Paul George Makes Shocking Move To Join Strong East Contender
The 2024 NBA Off-Season continues to throw curveballs, as eight-time all-star Paul George joins Embiid and Maxey in the city of brotherly love on a four year, $212-million-dollar deal. The 76ers have made their big move, spending all that expired money that was previously the Tobias Harris contract. What does this mean for Philly, and maybe even more importantly, what does it mean for the Clippers?
Is George the missing piece for the Sixers?
For years on end, the 76ers have had strong regular seasons, and fallen short in the playoffs. At this point in time, they still only have six players on the roster, so it’s far too early to suggest how good this team will really be.
As we’ve seen with teams like Phoenix last year, and Brooklyn before that, getting 3 All-NBA quality players on the same team does not guarantee playoff success, Daryl Morey still has some work to do.
That being said, getting PG-13 on the team is obviously awesome, one of the best 2-way players in this league, should fit in seamlessly next to the 2 current stats, presuming Maxey is re-signed shortly.
George, the all-time leader in 3PM for the Clippers, joins a Philly team that ranked just 18th in the league in 3PM%. Again, it will still depend on how Morey fills out the rest of the team, but adding PG obviously is a big win in that department.
Whether or not this addition boosts them into real contention in an Eastern Conference featuring the Celtics, Knicks and Bucks is still a question, but provided they fill out the roster nicely, they certainly have the talent to compete with those aforementioned teams.
What now for the Clippers?
Prior to George leaving the Clippers, James Harden signed back on a 2 year/ $70 million dollar deal. Russell Westbrook picked up his $4 million dollar Player Option and it seems the Clippers are looking to find a trade partner for him. Kawhi Leonard still has 3 years on his contract, earning over $150 million over the 3 years.
Leonard just turned 33, Harden is about to turn 35, and Westbrook will be 36 in November. This Clippers core, particularly without George (34), is getting old, and all of these guys have shown some signs of decline already.
It will take some incredible re-tooling from Trent Redden to get this team to true NBA championship contention this season. Even though they save a lot of money with George’s max contract off the books, the Clippers are still well over the salary cap. That’s before PJ Tucker picks up his $11.5 million dollar player option (which he most definitely will).
If the Clippers disappoint this season, maybe the Paul George departure will make a decision to reset the team a bit easier, or maybe his departure opens up some opportunity for some of their younger wings to blossom.
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