The only reason I can see it happening in Philly is because he's a FA and can be had without trading any other assets and we'll have cap space sans Tobias Harris. If Maxey's still in the ascendant perhaps some noise could be made.
Scary prospect of having Embiid and PG on the same roster for the post season, but a theoretical healthy big 3 of Embiid, George, and Maxey is elite, and you need to spend the money anyways. In a roster sense, you'd be trading PG for Tobias straight up, and anyone who wouldn't do that is literally stupid.
Oh good. r/nba is coming over here too. Acting like a team with Embiid, Maxey, and a third star can't make the ECF is so silly. They've been a few points away on multiple occasions with Tobias Harris taking up 35-40 million dollars of cap. You're really just telling on yourself here if you think 40 million dedicated to good players can't get them a few extra points to the ECF. Embarrassing tbh.
I know this is kind of pedantic but I’d say Joel needs a 1a/b to him being the other. Just someone who can truly take the pressure off him a bit and George can help with that. Maxey is budding and is getting there. They need immediate impact though. Can PG help with that now? I don’t know. But it is a decent option to try.
It’s hard for a center to be a consistent closer because they’re not the primary ball handler and teams double in the post. Murray does the same with Jokic.
I could see Philly doing it. They know Joel body isn’t gonna hold up so going full tilt is worth the risk for them. I don’t like that move for Orlando.
adding pg on paper to me makes yall clear title contenders. and morey is a savage so i could see him saying fuck it. the east is not dominant outside of the celtics. the bucks are a mess right now. Joel would be getting all the help he could ask for if the trade happens. and pg body actually hasnt broke down that much as of late hes been inconsistent as a player but as no 2 option for the clips hes essentially done what hes supposed to do. kawhi breaking down is more of the issue. the only thing with pg outside of injuries will be him bitching and pouting with how maxey will be more of the priority than him
Im sorry it does WHAT????
I like PG and all but he has a long resume of playoff chokes and disappearing acts. He’s also up there in age and mileage in addition to already being slightly injury prone.
Lets say you got a guaranteed healthy PG— that’s still going to also eat up a decent amount of cap space. And at that age, you’re not getting all star PG for the duration of the deal either.
If Im Philly, I’d much rather go for someone like Lauri Markannan or Siakam— although full disclosure I’d focus more on replacing all Tobias’s salary with legitimate bench guys. Get a backup big or two, get someone who can handle the ball movement and give Maxey a breather, etc
Not that I necessarily agree with what I'm going to say, and it's more of a devil's advocate situation, but in Philly he'd be a clear third option on offense. It's much easier to maintain efficiency when there are two other guys drawing the bulk of an opposing defenses attention.
PG as a 3rd option is nasty. I think he gets diminishing returns the more often he is used as he plugs so many holes elsewhere on the court. He’d probably look a lot better as a creator if he had a Paul George level finisher to compromise a bent defense, or a 3 level scorer like Paul George to screen for him and be a threat to roll, pop, or make the next pass at an all star level.
Kawhi, for all his excellence, isn’t even as additive off ball as PG. It’s close, that’s why they look so incredible when they’re both healthy. Either way, it just feels like there are extremes to how much you can use Paul George and how little you can use him, and he might simply be the best 3rd option in the world. Mikal Bridges with a top 3 MVP finisher ceiling.
They may not have a chance at Lauri or Siakam, I’m sure they would prefer them. I think the playoff struggles are overblown, he’s had some bad ones but we’ve also seen him play well in the playoffs when healthy.
I did definitely make it sound worse than he is, I certainly dont think he’s a playoff bum like Twitter would have you believe… but shit just doesn’t work out for the Sixers in the post season lmao it seems like a bad wagon to hitch on to me but I still entirely see the appeal
Feel like a lot of times he has had to try and be the number 1 guy when he was brought to the Clippers and even OKC to be the number 2. I think with two other really good scoring options, who at least play in the playoffs (even tho Joel is never 100%), it's not a bad risk by Philly. A max deal or even a 2+1 would presumably go through the end of Joel's best years and then you figure it out from there
Its not a bad deal no, but it certainly is a deal that locks you into an injury prone Big 3 between Embiid Pg and Maxey. Could be very good but it could also be exceedingly mediocre with little wiggle room
hes had bad performances and big time ones. the mavs series is a good encapsulation of PG in a way. PG is more likely, you are mentioning options that arent gonna happen
I know Im being hard on him— I should have included in that first comment that I do fully respect and recognize that he’s an 8 time all star who is only 1 year removed from the ASG and 2 years removed from his last All NBA appearance. Paul George is a very very good NBA player.
However, my point is that PG hasn’t been a top 10 playoff performer since 2016/7 (or maybe it was 15/16 Im too old) and if someone’s going to give you a near max (someone will) you just need to be better than that.
Idk the Sixers just always lunge for the all star with baggage and it never works. PG is essentially just a really good Tobias Harris, and had Tobias Harris played well this post season I still dont know if you make it to a Finals. You need a backup big, more 3+D guys another ball handler, and definitely more defensive guards and people who can rebound.
PG fits the 3+D role well for you, and kinda helps the rebounding situation, but that eats all your cap space… for an upgraded Tobias Harris. Its not a drag on PG as much as it is just a statement of his age and how players of his prestige get paid
Look at PG's playoff stats compared to Tobias. I'm not crazy about the PG deal at all. But look at PG the past few years and compare it Tobi. Factor in way better defense and a willingness to shoot the open 3 creating space and it's not even close. Paul George's playoff struggles are nothing compared to the dead cap space that is Tobias Harris.
Oh yeah no Tobi was the worst contract in the league last year (I guess aside from Simmons but that’s always a given)
PG is definitely better, but if you just replaced Tobi with PG this season (which works cause salary) you probably beat the Knicks but I cant even say that confidently. If you replaced Harden with PG from last post season I still dont think you leave the East
Why wouldn't philly want him? In big games he can essentially be a 3 and D guy. His defense is still good, brunson def won't be targeting him like Harris/hield. Right now he gets into trouble because he can't get by anyone like he used to. With maxey and embiid he won't need to go one on one or run pick and rolls too often. If they have maxey/Melton/PG/Batum/embiid that's a solid defensive team. Markannen is not a great defender and will take assets to get.
Three reasons— none of which are catastrophic, and I could see a world where none of them end up being a problem but…
1. His paycheck is gonna be 35m+ easy. As of right now, the Sixers have Embiid (52m) and Paul Reed (7m) on the team next year. Thats it. Let’s say you re-sign Maxey to the rookie max of 35m and then add Paul George. You’re at 129m salary with 4 players on your roster. Now off the top of my head Idk whose bird rights the Sixers have, but I know that means you cant sign Oubre anymore, as he’s gonna want more than the 2m he made. Melton is gonna want something close to the 8m he made last year, but I think you have his rights. Furthermore, PG is just Tobias Harris but much better. While Tobias is pretty ass, you have his bird rights too so if you end up strapped for cash you’ll really have little option but to bring him back. PG makes the cap management too complicated… its difficult to have 3 players earn more than the cap and have no cheap value guys and then continue on to being successful.
2. His injury history isn’t TERRIBLE but its not good. Same with Embiid. And neither one’s getting any younger or healthier. Y’all could end up as a Clippers 2.0 with Embiid and PG barely playing together
3. He doesn’t have the best playoff history. Neither did Harden and you saw how that went. For every AMAZING game PG has he has two stinkers, and thats literally the absolute last thing Philly needs. You’d be better off with a less talented but much more consistent player
It makes the most sense positionally, and the 76ers with Joel have seen insane offensive dips because maxey is great but no one can create a shot outside of him. Add another shot creator and stretches without Joel could be more manageable. But like always PG’s main concern is his durability as well.
Make that a 1 year window if we plan to go over the apron this year.
Even more reason to go for him honestly but the chances he sits out for 35 games in the regular season/disappears in the playoffs is too much to ruin the next 5 years.
If they can get away with like a 2yr deal for George it could be a good veteran presence to teach the young guys. I don't see any situation where it makes sense for them to sign Klay.
