Paul George and Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to sign the free agent to a four-year, $212 million contract, a person familiar with the deal said Monday morning.
A nine-time All-Star, George plans to sign as soon as the league’s signing moratorium is lifted on July 6, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal cannot be announced under NBA rules until then.
With George joining the 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid and All-Star defenseman Tyrese MaxeyThe 76ers will boast one of the most formidable trios in the league.
George chose Philadelphia after he turned down LA Clippers Basketball Team and declined the player option on his contract for $48.7 million in 2024-25, ending a five-year stretch with a team where he averaged at least 21.5 points per season .
George averaged 20.8 points during a 14-year career with Indiana, Oklahoma City and the Clippers.
“Paul has informed us that he will be signing his next contract with another team,” the Clippers said in a press release Sunday night.
The group added: “We have been in negotiations for many months with Paul and his representatives on a contract that makes sense for both parties, and we have come very far apart. The distance is significant. We understand and respect Paul’s decision to look elsewhere for his next contract.”
He looked all the way to Philadelphia.
George 34 years old joins a Sixers team is perennially underachieving, even as Embiid has developed into one of the top players in the NBA. They haven’t won an NBA title since 1983 or even been eliminated from the second round of the Eastern Conference since 2001.
Embiid sparked rumors that George was headed to Philadelphia during their joint TV appearance during the NBA Finals.
“Hopefully this season, we find a way to get better and, you know,” Embiid said, pausing to look at George, “add some parts.”
The 76ers failed to find the right pieces to build around Embiid, failing with Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, James Harden and the list goes on. Team president Daryl Morey has been preparing for this opportunity for years, building a squad with most of the contracts that expired at the end of this past season. Embiid and Maxey, expected to sign five-year, $205 million contracts this summer, are the only key players on the team that is chasing NBA champions Boston, New York and Indiana.
George is a six-time member of the All-NBA Team. He is a four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team and was the league’s most improved player in 2013. He was a finalist for both NBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, as he led the league with 2.21 steals per game.
Like Embiid, George’s injury history could concern the 76ers. George played in 76 games last season, the first time he played more than 56 games since the 2018-19 season.
However, with a limited number of options and a large enough salary fund, the 76ers have no other choice but to pursue an older but still elite star like George.
“We plan on being the best team in the East next season,” Morey said during the NBA draft.
At least George kept them in the East.
As reported by The Associated Press.
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