Paul George $212M Deal Brings GEM Lineup to Philadelphia 76ers

The first domino of the 2024 NBA offseason fell late on Sunday night as forward Paul George chose the Philadelphia 76ers for a new long-term contract. George signed with Philly leaving the Los Angeles Clippers after five seasons. George elected to use his contractual rights to opt out of his deal in LA allowing him to become the largest available fish in the NBA free agent pond. 

Sixers All-Stars Joel Embiid and the always-grinning All-Star Tyrese Maxey will be cheesing heading towards photo day and the start of the 2024 season with a new superstar in town. Philadelphia’s roster looks structured to compete with the bolstered New York Knicks and NBA Champion Boston Celtics for Eastern Conference supremacy in 2024-25. 

On June 30, 2024, the G-E-M lineup of Paul George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey officially arrives in the NBA. 

Paul George Lands Max Contract With 76ers

Paul George, 34, received a four-year $212  maximum contract to switch NBA jerseys in the 2024 NBA offseason. It was an open secret that Philadelphia wanted the veteran wing to complement their line. Over the last few days, rumors swirled that the Orlando Magic were willing to do the same, although that vision vanished with the signing of Kentavious Caldwell Pope earlier in the free agent process. 

Philly prepared for this outcome with $50+ million in cap space entering June 30. It appears that adding the 4th year to Paul George’s contract led to Philadelphia becoming an attractive destination for the veteran while Los Angeles was unwilling to go past three seasons.  

Paul George averaged 22.6 points with a 41% average from beyond three-point range over 74 games. George added 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, while also assisting the defense with 1.5 steals. In the postseason, George averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 6 postseason games for the Los Angeles Clippers in their Round One loss to the Dallas Mavericks.   

Paul George has played 867 games over more than a decade of NBA action between the Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Los Angeles Clippers. It appears that PG13 will need some new digits on his shirt since his previous numbers are hanging in the Wells Fargo Center rafters for Philadelphia 76ers legend Walt Chamberlin (#13) and Bobby Jones (#24).

George-Embiid-Maxey Lineup in Philadelphia 

Philadelphia offers Paul George an opportunity to walk into a potential ready-made NBA Championship core alongside one of the NBA’s best forwards. Joel Embiid, and rising superstar guard Tyrese Maxey. The rest of the lineup will need some help, however, landing George as a free agent allows Morey to utilize draft-pick assets to round out the roster instead of putting all of his poker chips on the table to chase a new star.

The large contract required to sign George will significantly reduce the available pool of funds to round out the roster. Slightly before the official confirmation of the PG13 contract, the Sixers announced the signings of guard Eric Gordon and backup center Andre Drummond. Gordon should join the Sixers starting lineup alongside Maxey, George, and Embiid to add some additional space a shooting.

Backup center Andre Drummond should allow a bit of a reduced workload for Joel Embiid over his new two-year deal in Philly as the Philadelphia 76ers attempt to keep the big man healthy into the postseason. Nick Nurse’s Sixers squad struggled in a six-game first-round loss to the NY Knicks in 2023-24. The Sixers have only advanced outside of the second round of the NBA playoffs once since “Y2K” threatened to shut down the world. Philadelphia has started to implement the plan to rebuild an Eastern Conference contender to claim the 76ers’ first NBA Title since 1983.