Paul George signs four-year max with Philadelphia 76ers

Paul George signs four-year max with Philadelphia 76ers

Hours after it was reported that there was “growing optimism” about Paul George potentially linking up with the Philadelphia 76ers, it’s come to fruition. George has agreed to a four-year, $212 million deal with the City of Brotherly Love.

The deal was first reported upon the opening of free agency by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The breadcrumbs for George in Philadelphia have been placed for the last 24-48 hours or so, especially after Wojnarowski confirmed that it was “strong frontrunners” to nab Goerge after a sour ending in Los Angeles.

Their dissolution mainly surrounded George not getting the extra year; he wanted four, but the Clippers were only willing to give him three (for $152.3M). They extended Kawhi Leonard for three years, $150 million in January and were in conversations with George, though that never came to fruition. Los Angeles clearly pivoted in a different direction by hard-capping themselves by inking Derrick Jones Jr. to a three-year deal, plus signing Kevin Porter Jr. and re-signing James Harden.

The 34-year-old will sign with Philadelphia via their cap space. After a busy Sunday, they still only have six other players on their roster, including superstar center Joel Embiid plus free agent signees Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon.

The Leonard-George era was a massive disappointment after George was acquired for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five first-round picks and Danilo Gallinari. The duo appeared in just one Western Conference Finals in five years, which was mired by early flameouts and, more importantly, ill-timed injuries.

Philadelphia giving George a four-year max deal at 34-years-old carries inherent risk. Though the window for Embiid is closing and there weren’t any better, more pragmatic solutions on the market if it wanted to keep itself anywhere close to “contender” status.

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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