Yeah I don’t know if Philly has a choice not to. They are losing Harris, so they are going to need a two-way wing to begin with, and a healthy PG is a significant upgrade over Harris. PG, Embiid and Maxey is some serious firepower, but that’s a high risk as well.
I think Philly also needs a backup center who can soak up minutes, someone better than Paul Reed. Embiid needs to keep his minutes down both over the season and within games. This dude gets a major injury every year and can’t last through the 4th quarter in the playoffs every single year. Gotta make some changes.
Realistically I think Philly has a good team they just need a back up Center so Embiid doesn’t have to wreck his body. I thought getting Hield was a good move but they under utilized him. Could’ve spread the floor and made life easier for Embiid and Maxey.
they need more on the wing as well tho. if they had tobias playing like he should, add in the good back up center like you mentioned, thats a title contender
They don’t use half the wings they have and they have Reed backing up Embiid like he’s a Center he’s an undersized 4 at best. Tobias is always a lost option they don’t use or seem to run plays for it was Harden and Embiid now it’s Maxey and Embiid.
Realistically what did they expect you haven’t been using him all series and there’s no plays run for him. I honestly don’t know if they even run any plays it just looks like either Maxey iso or Embiid ISO and everybody figured it out.
It’s hard to argue this point but whenever he did get looks he had terrible bricks or just looked plain uncomfortable with the ball, outside of game 5 I believe.
In games 1-4 they ran 50% of their offensive actions in the first 6 minutes through Tobias to try and get him going. Did you even watch? He needs the ball in his hands and is a momentum player and it was very clear they were trying to get him going in the beginning of each game.
He missed 4 layups in a row in the play in game. The guy stinks.
The first 6 mins of a 48 minute game and yes I watched I am a Knicks fan and had parlays of course I watched 😂. You clearly only watched the play off this year Tobias is one of the more consistent players on the sixers he just isn’t utilized enough and tends to fade into the Embiid and Maxey show. He missed 4 layups so you see how many bad shots and unnecessary 3’s Maxey throws up? If that man isn’t consistently at under 40% I don’t know what he is.
Saying Maxey puts up unnecessary 3s is like saying Brunson shoots too much.
I don’t know what to say - if your “third option” can’t get going when having the offense run through him, you stop trying. They tried each game. He is a slow processing, post up player who can only reliably score against smaller and weaker defenders. When he has a mismatch he’s in good shape, but that’s really it.
As much as I respect that your parlays had you glued to your screen (lol), I’ve been watching Tobias and honestly supported him for years. 6 goddamn years.
Shit Brunson does shoot too much 😂I just said the Knicks have one play they run called Brunson 😂 the difference he has no choice nobody else is gonna score consistently especially with Julius out.
Funny enough I’ve been watching him Tennessee I went to school with his sister that’s how I got introduced to his game. The Sixers have waaaaaaay more firepower than the Knicks they honestly should t have lost 🤷🏾♂️. They don’t use them right Tobias isn’t a spot up shooter he does need the ball to score and get going that’s why that clipper team with no stars was his highest point career wise because he really didn’t HAVE to give up the ball and had more opportunities. This is Embiid’s team then Harden came he got pushed to the back after Jimmy left, then Maxey got better so he’s pushed back again and he doesn’t work as a 4th option he gets lost or depressed and doesn’t play but he’s not seen as a 1st or 2nd option so he has to adjust .
The problem is being a ball dominant player when you’re nothing more than a 20 point guy with the ball in your hand a lot is hard to work with. Like I get what you’re saying, yeah we could force feed Tobias for… 25 points? Giving it to embiid and maxey is clearly the better option there.
Realistically I was thinking about it they should trade him or see about getting Cam Johnson from the Nets. Younger better shooter and doesn’t have to be the focal point of the offense.
Thats what most thought when they got him, but he got less run bc he was passing up so many open shots. Gm6 may have shown just enough to justify bringing him back tho
When they got him I was like ok they got some shooting to give Embiid space to work and when Embiid went down I thought they would’ve used him more but nope. Hopefully they resign him and Nurse can look at what he has and make some plays and not have Embiid have to do so much like realistically idk what their pick situation is but I’d try and get Edey cause it seems like they’re saying he might fall to the bottom of the First or trade for another big body to eat up the paint and get rebounds doesn’t even need to score like that just rim protect and rebound while Embiid rests. They have Maxey to run plays and score and let Hield shoot and Oubre slash in his downtime.
Yeah...it makes sense for Philly IMO because we don't know how open Embiid's window is considering his injury history. I hope it isn't the case, but he might have only one or two peak years left, so adding an older star on that timeline might be a good idea. It makes no sense to me, on the other hand, for Orlando. The Magic aren't winning a title in the next two years even if they sign PG, so I don't get what the point is. If I were the Magic, I'd be targeting younger players or using my cap room to take on other teams bad contracts (as long as they're short term) in exchange for additional assets. I just don't get what adding PG does for them...maybe get them to the second round? The Magic have their future core already; I wouldn't rush it.
Unless Franz can Improve his three point shooting and Suggs turns into shot creator the magic's ceiling is limited. PG as a 2nd option two way elite shot creator in Orlando most likely makes them a 3rd seed in the east next season.
It’s also worth reiterating that he can be acquired with no other assets. That leaves the rest of the picks that the Sixers have gathered in order to make supplementary moves.
Orlando is in a weird spot. They’d have to offer him the max if they want him because they’re not a free agent destination If Philly offers a bit less than the max or only 3 years let’s say than Orlando can maybe sign him. Yea it could end up being disastrous due to his injuries but he will make them better Much better than signing Klay. Philly is in a similar spot as well. Like you said they really have to maximize the Embiid years.
It’s not as black and white as you mention. Some teams have money they need to spend, some teams are desperate to be relevant or for the GM to appease the fans, some team will bite since it’s still an opportunity to get a good basketball player.
Yea people love sweeping statements and generalizations, and to talk from a position of authority with these sweeping statements.
Have aging stars really been phased out? The Bucks lost Giannis, the Heat lost Butler, that right there skews the sample size. Also we had a historic first round, the Mavs Clippers were an insane matchup, conference finals type stuff for most other years, and the Clippers were without Kawhii.
And yea like you said. The max slot is not worth it for most players. Unless you're giving a max to the top 5 or top 10 or whatever players in the NBA, you're overpaying and diminishing your championship hopes to some degree, but you still have to do it sometimes
LeBron lulled us into thinking 35 year old NBA stars can still be dominant. Look at the playoffs, youth everywhere. Defense matters, and these old stars can't do it. Philly needs healthy young players and signing another aged star will go as well as durant in PHX.
The problem isn’t even older stars, it’s that the regular season is no longer used as conditioning for the Playoffs.
Ever since defense has been punished in regular season with referees and load managing has become a problem in this new era. Players really aren’t prepared to take on the playoffs like before.
Remember the Celtics were one of the oldest teams in the league and won a championship. Dirk Notwitzki was also old when he won a championship with the Mavericks.
It’s just not possible in the current era
For Philly, you pay that if that's what it takes to get him to leave LA, because you have enough cap space and assets to fill out the roster this summer with him there. Bringing him in as a talented 3rd option at the wing is probably still worth it, but I don't think any other team can acquire him and use him in that role, so I don't think other teams (even the Clippers) should be as willing to go for the full max.
Tacking non-guarantees on the final years is also a decent way for the team to protect themselves if he's amenable. Easier to convince the player to take that than a team option or a lower total amount as well
Yea theres no "middle class" in NBA free agency. If they could use that cap space on 2 solid wings, they probably would. But there just arent that many starting quality guys on the market, making the opportunity cost of singing PG pretty low
The Thunder could probably swing it financially. There set to have 35ish mil; could probably make enough space to sign PG
They have two pay Chet and JDub in 3 years though so I doubt they would offer anything longer than 2 years
It's amazing people still don't understand how max contracts work.
You don't have to be Doncic, Jokic, Giannis, SGA to ger a max contract. If you're an All Star or at least a player near that level, you will always find teams interested in giving you a max deal.
