The Philadelphia 76ers figure to be one of the more active teams in the league heading into the offseason. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has put the team in a great position to bring in another max player to join Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey on the title chase.
The biggest name on their radar has been Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George. There have been recent reports that Philadelphia’s interest has “significantly waned” when it comes to George, but it appears that those reports have been exaggerated a bit.
Per HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto:
Despite a recent report that Philadelphia’s interest in Paul George has cooled amid uncertainty about whether he’d go across the country and sign with Philadelphia in free agency, there remains significant interest from the 76ers in signing him as a free agent, league sources told HoopsHype.
The Sixers can throw a bunch of money at George in order to sway him to leave LA and join them in Philadelphia, but there is a chance the Clippers can convince him to stay. LA has a lot invested in the George-Kawhi Leonard tandem heading into a new arena and it would like to keep the two of them together.
Then, there’s Maxey who will likely be a free agent officially for all of a minute. The Sixers had Maxey wait for an extension so they could maximize cap space. Now that the time is come, the young All-Star will receive a huge deal to remain in Philadelphia.
Per Scotto:
The most certain thing for Philadelphia is Tyrese Maxey re-signing on a max extension, league sources said. However, after having to wait a year and being patient with Philadelphia’s front office as it prioritized max cap space, keep an eye on Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul wanting a player option on the final year of Maxey’s new contract and the full 15 percent trade kicker he’s eligible for in negotiations, HoopsHype has learned.
Signing Maxey to a big extension would keep him in Philadelphia with Embiid for the long term. A 5-year deal, for example, would keep him with the Sixers through the 2028-29 season which lines him up with Embiid should the big fella sign an extension in the 2024 offseason.
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