like how the team looks by Christmas?

Would they just take whatever deal the Warriors come up with in order to avoid a worst-case scenario where they get nothing, George walks, and Frank has to sell Leonard on a cap-space pipe dream by 2026?

We’re watching the clock closely on PG. And we’re starting to get a sense for what fallback plans may be in place for Joel Embiid and co. I’d be lying if I said it’s safe to feel too comfy about any one scenario playing out.

But my gut says the Clippers are smart enough to find some way to get something back for PG here. That helps the Warriors who should probably considered the favorites to land PG if he moves; and that should really limit Morey’s chances of hitting a cap-space homerun here. But still we’re in a holding pattern for good reason.

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Just as it felt more and more realistic that the Philadelphia 76ers could pry Los Angeles Clippers’ star Paul George away from the SoCal native’s home, Shams Charania tweeted last week that the Sixers’ interest in the nine-time All-Star has “significantly waned.”

Did the price of someone like Pelicans star Brandon Ingram, Jazz star Lauri Markkanen or Knicks’ star OG Anunoby suddenly drop? What would cause PG to go from Philadelphia’s “Plan A” (as had been previously speculated by insiders all offseason) to a consolation prize — just days away from both the 2024 NBA Draft and free agency period?

In the several days since that Shams bomb, we’ve heard numerous bits of intel suggesting that some rival teams or insiders are not quite convinced Daryl Morey and the Sixers’ front office has cooled on the PG plan A — and that PG may opt into his one-year player option and seek a trade.

But we’re curious what our readers think….