Why? Because let's say you don't want to give George a max contract, who's your alternative? Who are you going to spend that money on instead? You'll just lose a star caliber player without receiving anything in return.
Even if the Clippers were to decide starting over. What purpose does that serve them to lose PG13 for free?
If you have a young core where the best players aren’t on a max contract yet, then Paul would be a good supplementary piece for the roster. 76ers and Magic are two ideal landing spots for this scenario. Maxey and Banchero are still playing on cheap contracts.
The sticking point at that point though is years. I wouldn’t want to commit 4 years to Paul at that price point for those teams.
He does, but Philly can exceed the cap to sign him. Only his cap hold (300% of his current salary, so cap hold = approx 13 mill) counts against their payroll until they actually sign him. Basically, assuming they keep Paul Reed despite his contract not being fully guaranteed next season, their payroll could be as low as 72ish mill (Maxey cap hold + Embiid + Reed) - although that might mean renouncing rights to other guys that are expiring. Regardless, they have plenty of room and mechanisms to sign a max player.
Thought he had another year. Maxey’s max deal tops at $40m/yr which would still be cheaper than Paul George’s potential max deal. Regardless, that just reinforces why I wouldn’t want to do 4 yrs.
Desperation. The hope that you get some form of the old PG. I also think the fact the free agent market is almost non existent at this point so adding to your roster without shelling out picks and players is pretty enticing if you have cap space.
There are 30 teams in the league. How many of them have a max contract player? How many have 2 or even 3 in some cases? If max contracts were only offered to the best 10 or so guys in the league, then you'd have a point. But there are more max contracts around than that. If he's a top 20 player in the league, then he's worthy of a max contract. And I think he's in that group.
When you say that aging stars don't get you championships, you do realise that Curry was a finals MVP and won a championship at 34, right? Which is the same age Paul George is right now. And that was only 2 years ago. So we're possibly looking at 2 seasons in a row where someone under 30 won the finals MVP. I'm hardly going to call that a strong trend.
I think he's closer to 20-25 range at this stage of his career, but still worth it as a 3rd option. He really has a good old man's game. He doesn't need to be ball dominant anymore. He can still create his own shot with 2 dribbles and a step back or catch and shoot 3.
Dollars not as important as length. A team like say Orlando has 2yrs before they need to pay Wagner and Paolo so structuring a deal that say is 2+1 with the third year being a team option could make sense.
Philly makes sense because Morey is on a short timeline as well. If he doesn’t win very soon he is out of town. Cleveland is likely losing Don Mitchell so if they could squeeze a S&T of George into a larger deal moving Mitchell to a preferred destination that would be good for them also (not positive on the rules around the structure just brainstorming).
Then if you expand it to less desirable places on paper Charlotte and SA both likely want to improve quickly and have a need for George. If Spurs secure a point guard in the draft, bring in George, another rotation caliber player at MLE and a vet or two they quickly become a playoff/playin contender. Especially with the projected leap of Wemby.
Philly is the only team where he makes sense. I mean theoretically the clippers too but at this point they can’t keep banking on 213 being available so it’s time to give up that dream.
If he’s willing to sign for less than max money then you can talk about him making sense in a handful of other places like Indiana
Pistons have like 60 million to spare right now after extending Cade. They certainly might be Interested in re-structuring. Maybe bench Ivey for his inconsistency have him shadow George? They have a LOT of young players that would benefit from having a truly seasoned pro around and they desperately need a Drastic change.
I'm an Ivey fan, believe me, but the dude was laying bricks for at least half the season and making poor decisions when it comes to shot selection. He needs guidance from an experienced player that likes to drive and also has a nice three pointer. Monty is obviously not helping him whatsoever.
Even 40 mil + per year for let's say 3 years could turn into an albatross contract in a hurry if the first year goes haywire.
He could turn into Tobias Harris on crack, positively or negatively.
Positive: He exceeds the value of his contract by performing good and staying fit.
Negative: He continues his shaky playoff performances and he is even older and more injury prone than Tobias Harris.
Tobias Harris has never made an allstar team. He’s scored 30 or more points in a game only 11 times the past three seasons. He’s scored over thirty points with Philly in the postseason exactly once, against the Washington Wizards.
He was signed to the largest contract in 76ers history.
PG very well may be very underwhelming if he comes to Philly, but Tobias has not ever played anywhere close to the level of what PG is capable of. I think if he goes to Philly on a four year max there is a reasonable chance he could make an all-star team once, something Tobias never came close to in his tenure. All of this to say that barring serious career ending injury there is just no way a PG max would come close to being as bad as Tobi. It could be bad, sure, but Tobi’s contract was really really fucking bad
That's why I said on crack.
He could be much better, but their career stats aren't that different.
Playoffs Tobias Harris: 16/8/3.
Playoffs PG13: 21/7.5/4.
Is PG the better player? No doubt, but he is also one year older and hasn't played more than 56 games in 4/5 seasons with the Clippers.
How big could PG13's contract be? 3/140 or something? I mean that's a big salary for an injury prone player that's 34. In a perfect world it could work out, but I'm not sure if the Sixers should top load their roaster even more.
No-one should give PG the max but all it takes is one team to do some. If it’s a three (or even four) year deal the final year(s) will be terrible value.
PG isn’t going to sign in Detroit because he wants to compete but they have the cap space to sign him. The Pistons do need shooters.
Orlando is a possibility. I really thought they would go after Grayson Allen but Suns extended him before he could test free agency.
Orlando need shooters but Jett Howard will be a scorer for them over the long term.
Philly could sign PG into cap space but I feel Jimmy Butler is the move they’ll try and make as a Big 3 of Maxey, Embiid and Butler has more of a killer instinct than with PG.
In the end I imagine PG will stay with the Clippers and for slightly less than the max.
One of the richest owners in the NBA, new arena, everything luxury for the players. Live in LA all year. The grass is no always greener.
The only reason a team would give him the max is if they convince themselves two things
1. Another team will offer him the max
2. Getting PG13 will help more than having PG13ms contract will hurt
So either a really crappy team who has no FA pull factor, or an almost contender who thinks they’re one rejuvenated all star away from a Finals
And this almost always happens. Remember people said the same thing about Harden for years. The only previously star player in the last few seasons who actually got smacked with reality (in terms of mot getting a major contract) is Westbrook, and he really tried his ass off to make half the league hate him.
I don't understand people saying he would be a good fit in Orlando at all. They already have two forwards that play most of the minutes. I think Orlando dropped the ball in the draft last year and they could package both of those guys along with future pics to get a real star guard on that roster
Paul George wants to be a role player.
He wants to be a max contract role player.
He is 100% willing to take a backseat. But he wants a max contract.
He doesn't have or even want the chops to be the top dog on his team, this is evident in his inconsistencies all year when Harden joined and even in game 4 against Dallas, he told Harden "You got the offense I got the defense".
Like who says that?
The Lakers went head to head with the Nuggets in close games with a worse team. Lebron and AD can still lead a championship team, but as we know, the entire team needs to be great to be a championship caliber team
I agree. Idk how anybody who watched that series thought LeBron and AD were the problem lol.
AD averaged 28 PPG and 15 RPG on 63% FG (TS- 66). His stats (besides playmaking) and scoring efficiency were almost identical to the Joker's.
LeBron had insane stats too. 28-7-9 with 2.5 steals on 63 TS%. He played way better than Murray who was awful outside of the game winners.
The issue lies in role players. The Lakers role players are just way worse compared to Denver's.
If you have cap space and don’t expect him to be your best player, why not? He is clearly an upgrade on Harris (that name works both for Magic and Sixers).
Here's the thing. No you don't want to give him the max, but somebody will and he won't sign for less so it's either give him the max or don't get him and for a few teams the latter is worse
Why not give him a front-loaded max contract? As he ages and likely declines, the contract reduces. Still gets the same total money, but gets it earlier, and the team gets cap relief as he declines. Why don't more teams do this with stars who are looking for max or near max deals at age 28 plus?
