Paul George joined the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this summer. In doing so, the nine-time All-Star teamed up with former MVP Joel Embiid. Whenever two stars join forces, there's always a question surrounding whether one of them will have to take a backseat, especially when the game is on the line with time running out.
During a recent episode of "Podcast P with Paul George," the new Sixers star reminded everyone that he's shared the court with multiple elite stars in recent years. He also noted that Nick Nurse would ultimately have the final decision on who takes the last shot when a game is on the line.
"Whoever Nick Nurse draws it up for, we're gonna get the best shot," George said. "I've dealt with that. I've been on teams with other superstars. We live and die with whoever takes it (the final shot.)"
Chet Holmgren asks Paul George about if it should be him or Joel Embiid taking the last shot for the Sixers on the latest @PodcastPShow pic.twitter.com/KQcavM86jN
— Sean Barnard (@Sean_Barnard1) August 19, 2024
George has spent the past four years sharing the court with Kawhi Leonard, who is arguably the most talented two-way player in the NBA. Last season, he also had Russell Westbrook and James Harden in his locker room. George also had multiple star-level teammates during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Therefore, Sixers fans shouldn't be concerned about a power struggle between George and Embiid. George's history around the league has positioned him to be both a primary and secondary option, depending on what the team needs throughout the season.
Still, Philadelphia must first ensure that both Embiid and George remain healthy. Neither player has been the picture of health in recent years. If Daryl Morey's latest roster reshuffle is to pay dividends, Nurse must manage his star's playing time and operate with the postseason firmly at the forefront of his mind.
However, if the Sixers enter the playoffs healthy, with a problem-free season in the books, George's presence on the roster will be a massive boost. After a strong summer, that has seen Morey add multiple veterans, Philadelphia is perfectly positioned to challenge for an NBA championship. That is, of course, if it can overcome the Boston Celtics.
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As the 2025-26 NBA season nears, one team that continues to be the subject of trade rumors is the Sacramento Kings. Of course, the Kings elected to keep their core of Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVien together this offseason despite many around the league expecting them to begin a rebuild. Sacramento also made some notable additions to their roster this summer as they selected Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud in the 2025 draft and added Dennis Schroder in free agency. While the Kings have upgraded their roster this offseason, some of their players continue to be in trade rumors, primarily for Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga who Sacramento is reportedly targeting. For the Kings, multiple players have come up in trad rumors this summer but none more than Malik Monk who is coming off the best season of his NBA career. Despite this, the Kings have elected to keep Monk thus far but that could change as they continue to look for ways to upgrade their roster even more this offseason to chase a playoff spot next season. Kings predicted to trade Malik Monk to Lakers With this in mind, SB Nations’ Jacob Rude recently released a mock trade that would send Malik Monk to the Los Angeles Lakers for two players. In the trade, the Kings would land Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber and a lottery protected 2031 first-round pick from the Lakers in return for Monk. This trade does not make a ton of sense for the Kings as they would swap one of the best scorers on their roster for two veterans who struggled last season and a lottery protected first-round pick. Both Vincent and Kleber would be solid additions to the Kings’ roster as they would fill two glaring holes in their rotation, but Sacramento would likely want more in return for Monk, especially with him coming off the best season of his career. Because of this, it is highly unlikely that the Kings would agree to this trade as they could possibly receive a larger return for their veteran guard from another team this offseason.
