Paul George signs with 76ers, threatens Knicks’ title odds with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey

The East just got tougher.Nine-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA forward Paul George is leaving the Los Angeles Clippers to sign a four-year, $212 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.George joins former NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid and reigning league Most Improved Player Tyrese Maxey to create a Big Three threatening both the Knicks’ and Boston Celtics’ odds at representing the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals next season.George is coming off the best three-point shooting season of his career and ends a disappointing, injury-marred five-year stint in Los Angeles to help solidify Embiid’s pursuit of a title.He averaged 22.6 points last season, shooting 41.3 percent shooting from deep. He also played in 74 games after failing to appear in more than 56 in any season during his time in Los Angeles.Now, what was viewed as a two-team race to the NBA Finals between the Knicks and Celtics just expanded to include the 76ers, whom the Knicks eliminated in six games in the first round of the playoffs, only for the Sixers to add a significant piece alongside one of the most dominant players in basketball.George has been to the conference finals three times in his career: twice as a member of the Indiana Pacers and again with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2021.He now has a chance not only to reach the Eastern Conference title round, but also to make his first NBA Finals appearance alongside Embiid and Maxey, who have yet to make it out of the second round of the playoffs.The Sixers were able to sign George outright with cap space after shedding the salaries of Tobias Harris, Buddy Hield, Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington. They also utilized the salary cap mechanism allowing them to wait to re-sign Maxey, who was a restricted free agent, meaning the Sixers can exceed the salary cap to re-sign him and thus do so last in the order of operations, allowing Philadelphia to handle other free agency business first before inking their young star to a lucrative contract extension.Hours after the George deal, news broke of the Sixers agreeing to a five-year, $204 million contract extension to keep Maxey in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future.For the Sixers, George slots in where Harris fell short as a third option alongside Embiid and Maxey.Embiid averaged 34.7 points, 11 rebounds and 5.7 assists last season, and Maxey’s ascent to stardom (25.9 points and 6.2 assists per game) following James Harden’s departure culminated with a 46-point performance in a must-win Game 5 against the Knicks in the first round.The Sixers needed help alongside their two franchise pillars.In George they trust.George is a gifted scorer, skilled ball-handler and versatile defender known best for hunting threes and scoring off the dribble. He brings a legitimate offensive option and bona fide star power to a team now boasting enough of it to compete for a title.Philadelphia, however, will now need to build out a roster deep enough to contend with both the Knicks and Celtics.Aside from Embiid, George and Maxey, the Sixers have Kelly Oubre Jr and Paul Reed as returning players on the roster. They also signed Andre Drummond as a backup center and veteran scorer Eric Gordon as a scoring punch.And they aren’t done. They still have the $12.86 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception available to sign a key free agent this summer. They can also exceed the salary cap to re-sign any of their own free agents: Harris, Hield, Batum, Covington, De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Lowry and Cameron Payne all options to rejoin a team with emboldened championship odds.The Sixers are considered a threat to sign free agent guard Klay Thompson, who will not re-sign with the Golden State Warriors and is believed to be seeking an opportunity to compete for a title elsewhere outside of San Francisco.If the Sixers can land Thompson, they would create the kind of stacked starting lineup needed to go toe-to-toe with the Knicks and Celtics, though getting Embiid and Maxey quality help in George is an undeniable step in the right direction for Philadelphia.

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