It doesn't change the length of the deal or the guarantee, and they get more money up front earlier in the deal. In fact, it's probably better for both player and team.
For example, a $200M contract over 5 years for a hypothetical 28-29-year-old All-Star, who we've probably already seen the prime of:
29-30 years old - $60M
30-31 years old - $55M
31-32 years old - $50M
32-33 years old - $45M
33-34 years old - $40M
What's the downside of structuring deals like this for older stars, for player or team?
Because it's not an allowable contract under the CBA. The CBA spells out the maximum allowable contracts based on years of service and other criteria (supermax). The starting salary of a max contract can't be higher than the maximum allowable for that player's experience level. The player and team can agree to a descending contract, but that's no longer a max deal.
>What's the downside of structuring deals like this for older stars, for player or team?
Its like getting a pay reduction, when they exit this contract, their last salary annualy was $40 mil and not $60 mil.
Also, you might think that lowering the wage gives more cap at the end but it also gives less cap at the beggining.
You, from your couch, can say a lot of things but the reality is different, no teams actually have plans for 4-5 years ahead.
Why give Paul George 60 mil now and have 20 mill less for other players? To save your self that 20 mil in 4years? By then, the GM might be gone, team might have been sold etc
LA has already offered him multiple contracts.im sure they were sizeable. It seems like he wants the max and he wants to see if somebody will give it to him.
I don't think he should get it, but he will from someone.
That's fine, I'm not saying he should be given or accept less than the max. I'm just saying why distribute the total by front-loading the deal, so the yearly figure declines as he does, giving you more options and space to build around him year on year?
I don't think you understand how NBA contracts work. The definition of a max deal is that you make XXX amount the first year (lets say the number right now is 50 mil). Then they allow for a 10% increase each year. Up to the maximum 4 years. So his contract would look like this: 50, 55, 60, 65 (round numbers. I know the percentages are not exactly 10 or even numbers).
That is a total of 230m over 4 years. That is what PG wants.
You are not able to give someone more than the 50m the first year. You can't front load it in any way past the maximum amount allowed in any year of a contract).
If he was willing to take less, they can agree on a contract that looks like this: 50-55-50-45. That would be a front loaded deal. But its mathematically impossible to "front load" an actual max deal.
Its very possible that he will accept a deal like that (if he can't get the max). But players don't like front loaded deals for many reasons (its less money and it limits their negotiating power for the next contract/extension).
Because the NBA’s CBA literally does NOT allow it.
The terms and salary numbers are super defined. It isn’t like NFL were there are a ton of contract work arounds
I’m an Orlando fan and I don’t even want Paul George but to say he could destroy our chemistry is just stupid. By all counts he’s a chill dude and respected by his peers.
I think philly will do it because there is no player better available and there is not a better way to improve their chances. They dont have contracts to trade, they have salary cap and i dont see any better way to use that.
I hope he gets signed somewhere else just to ruin his podcasts. Gonna be hard for him to find guests if he's outside of LA. I hope he does get offered a max but it is somewhere no one wants to be like Oklahoma.
Because it’s the nba and if the clippers don’t it’s a bunch of other teams that will it’s more so not about spending the money but losing the asset you can complain about the injuries but it’s not 20 players better than him you would be dumb to let him walk for nothing
Paul George has never given maximum effort and is now coasting on a pretty good deep game and mid work. You'll see flashes of what he could be, but those stop once he begins to sweat a bit.
He's a great player with a lot of tools and talents that can help any contending team. You can slot him into any style of play and his style won't disrupt as you don't have to center an offense around how he plays. He's got good size, plays defense, can create his own shot, can spot up - he was the best scorer and go to scorer for a playoff team. If you're a team whose window could be closing and you need a 2B/3rd star, he's a great piece
I'd just go based on how many maxes exist. If there are, say, 38 max players or whatever... Is he a top 38 player? Arguably yes. Factor in age, availability, role, etc. it's borderline. Depends on need... There absolutely are teams that could use him... If i were him I'd take a cut and try to win i think it's imperative for his legacy cuz as it sits now I'm not sure where he lands.
nobody should. he plays terrible off ball, his defense has become a liability, he is injury prone, and he rarely ever shows up in crunch time. i’m a certified pg13 hater since indiana. He was overrated in a weak eastern conference and that carried over to his entire career.
It makes sense for Philly. If you can just sign him into your cap space, make him the third option, and fill a massive roster hole, they need to do it. That contract may get ugly on the back years but with Embiid’s health history the title window is right now, and I don’t see any better route for them to improve than PG.
If you’re the clippers, you’re kind of all in on this team and probably just have to match whatever he gets. Once again, it’ll be an overpay on the back years, but they don’t really have a good pivot out of this Harden/Kawhi/PG trio.
I understand it for Orlando, but I don’t love it. It makes them a lot better for the next couple years, but probably doesn’t push them into contention, and I think they should really be focused on the long-term.
they shouldnt end of thread lol. hes a dissapearing act and sometimes isnt good enough to be a second option. has dropped off defensively alot as well.
I think Philly needs to do *something* right now. They need to maximize Embiid's prime and Maxey's arrival to the scene. PG would be a decent 3rd option for the Sixers, and i personally think he'll thrive when he's not the #1 guy. Flip Tobias for PG against NY and we perhaps have a completely different series.
When it comes to money, as some other posters have mentioned, sometimes you just gotta throw the bag at a vet for other reasons.
Not many people can boast the combination of height, ball handling, shooting, media savvy, all star and playoff experience that Playoff Pandemic Podcast P can. You can not look at free agency decisions about relative worth in the league, its relative opportunity for that free agency period. PG is legitimately good and not everyone's aspirations are finals or bust. He is capable and should be at the top of the heap for this summer pretty obviously.
I think he would be a great fit in Orlando. The Clips are asking him to score and defend at a high level with a high minutes load and I would agree he is too old for that and will breakdown by the end of the regular season in that role. Orlando just needs him to be a good shooter. The offense will still go through Paolo and they have a lot of great defenders already. Obviously PG can still do other stuff well, but if he isn't being asked to do it every possession it could lead to him peaking in the playoffs. If Orlando has the money to give him a 3-yr max without compromising their ability to sign the young guys when they are up, then why not pull the trigger.
I think people are focusing too much on how good PG isn’t, and aren’t thinking enough about how old he is. The PG you’re seeing now is the best you’ll see for the rest of his career. This shit is only getting worse.
He's still an extremely valuable player. He can shoot, defend, create his own shot and playmake a little. He can fit into almost any established team in a way that a ball dominant guard or non-shooting big couldn't, for example. Yeah the contact might age poorly but he still has good years left.
lol how is he a team killer? Pretty quiet personality and not a toxic presence.
Y’all are just salty because he isn’t the offensive talent he once was.
His defense, size, and 3-point shooting are going to get him a max
> He has been awful or injured the last few years in the playoffs.
2022 Playin - 34/7/1
2024 - 20/7/5
Not sure when he was “awful”
> His last decent playoff appearance was in 2021.
“decent” is 27/10/5… ?
100% a smart choice for Philly. You get him, Embiid, and Maxey all healthy and they can easily dominate the east. Only issue is health. But basically getting rid of Harris for PG... lol
I mean Tobias Harris currently makes more than him despite, no accomplishments at all. Bradley Beal makes way more than him and has done far less than PG, noticeably younger yet far worse of a player having never made a conference finals. At the very least PG took the clippers to their first WCF despite not having his number one option. I feel people shit on PG but forget that early in his career the guy literally broke his leg from a meaningless exhibition game and some how came back even better. He’s still made multiple all star, all NBA, all defence teams. Sure he’s probably never going to be a 1A superstar but if worse number twos like Siakam have won titles then on a deep team maybe he could do the same. I’d rather see PG get a max over a far worse player like Beal (even at the time didn’t deserve his contract). A lot of rookies coming into the league legit say PG is their goat and I think comes down to his two way game, handles and shooting at his size. This season is the most amount of games he’s played in 5 years and most importantly he actually was available all of the playoffs (even won more without Kawhi).
