The Philadelphia 76ers have waited for this moment. They spent all season telling Joel Embiid to be patient and that they would go out and get the best player available in free agency due to the cap space they possess.
They came through on that school of thought as they were able to lure Paul George away from the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency. The Sixers agreed on a 4-year $212 million deal to bring George in to join Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to chase down the defending champion Boston Celtics in the East.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps hopped on “Get Up” praising the Sixers for their move and saying that they are the biggest threats to the Celtics in the East:
The Sixers now have the best Big 3 in the NBA. It’s really not close. With the three guys have now, all of them were All-Stars last year. You’ve got a lead guard in Maxey, got an elite two-way wing in Paul George, you got maybe the most dominant big in the league and Joel Embiid. They fit together perfectly. They complement each other in every way on the court. They’re versatile. Paul George an elite shooter. You have two elite shooters now giving spacing around Embiid. They can go out and get any kind of role players that can fit alongside them. They’re versatile in a lot of ways. They have the highest ceiling now of any team in the league, but the Boston Celtics, and they can go toe to toe with the Celtics depending on how healthy these guys are, which is obviously the biggest question.
"This isn't like the Phoenix Suns putting this big three together last year that was flawed from the start. This is a group that fits together perfectly."@timbontemps says adding Paul George makes the 76ers a title contender 👀 pic.twitter.com/vIgGpY9Z6h
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 1, 2024
Health will absolutely be the biggest question mark with this group. Obviously, Embiid has a vast injury history, but so does George. It will be interesting to see how the Sixers handle the regular season with these two leading the way. Coach Nick Nurse has a history with an oft injured star–Kawhi Leonard–so it will be interesting to see what happens next for the Sixers.
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