The Philadelphia 76ers have been one of the more active teams in free agency as they have been able to take advantage of the cap space they created thus far. The biggest addition has been Paul George who Philadelphia was able to lure away from the Los Angeles Clippers on a deal.
While the Sixers still have work to do to fill out the rest of the roster and build a team around George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey, now’s the time to hand out grades. The Sixersa achieved what they set out to do as that will play a factor into the final grade.
Contract details
George will reportedly receive a 4-year $212 million deal. The Sixers were able to offer him the fourth year he was looking for while the Clippers only offered three years.
George on offense
The Sixers are bringing in a guy who shot 41.3% from deep on 7.9 attempts in the 2023-24 season. He shot 45.4% on catch-and-shoot 3s during the season per NBA Stats which is exactly going to be his role in the upcoming season. While the Sixers will be looking for him to take games over with his isolation scoring and ability to get a bucket, his catch-and-shoot ability from deep is going to be such a huge addition.
Either way, the Sixers are acquiring a player who can both score in tough isolation situations, but they’re also getting an elite shooter. That is the biggest factor in all of this.
George on defense
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George is one of those star players that isn’t just an offensive guy. He is somebody who will buckle down and defend somebody on the other end of the floor which is going to come in handy in the postseason. The Boston Celtics have two elite wing players in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who produce on both ends of the floor. The blueprint is to have elite wings and that’s what George is.
Injury concerns
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Health will be the operative word for George and the Sixers. He did play in 74 games in 2023-24 as he reminded everybody of just how talented he is, but the injury concerns are there. He played 56 games in 2022-23, 31 in 2021-22, 54 in 2020-21, and 48 in 2019-20. One has to hope he can be the 2023-24 version of himself for the Sixers.
Final grade
George is who the Sixers had their eyes on. The entire goal was to create enough cap space to bring in another max player and they were able to do so. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey stated the fact that the Sixers needed a wing player after the postseason loss to the New York Knicks and they got one in George who is one of the top players in the league. There are injury concerns, but Philadelphia achieved success with this signing.
Final grade: A