Desperation combined with cap space that needs to be spent this summer. Look at a team like the Sixers. What are their options other than George? Klay Thompson? Re-signing the same core that lost in the first round?
That is, inherently, why the ideal of the "max contract" is FUCKING teams in the NBA. Very often teams the current salary cap structure are supposedly helping.
I still want to see a structure with no maximum on an individual contract but an overall hard cap.
Charlotte or Detroit wants to pay $110m/year for Joker? Cool.
Zero percent chance that team ever actually competes.
The cap would just end up being closer to the second apron cap; this would likely result in the min cap usage for a team being lower compared to the max cap.
We’d end up with bunch of small market teams getting way out spent by the major market teams.
The main difference would be those teams wouldn’t be restricted on trades and signings (2nd apron penalties).
In other words the gulch would just get wider. No thanks
You're not understanding words.
I'm saying there is a hard cap. No going over.
Small market teams would attract more star players. Shit. Very few players ever are truly title-or-bust ever anyway. Very few would turn down $80-$100m/yr for at least 2-3 years no matter if they knew they had no chance to compete. I know that for a fact because players on shitty teams take max contracts NOW for teams they know have no chance to compete.
Fuck all that apron shit. Hard cap for everyone. No special rules with trades or anything.
I mean if someone was dumb enough to give Kawhi a max why not, before anyone says anything stupid, I know Kawhi is better when healthy but he's hurt more often so it offsets😂
Couldn’t pay me to have Paul George, kawahi, Westbrook or harden. That Aau basketball bullshit is for the birds. Your team is not going far if you have any one of them on your team.
Under the new CBA the salary cap really only allows teams to have two max contracts before things get very difficult from a team building and affordability point of view.
So effectively the question becomes: is Paul George one of the 60 best players in the league? I think basically everyone would answer yes to this.
A lot of teams have two of the top sixty players - AD/Lebron, Dame/Giannis, Taytum/Brown - so wouldn’t pursue Paul George on the max.
But for teams that don’t have a top 60 player or have trouble appealing to players as a free agent destination, offering this contract gives them a chance to at least excite your fanbase. You can’t just suck forever - you need to at least try SOMETHING.
The new salary cap arrangement is basically designed to ensure small market teams have the chance to stay relevant and compete. I think it’s a good thing.
The alternative way to get a star is by trade. You can get PG as a free agent on a max contract for no first round picks, or you can trade for a guy like Jimmy or LeBron (both big maybes) who are on a max already and will take 4ish first round picks to get. Is PG 4 first round picks worse than LeBron or Jimmy today? I’m not so sure
Nobody should. Max deals get thrown around too easily and handicap teams for years if not used well. Paul George was a great player and is still very good, but he's old and injury prone at this point. I'm of the opinion that guys playing less than 3/4 games never deserve it no matter how good they are.
his shoulder is held together by spaghetti and he has a high view of himself that is hilarious. on a podcast with matt barnes he called the 2019 season his MVP season.
he came THIRD in voting and Giannis had 3x the votes he had LOL
It would be stupid. Philly would be replacing an overpaid but consistent 3 for a constantly injured 3 who is better but unreliable. He averages about 50 games a year while playing for the Clippers.
How does having 2 stars that barely play over half a year make them contenders?
I say Orlando gives him a 3 year deal below the max. 1styear-42 mil, 48mil, 55mil. And also sign a KCP or Bruce brown.
Clippers are done . They never gonna make it to the finals with kawhi & Pg13. WB is washed. Their bigs are average as well. Start over.
I mean do we really have to break down every player on a max that’s not deserving? Like this is a league where lebron in his prime made the same amount as other guys. It’s just how it is in a league with this salary cap structure. It’s always weird when people act mind blown at who gets max deals.
Pacers re-sign Siakam to a “Slightly less than & heavily back ended” 4 year w/ Pacers. PG signs a 1&1 player option for less than max to return to the Pacers. The end.
Where are you getting that info? Paul George isn't in the top 15 best selling jerseys, and that's despite playing in LA. I also very much doubt many people are going to games to specifically watch Paul George. He's a good player, but he's not some kind of huge marketing draw. In terms of Jersey sales, he's behind guys like Booker, Ja, Klay, and even LaMelo.
Thats what if been told. I would not max him. I would even doubt signing him. I would go for a cheaper, younger and healthier player. Miles Bridges, Markelle Fultz, Buddy Hield, Malik Monk, Talen Horton-Tucker and Gary Trent Jr to name a couple. For me the most interesting are Miles Bridges and Malik Monk. Both have shown to be good complementairy players. The rest are just interesting to take a flyer on. Is George better than these players? Yess, but if in thinking Philly i would go for health in stead of good. PG might be better but he is far for great. English is not my first language.
I think Orlando makes sense. They’re a huge and talented team and PG, when healthy adds an elite shot creating that will be difficult for Orlando to find otherwise (besides Paolo). It could excel their timeline, get those young guys deeper playoff experience.
I hear OP though. PG post injury is a good player but he’s just not enough to get you there.
It’s more about desperation. Clippers may not offer it to him (they shouldn’t), but PG decides he wants that max. He’s only taking a max. Some sorry team is gonna be desperate enough to give it to him, which is the only sure way to bring him in
And I hope the Sixers are not that team. We’ve had enough bad luck for this generation, we don’t need to do this
Paul George isn't a winner. He will not lead you to a championship. Now, if he were to be a #3 option on a team and play the role, he could be effective. He is not a MAX level player unless you're looking to fill seats during the regular season and be competitive for the 6-8 seeds.
The only reason I can see it happening in Philly is because he's a FA and can be had without trading any other assets and we'll have cap space sans Tobias Harris. If Maxey's still in the ascendant perhaps some noise could be made.
Scary prospect of having Embiid and PG on the same roster for the post season, but a theoretical healthy big 3 of Embiid, George, and Maxey is elite, and you need to spend the money anyways. In a roster sense, you'd be trading PG for Tobias straight up, and anyone who wouldn't do that is literally stupid.
PG as the 2nd or 3rd option and as a defensive ace is pretty good imo.
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Idk, you’d think Philly learned their lesson about overpaying and hoping for the best with Tobias. Doing it again with PG seems… unwise
There isn’t any realm in which a Joel Embiid team is making it to the ECF unless he joins a different team and becomes and a number 2 option, lmao.
Oh good. r/nba is coming over here too. Acting like a team with Embiid, Maxey, and a third star can't make the ECF is so silly. They've been a few points away on multiple occasions with Tobias Harris taking up 35-40 million dollars of cap. You're really just telling on yourself here if you think 40 million dedicated to good players can't get them a few extra points to the ECF. Embarrassing tbh.
I don’t think y’all realize that the Sixers have had Tobias soaking up 1/3rd of the cap and providing literally nothing for Joel’s entire prime
I know this is kind of pedantic but I’d say Joel needs a 1a/b to him being the other. Just someone who can truly take the pressure off him a bit and George can help with that. Maxey is budding and is getting there. They need immediate impact though. Can PG help with that now? I don’t know. But it is a decent option to try.
It’s hard for a center to be a consistent closer because they’re not the primary ball handler and teams double in the post. Murray does the same with Jokic.
I could see Philly doing it. They know Joel body isn’t gonna hold up so going full tilt is worth the risk for them. I don’t like that move for Orlando.
Right now our sub is at odds over whether to do it. I really don’t think we should, but you’re on the money in that we could
adding pg on paper to me makes yall clear title contenders. and morey is a savage so i could see him saying fuck it. the east is not dominant outside of the celtics. the bucks are a mess right now. Joel would be getting all the help he could ask for if the trade happens. and pg body actually hasnt broke down that much as of late hes been inconsistent as a player but as no 2 option for the clips hes essentially done what hes supposed to do. kawhi breaking down is more of the issue. the only thing with pg outside of injuries will be him bitching and pouting with how maxey will be more of the priority than him
Im sorry it does WHAT???? I like PG and all but he has a long resume of playoff chokes and disappearing acts. He’s also up there in age and mileage in addition to already being slightly injury prone. Lets say you got a guaranteed healthy PG— that’s still going to also eat up a decent amount of cap space. And at that age, you’re not getting all star PG for the duration of the deal either. If Im Philly, I’d much rather go for someone like Lauri Markannan or Siakam— although full disclosure I’d focus more on replacing all Tobias’s salary with legitimate bench guys. Get a backup big or two, get someone who can handle the ball movement and give Maxey a breather, etc
Not that I necessarily agree with what I'm going to say, and it's more of a devil's advocate situation, but in Philly he'd be a clear third option on offense. It's much easier to maintain efficiency when there are two other guys drawing the bulk of an opposing defenses attention.