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes may continue to be one of the top contenders for the National League Cy Young Award, but there is one place where he has appeared mortal this season. On Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Brewers did to Skenes what they have done to plenty of MLB pitchers in 2025 ... put up big offensive numbers. For the second time this season, Skenes also pitched in Milwaukee on June 25, the Brewers forced him from the game after just 4.0 innings on Tuesday night, logging six hits and four runs during his time on the mound. Both of those performances came at Milwaukee's home stadium (American Family Field) and both are now Skenes' shortest outings of the season. While another NL Central team has put up more runs against Skenes this season (the St. Louis Cardinals nicked him for five runs in 6.0 innings on April 8), no other team has had the same kind of success over multiple starts by Skenes in 2025 as have the Brewers inside their home stadium. In all this season, Skenes has given up 10 hits and eight runs in 8.0 innings in Milwaukee. It was his third career outing on the road against the Brewers, with his lone 2024 start representing arguably the best outing of his rookie season. On July 11, 2024, Skenes struck out 11 and didn't allow a hit over 7.0 innings as the Pirates would eventually post a 1-0 victory. Tuesday's short outing was highlighted by a pair of Milwaukee home runs, including a leadoff solo shot by Sal Frelick that quickly set the tone for the Brewers. While Milwaukee's hit parade helped raise Skenes' ERA on the season to 2.13, it's hardly any reason for concern in a season where the 23-year-old right-hander is still a heavy favorite (-600) to win the NL Cy Young Award, per BetMGM. Skenes struggling in Milwaukee is likely more yet another stamp of approval on the Brewers' potential to be a threat once the postseason arrives. With an 18-4 record since the All-Star break entering Tuesday, Milwaukee has taken over the NL Central race from the Chicago Cubs. So what's the good news for Skenes? This is Pittsburgh's last trip to Milwaukee this season and the next-to-last series for the Pirates against the red-hot Brewers. Milwaukee will visit PNC Park for a three-game series on Sept. 5-7 and, if Skenes gets a chance for revenge against Milwaukee, there couldn't be a better place for him to take the mound. This season, in 11 starts covering 68.2 innings, Skenes has a 1.70 ERA in the Steel City.
After an impressive second half against the Seattle Seahawks in their first preseason game, the Las Vegas Raiders noticed a change that needed to be made. We've been saying it for a while now -- maybe two or three weeks, since training camp has started, really. This roster in training camp will not be the same exact roster that started the season in Week 1 against the New England Patriots. There will be changes made throughout the roster between now and then, because the new regime wants to find the best 53 players possible to help their team be the best it can be. 2025 is an important season, one that will see some pretty major improvements compared to the previous iteration of the Raiders. If this team is somehow worse than the last two versions of this team that we have seen, then they may need to just blow the whole thing up, trade and cut everyone, and start over, because there has to be some type of curse somewhere. Luckily, everything is pointing towards this team being a pretty decent team in 2025, if not a good team. So, as we have said -- they're going to make some roster moves. And they've made another one after the first preseason game. Raiders sign WR Marquez Callaway The Las Vegas Raiders had a few good showings from some of their depth wide receivers who are all fighting to make the initial 53-man roster. Alex Bachman, who was Aidan O'Connell's primary target before Bachman left the game with an injury last Thursday, played very well. After him, Shedrick Jackson, better known as Bo Jackson's nephew, as mentioned a million times by the broadcast on Thursday, had an amazing game. But the Raiders still feel like they can get better there in that position room. So, they signed a guy with some experience. On Monday, the Las Vegas Raiders signed WR Marquez Callaway and let go of wide receiver Kawaan Bake. Marquez Callaway is a 27-year-old who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints in 2020, with his best season in 2021, leading the Saints with 698 receiving yards and six touchdowns. The 6'2", 204-pound player has also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has experience as a punt and kickoff returner, and has appeared in only five games over the past two seasons. The Raiders will likely let Callaway get some run in this next preseason game to see if he would be worth keeping on the roster.
Entering his third NFL offseason, Dallas Cowboys tight end Luke Schoonmaker is reaping the rewards of finally "getting on the grass," as tight ends coach Lunda Wells says. After having two injury-interrupted offseasons, which directly impacted his ability to perform at a high level in the regular season, through OTAs, minicamp, and now training camp, "Schoony" has finally gotten a clear runway. And it's paying off. Even Luke himself stated that this offseason was his "greatest" health-wise, and now head coach Brian Schottenheimer comes in with a rather definitive statement about the tight end in 2025. “With Schoony, I think I've talked multiple times about his confidence,” Schottenheimer said. “He came back, and his body was ready. Some of the training and the things that he did during the offseason, to get ready for the offseason program was awesome. "He was around a lot more than he was in years past. Just working out with our guys and spending time with (trainer) Britt Brown and those guys. But I think he's having a great camp and again, one of those guys that we expect to have a big year for us.” With Jake Ferguson as TE1, and for some, Brevyn Spann-Ford his backup, Schoonmaker needs to have a big Year 3 in the worst way. Considering in his two NFL seasons, Schoonmaker hasn't played more than 35 percent of the offensive snaps in each year, it tells you all you need to know, and now, No. 86 needs to hit the ground running. Because yes, he is in his third year, but with Spann-Ford easily overshadowing him in training camp before his injury, Luke needs to take advantage of his chances. As for the "big year" comment by Schottenheimer, we hope Schoonmaker finally delivers on his talent.
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