The Philadelphia 76ers continue to be seen as a potential destination for Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George in the offseason, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
The reason: George and the Clippers have not yet agreed to an extension more than two months after Kawhi Leonard took a pay cut for the team to keep both George and former Sixers star James Harden.
“Sources in the league say that Philadelphia remains keen to pursue George should he become available and give the 76ers a chance to try to attract him across the country,” Stein wrote in his substack newsletter on March 20. “The Sixers are reported to still be interested in George despite the common belief that he and Leonard want to keep playing together in Southern California, where they are from.”
The Clippers have until June 30 to extend George's contract.
Ideal 3-and-D Player
A 9-time NBA All-Star and a 4-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team, George could be the ideal 3-and-D player alongside current MVP Joel Embiid and the Sixers’ All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey.
The 33-year-old George has not shown signs of slowing down as he is averaging 22.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals on a 46/40/89 shooting split for his 9th All-Star season.
George is eligible to sign for four years and $220 million. It is unclear if George is willing to take a pay cut to stay in his hometown Los Angeles like Leonard.
“The Sixers are projected to have significant cap space this summer to pursue another star-level target before the max contract extension they are expected to give to All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey … but the challenge is identifying a top-level free agent for them to actually pursue. Options are increasingly limited,” Stein wrote.
The Sixers have only Embiid and Paul Reed under guaranteed contracts for next season. Sixers president Daryl Morey is projected to have $76.8 million in cap space this summer, per Spotrac, which could be enough to re-sign Maxey and attract George in free agency to form another Big 3.
Sixers' New Addition Injured Hamstring
Kai Jones, who signed a 10-day contract with the Sixers, caught coach Nick Nurse's attention in his Delaware Blue Coats debut in G League on Friday, March 15.
Jones scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds, along with five steals and one block while Nurse was watching.
“I went up [to Wilmington] last night and watched him,” Nurse said, per SI.com. “He did some good things. He’s got some size, he’s got some athleticism. I don’t know how many dunks he had last night, probably like five or six, and a couple of them were pretty important. Like, tip-back and rebound dunks. He seemed to play his role really well.
Nurse added Jones didn’t seem to try to do too much.
“He rebounds, he runs, he really screens, and he moves it to the next action over and over again. For his first game, that wasn’t too bad,” Nurse said.
Unfortunately, Jones suffered a hamstring injury in his second game the following day which could ruin his chances to stay with the Sixers.
“I think we just wanted to get him ten days down there,” Nurse said on Saturday, March 16. “After those ten days, we’ll re-evaluate and take it from there.”