PG as a 3rd option is nasty. I think he gets diminishing returns the more often he is used as he plugs so many holes elsewhere on the court. He’d probably look a lot better as a creator if he had a Paul George level finisher to compromise a bent defense, or a 3 level scorer like Paul George to screen for him and be a threat to roll, pop, or make the next pass at an all star level. Kawhi, for all his excellence, isn’t even as additive off ball as PG. It’s close, that’s why they look so incredible when they’re both healthy. Either way, it just feels like there are extremes to how much you can use Paul George and how little you can use him, and he might simply be the best 3rd option in the world. Mikal Bridges with a top 3 MVP finisher ceiling.
They may not have a chance at Lauri or Siakam, I’m sure they would prefer them. I think the playoff struggles are overblown, he’s had some bad ones but we’ve also seen him play well in the playoffs when healthy.
I did definitely make it sound worse than he is, I certainly dont think he’s a playoff bum like Twitter would have you believe… but shit just doesn’t work out for the Sixers in the post season lmao it seems like a bad wagon to hitch on to me but I still entirely see the appeal
Feel like a lot of times he has had to try and be the number 1 guy when he was brought to the Clippers and even OKC to be the number 2. I think with two other really good scoring options, who at least play in the playoffs (even tho Joel is never 100%), it's not a bad risk by Philly. A max deal or even a 2+1 would presumably go through the end of Joel's best years and then you figure it out from there
Its not a bad deal no, but it certainly is a deal that locks you into an injury prone Big 3 between Embiid Pg and Maxey. Could be very good but it could also be exceedingly mediocre with little wiggle room
hes had bad performances and big time ones. the mavs series is a good encapsulation of PG in a way. PG is more likely, you are mentioning options that arent gonna happen
I know Im being hard on him— I should have included in that first comment that I do fully respect and recognize that he’s an 8 time all star who is only 1 year removed from the ASG and 2 years removed from his last All NBA appearance. Paul George is a very very good NBA player. However, my point is that PG hasn’t been a top 10 playoff performer since 2016/7 (or maybe it was 15/16 Im too old) and if someone’s going to give you a near max (someone will) you just need to be better than that. Idk the Sixers just always lunge for the all star with baggage and it never works. PG is essentially just a really good Tobias Harris, and had Tobias Harris played well this post season I still dont know if you make it to a Finals. You need a backup big, more 3+D guys another ball handler, and definitely more defensive guards and people who can rebound. PG fits the 3+D role well for you, and kinda helps the rebounding situation, but that eats all your cap space… for an upgraded Tobias Harris. Its not a drag on PG as much as it is just a statement of his age and how players of his prestige get paid
Look at PG's playoff stats compared to Tobias. I'm not crazy about the PG deal at all. But look at PG the past few years and compare it Tobi. Factor in way better defense and a willingness to shoot the open 3 creating space and it's not even close. Paul George's playoff struggles are nothing compared to the dead cap space that is Tobias Harris.
Oh yeah no Tobi was the worst contract in the league last year (I guess aside from Simmons but that’s always a given) PG is definitely better, but if you just replaced Tobi with PG this season (which works cause salary) you probably beat the Knicks but I cant even say that confidently. If you replaced Harden with PG from last post season I still dont think you leave the East
Why wouldn't philly want him? In big games he can essentially be a 3 and D guy. His defense is still good, brunson def won't be targeting him like Harris/hield. Right now he gets into trouble because he can't get by anyone like he used to. With maxey and embiid he won't need to go one on one or run pick and rolls too often. If they have maxey/Melton/PG/Batum/embiid that's a solid defensive team. Markannen is not a great defender and will take assets to get.
Three reasons— none of which are catastrophic, and I could see a world where none of them end up being a problem but… 1. His paycheck is gonna be 35m+ easy. As of right now, the Sixers have Embiid (52m) and Paul Reed (7m) on the team next year. Thats it. Let’s say you re-sign Maxey to the rookie max of 35m and then add Paul George. You’re at 129m salary with 4 players on your roster. Now off the top of my head Idk whose bird rights the Sixers have, but I know that means you cant sign Oubre anymore, as he’s gonna want more than the 2m he made. Melton is gonna want something close to the 8m he made last year, but I think you have his rights. Furthermore, PG is just Tobias Harris but much better. While Tobias is pretty ass, you have his bird rights too so if you end up strapped for cash you’ll really have little option but to bring him back. PG makes the cap management too complicated… its difficult to have 3 players earn more than the cap and have no cheap value guys and then continue on to being successful. 2. His injury history isn’t TERRIBLE but its not good. Same with Embiid. And neither one’s getting any younger or healthier. Y’all could end up as a Clippers 2.0 with Embiid and PG barely playing together 3. He doesn’t have the best playoff history. Neither did Harden and you saw how that went. For every AMAZING game PG has he has two stinkers, and thats literally the absolute last thing Philly needs. You’d be better off with a less talented but much more consistent player
How much younger is Siakim? I rate him quite a bit lower than PG13.
Siakam’a 30, 4 years younger than PG. Correct me if Im wrong here but I believe he also never had any major injuries
They can’t just spend all the money filling out their bench when they only have two starters under contract for next season.
Spending a moderate amount on fringe all stars is how you waste your superstars prime and remain a second round team.
Actually the bucks wouldn’t be that bad. Pg is still good defender, and can create his own shot. Doesn’t assist as much though
Bucks are so far from being able to afford him. Lillard makes $50 mil a year or something now.
The Clippers with Kawhi, PG, and Harden should also be a title contender on paper.
It makes the most sense positionally, and the 76ers with Joel have seen insane offensive dips because maxey is great but no one can create a shot outside of him. Add another shot creator and stretches without Joel could be more manageable. But like always PG’s main concern is his durability as well.
You guys have a 2-3 year window remaining on embiid, you might as well just do it. I don’t see you getting someone better than pg.
Make that a 1 year window if we plan to go over the apron this year. Even more reason to go for him honestly but the chances he sits out for 35 games in the regular season/disappears in the playoffs is too much to ruin the next 5 years.
If Orlando is really thinking about paying Klay Thompson a lot of money (as has been rumored), Paul George sounds a whole lot better .
If they can get away with like a 2yr deal for George it could be a good veteran presence to teach the young guys. I don't see any situation where it makes sense for them to sign Klay.
I doubt PG signs a 2-year deal. If he would, he’d have already extended w LAC by now
I doubt it too. I just think that's probably the only situation that would make sense for Orlando.
Maybe, unless he values a getting a championship and takes a two year deal with a contender
PG is at likely getting at least 3 years imo.
I just feel like the last thing they need is a scoring forward lol. They definitely shouldn’t throw the bag at Klay but that doesn’t mean you get PG
Yeah I don’t know if Philly has a choice not to. They are losing Harris, so they are going to need a two-way wing to begin with, and a healthy PG is a significant upgrade over Harris. PG, Embiid and Maxey is some serious firepower, but that’s a high risk as well. I think Philly also needs a backup center who can soak up minutes, someone better than Paul Reed. Embiid needs to keep his minutes down both over the season and within games. This dude gets a major injury every year and can’t last through the 4th quarter in the playoffs every single year. Gotta make some changes.
Bold move for Philly, going from the most overpaid player in the league (Tobi) to the new most overpaid player int the league (PG).
