Paul George will be heading back to the Eastern Conference for the first time in eight years, as he will join Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and a refreshed Sixers roster next season. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the news that George will get four years and $212 million to join the Sixers, with Shams Charania of The Athletic confirming.
BREAKING: Free agent F Paul George has agreed on a four-year, $212 million maximum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell ESPN. George committed in a meeting with Sixers officials and returns East to join Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in pursuit of an NBA title. pic.twitter.com/pkCfGu3hyp
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2024
Paul George plans to sign a four-year, $212 million maximum contract to join the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/ffK4fCVsxM
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2024
All the way up until Sunday evening, George’s future seemed very much in the air. First was a strong pursuit of the star by the Golden State Warriors, with George apparently signing off on a deal to the Warriors only for their offer to be shot down by the Clippers. From there, his first meeting of free agency was with L.A., but the two sides couldn’t get close on a deal and the Clippers released a full statement thanking George for his time and confirming he would not be back with the team before he even signed with anyone else.
With Orlando signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Oklahoma City chasing Isaiah Hartenstein, that left the Sixers as the only cap space team that made any sense for George, and the two sides met in Los Angeles to work out a deal. The result was a 4-year, $212 million max deal that gives George the financial commitment he was seeking that L.A. wouldn’t offer — they held firm at the same deal Kawhi Leonard signed last season.
George joined the Clippers ahead of the 2019-20 season as part of a package deal with Kawhi Leonard. The pair had aspirations of winning a championship in Los Angeles, but injuries have frequently derailed the team’s effort of winning the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time in franchise history — the Clippers only made the conference finals one time in the five years since George and Leonard came to town.
George is coming off of an All-Star campaign in L.A., one in which he averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals in 33.8 minutes per game on 47.1 percent shooting from the field, 41.3 percent shooting from three, and 90.7 percent shooting from the free throw line. Now he’ll slot in between one of the most potent two-man combos in the league from a year ago in Embiid and Maxey, and look to provide them with the support they haven’t been able to get to make a real push in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
The Sixers also signed Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond to open free agency, as they work to fill out their roster around their triumvirate of stars.