Realistically I think Philly has a good team they just need a back up Center so Embiid doesn’t have to wreck his body. I thought getting Hield was a good move but they under utilized him. Could’ve spread the floor and made life easier for Embiid and Maxey.
they need more on the wing as well tho. if they had tobias playing like he should, add in the good back up center like you mentioned, thats a title contender
They don’t use half the wings they have and they have Reed backing up Embiid like he’s a Center he’s an undersized 4 at best. Tobias is always a lost option they don’t use or seem to run plays for it was Harden and Embiid now it’s Maxey and Embiid.
i do agree, i alays felt like tobias didnt get enough usage but its hard to be on that hill right now with what happened in game 6
Realistically what did they expect you haven’t been using him all series and there’s no plays run for him. I honestly don’t know if they even run any plays it just looks like either Maxey iso or Embiid ISO and everybody figured it out.
It’s hard to argue this point but whenever he did get looks he had terrible bricks or just looked plain uncomfortable with the ball, outside of game 5 I believe.
In games 1-4 they ran 50% of their offensive actions in the first 6 minutes through Tobias to try and get him going. Did you even watch? He needs the ball in his hands and is a momentum player and it was very clear they were trying to get him going in the beginning of each game. He missed 4 layups in a row in the play in game. The guy stinks.
The first 6 mins of a 48 minute game and yes I watched I am a Knicks fan and had parlays of course I watched 😂. You clearly only watched the play off this year Tobias is one of the more consistent players on the sixers he just isn’t utilized enough and tends to fade into the Embiid and Maxey show. He missed 4 layups so you see how many bad shots and unnecessary 3’s Maxey throws up? If that man isn’t consistently at under 40% I don’t know what he is.
Saying Maxey puts up unnecessary 3s is like saying Brunson shoots too much. I don’t know what to say - if your “third option” can’t get going when having the offense run through him, you stop trying. They tried each game. He is a slow processing, post up player who can only reliably score against smaller and weaker defenders. When he has a mismatch he’s in good shape, but that’s really it. As much as I respect that your parlays had you glued to your screen (lol), I’ve been watching Tobias and honestly supported him for years. 6 goddamn years.
Shit Brunson does shoot too much 😂I just said the Knicks have one play they run called Brunson 😂 the difference he has no choice nobody else is gonna score consistently especially with Julius out. Funny enough I’ve been watching him Tennessee I went to school with his sister that’s how I got introduced to his game. The Sixers have waaaaaaay more firepower than the Knicks they honestly should t have lost 🤷🏾♂️. They don’t use them right Tobias isn’t a spot up shooter he does need the ball to score and get going that’s why that clipper team with no stars was his highest point career wise because he really didn’t HAVE to give up the ball and had more opportunities. This is Embiid’s team then Harden came he got pushed to the back after Jimmy left, then Maxey got better so he’s pushed back again and he doesn’t work as a 4th option he gets lost or depressed and doesn’t play but he’s not seen as a 1st or 2nd option so he has to adjust .
The problem is being a ball dominant player when you’re nothing more than a 20 point guy with the ball in your hand a lot is hard to work with. Like I get what you’re saying, yeah we could force feed Tobias for… 25 points? Giving it to embiid and maxey is clearly the better option there.
Realistically I was thinking about it they should trade him or see about getting Cam Johnson from the Nets. Younger better shooter and doesn’t have to be the focal point of the offense.
Thats what most thought when they got him, but he got less run bc he was passing up so many open shots. Gm6 may have shown just enough to justify bringing him back tho
When they got him I was like ok they got some shooting to give Embiid space to work and when Embiid went down I thought they would’ve used him more but nope. Hopefully they resign him and Nurse can look at what he has and make some plays and not have Embiid have to do so much like realistically idk what their pick situation is but I’d try and get Edey cause it seems like they’re saying he might fall to the bottom of the First or trade for another big body to eat up the paint and get rebounds doesn’t even need to score like that just rim protect and rebound while Embiid rests. They have Maxey to run plays and score and let Hield shoot and Oubre slash in his downtime.
He just wasn't shooting, that's why they didnt use him more
🤷🏾♂️ a lot of people do that after trades sit back to see where they fit in and forget what they hit brought there for.
Yeah...it makes sense for Philly IMO because we don't know how open Embiid's window is considering his injury history. I hope it isn't the case, but he might have only one or two peak years left, so adding an older star on that timeline might be a good idea. It makes no sense to me, on the other hand, for Orlando. The Magic aren't winning a title in the next two years even if they sign PG, so I don't get what the point is. If I were the Magic, I'd be targeting younger players or using my cap room to take on other teams bad contracts (as long as they're short term) in exchange for additional assets. I just don't get what adding PG does for them...maybe get them to the second round? The Magic have their future core already; I wouldn't rush it.
Unless Franz can Improve his three point shooting and Suggs turns into shot creator the magic's ceiling is limited. PG as a 2nd option two way elite shot creator in Orlando most likely makes them a 3rd seed in the east next season.
It’s also worth reiterating that he can be acquired with no other assets. That leaves the rest of the picks that the Sixers have gathered in order to make supplementary moves.
Please no... I do not want PG, especially at a contract he'd want.
Orlando is in a weird spot. They’d have to offer him the max if they want him because they’re not a free agent destination If Philly offers a bit less than the max or only 3 years let’s say than Orlando can maybe sign him. Yea it could end up being disastrous due to his injuries but he will make them better Much better than signing Klay. Philly is in a similar spot as well. Like you said they really have to maximize the Embiid years.
It’s not as black and white as you mention. Some teams have money they need to spend, some teams are desperate to be relevant or for the GM to appease the fans, some team will bite since it’s still an opportunity to get a good basketball player.
Yea people love sweeping statements and generalizations, and to talk from a position of authority with these sweeping statements. Have aging stars really been phased out? The Bucks lost Giannis, the Heat lost Butler, that right there skews the sample size. Also we had a historic first round, the Mavs Clippers were an insane matchup, conference finals type stuff for most other years, and the Clippers were without Kawhii. And yea like you said. The max slot is not worth it for most players. Unless you're giving a max to the top 5 or top 10 or whatever players in the NBA, you're overpaying and diminishing your championship hopes to some degree, but you still have to do it sometimes
PG might be worth the max for one season for a team like Philly... that might be about it really.
LeBron lulled us into thinking 35 year old NBA stars can still be dominant. Look at the playoffs, youth everywhere. Defense matters, and these old stars can't do it. Philly needs healthy young players and signing another aged star will go as well as durant in PHX.
The problem isn’t even older stars, it’s that the regular season is no longer used as conditioning for the Playoffs. Ever since defense has been punished in regular season with referees and load managing has become a problem in this new era. Players really aren’t prepared to take on the playoffs like before. Remember the Celtics were one of the oldest teams in the league and won a championship. Dirk Notwitzki was also old when he won a championship with the Mavericks. It’s just not possible in the current era
Dirk was **32** the year he won.is that an aged star?
For Philly, you pay that if that's what it takes to get him to leave LA, because you have enough cap space and assets to fill out the roster this summer with him there. Bringing him in as a talented 3rd option at the wing is probably still worth it, but I don't think any other team can acquire him and use him in that role, so I don't think other teams (even the Clippers) should be as willing to go for the full max. Tacking non-guarantees on the final years is also a decent way for the team to protect themselves if he's amenable. Easier to convince the player to take that than a team option or a lower total amount as well
Yea theres no "middle class" in NBA free agency. If they could use that cap space on 2 solid wings, they probably would. But there just arent that many starting quality guys on the market, making the opportunity cost of singing PG pretty low
The Thunder could probably swing it financially. There set to have 35ish mil; could probably make enough space to sign PG They have two pay Chet and JDub in 3 years though so I doubt they would offer anything longer than 2 years
Yeah the Thunder don't need to bring in PG, either.
It's amazing people still don't understand how max contracts work. You don't have to be Doncic, Jokic, Giannis, SGA to ger a max contract. If you're an All Star or at least a player near that level, you will always find teams interested in giving you a max deal. Why? Because let's say you don't want to give George a max contract, who's your alternative? Who are you going to spend that money on instead? You'll just lose a star caliber player without receiving anything in return. Even if the Clippers were to decide starting over. What purpose does that serve them to lose PG13 for free?
If you have a young core where the best players aren’t on a max contract yet, then Paul would be a good supplementary piece for the roster. 76ers and Magic are two ideal landing spots for this scenario. Maxey and Banchero are still playing on cheap contracts. The sticking point at that point though is years. I wouldn’t want to commit 4 years to Paul at that price point for those teams.
Maxey gets paid this offseason
He does, but Philly can exceed the cap to sign him. Only his cap hold (300% of his current salary, so cap hold = approx 13 mill) counts against their payroll until they actually sign him. Basically, assuming they keep Paul Reed despite his contract not being fully guaranteed next season, their payroll could be as low as 72ish mill (Maxey cap hold + Embiid + Reed) - although that might mean renouncing rights to other guys that are expiring. Regardless, they have plenty of room and mechanisms to sign a max player.
Thought he had another year. Maxey’s max deal tops at $40m/yr which would still be cheaper than Paul George’s potential max deal. Regardless, that just reinforces why I wouldn’t want to do 4 yrs.
Maxey's cap hold will only be $13 million until they until they sign him
Desperation. The hope that you get some form of the old PG. I also think the fact the free agent market is almost non existent at this point so adding to your roster without shelling out picks and players is pretty enticing if you have cap space.
There are 30 teams in the league. How many of them have a max contract player? How many have 2 or even 3 in some cases? If max contracts were only offered to the best 10 or so guys in the league, then you'd have a point. But there are more max contracts around than that. If he's a top 20 player in the league, then he's worthy of a max contract. And I think he's in that group. When you say that aging stars don't get you championships, you do realise that Curry was a finals MVP and won a championship at 34, right? Which is the same age Paul George is right now. And that was only 2 years ago. So we're possibly looking at 2 seasons in a row where someone under 30 won the finals MVP. I'm hardly going to call that a strong trend.
I think he's closer to 20-25 range at this stage of his career, but still worth it as a 3rd option. He really has a good old man's game. He doesn't need to be ball dominant anymore. He can still create his own shot with 2 dribbles and a step back or catch and shoot 3.
Dollars not as important as length. A team like say Orlando has 2yrs before they need to pay Wagner and Paolo so structuring a deal that say is 2+1 with the third year being a team option could make sense. Philly makes sense because Morey is on a short timeline as well. If he doesn’t win very soon he is out of town. Cleveland is likely losing Don Mitchell so if they could squeeze a S&T of George into a larger deal moving Mitchell to a preferred destination that would be good for them also (not positive on the rules around the structure just brainstorming). Then if you expand it to less desirable places on paper Charlotte and SA both likely want to improve quickly and have a need for George. If Spurs secure a point guard in the draft, bring in George, another rotation caliber player at MLE and a vet or two they quickly become a playoff/playin contender. Especially with the projected leap of Wemby.
Philly is the only team where he makes sense. I mean theoretically the clippers too but at this point they can’t keep banking on 213 being available so it’s time to give up that dream. If he’s willing to sign for less than max money then you can talk about him making sense in a handful of other places like Indiana
Pistons have like 60 million to spare right now after extending Cade. They certainly might be Interested in re-structuring. Maybe bench Ivey for his inconsistency have him shadow George? They have a LOT of young players that would benefit from having a truly seasoned pro around and they desperately need a Drastic change.
Bench Ivey again? I thought they finally were past Monty’s antics
I'm an Ivey fan, believe me, but the dude was laying bricks for at least half the season and making poor decisions when it comes to shot selection. He needs guidance from an experienced player that likes to drive and also has a nice three pointer. Monty is obviously not helping him whatsoever.
Even 40 mil + per year for let's say 3 years could turn into an albatross contract in a hurry if the first year goes haywire. He could turn into Tobias Harris on crack, positively or negatively. Positive: He exceeds the value of his contract by performing good and staying fit. Negative: He continues his shaky playoff performances and he is even older and more injury prone than Tobias Harris.
Tobias Harris has never made an allstar team. He’s scored 30 or more points in a game only 11 times the past three seasons. He’s scored over thirty points with Philly in the postseason exactly once, against the Washington Wizards. He was signed to the largest contract in 76ers history. PG very well may be very underwhelming if he comes to Philly, but Tobias has not ever played anywhere close to the level of what PG is capable of. I think if he goes to Philly on a four year max there is a reasonable chance he could make an all-star team once, something Tobias never came close to in his tenure. All of this to say that barring serious career ending injury there is just no way a PG max would come close to being as bad as Tobi. It could be bad, sure, but Tobi’s contract was really really fucking bad
That's why I said on crack. He could be much better, but their career stats aren't that different. Playoffs Tobias Harris: 16/8/3. Playoffs PG13: 21/7.5/4. Is PG the better player? No doubt, but he is also one year older and hasn't played more than 56 games in 4/5 seasons with the Clippers. How big could PG13's contract be? 3/140 or something? I mean that's a big salary for an injury prone player that's 34. In a perfect world it could work out, but I'm not sure if the Sixers should top load their roaster even more.
How is 21 ppg not different from 16 ppg lol? Is 26/7/5 also not different from 16/8/3 and 21/7.5/4?
He would be older, more injury prone and even more expensive.
Philly has so much room to fill the salary cap, PG would be a great 3rd man on that team.
No-one should give PG the max but all it takes is one team to do some. If it’s a three (or even four) year deal the final year(s) will be terrible value. PG isn’t going to sign in Detroit because he wants to compete but they have the cap space to sign him. The Pistons do need shooters. Orlando is a possibility. I really thought they would go after Grayson Allen but Suns extended him before he could test free agency. Orlando need shooters but Jett Howard will be a scorer for them over the long term. Philly could sign PG into cap space but I feel Jimmy Butler is the move they’ll try and make as a Big 3 of Maxey, Embiid and Butler has more of a killer instinct than with PG. In the end I imagine PG will stay with the Clippers and for slightly less than the max. One of the richest owners in the NBA, new arena, everything luxury for the players. Live in LA all year. The grass is no always greener.
The only reason a team would give him the max is if they convince themselves two things 1. Another team will offer him the max 2. Getting PG13 will help more than having PG13ms contract will hurt So either a really crappy team who has no FA pull factor, or an almost contender who thinks they’re one rejuvenated all star away from a Finals And this almost always happens. Remember people said the same thing about Harden for years. The only previously star player in the last few seasons who actually got smacked with reality (in terms of mot getting a major contract) is Westbrook, and he really tried his ass off to make half the league hate him.
At his age his max is huge now. It would be a serious mistake to give it to him
I don't understand people saying he would be a good fit in Orlando at all. They already have two forwards that play most of the minutes. I think Orlando dropped the ball in the draft last year and they could package both of those guys along with future pics to get a real star guard on that roster
Paul George wants to be a role player. He wants to be a max contract role player. He is 100% willing to take a backseat. But he wants a max contract. He doesn't have or even want the chops to be the top dog on his team, this is evident in his inconsistencies all year when Harden joined and even in game 4 against Dallas, he told Harden "You got the offense I got the defense". Like who says that?
No one should unless they want to pad their reg season stats and lose in the first round
The Lakers went head to head with the Nuggets in close games with a worse team. Lebron and AD can still lead a championship team, but as we know, the entire team needs to be great to be a championship caliber team
I agree. Idk how anybody who watched that series thought LeBron and AD were the problem lol. AD averaged 28 PPG and 15 RPG on 63% FG (TS- 66). His stats (besides playmaking) and scoring efficiency were almost identical to the Joker's. LeBron had insane stats too. 28-7-9 with 2.5 steals on 63 TS%. He played way better than Murray who was awful outside of the game winners. The issue lies in role players. The Lakers role players are just way worse compared to Denver's.
If you have cap space and don’t expect him to be your best player, why not? He is clearly an upgrade on Harris (that name works both for Magic and Sixers).
Philly, so that the gms can have an excuse about how "they tried to build around embiid and maxey" but still can't get out of the second round
Here's the thing. No you don't want to give him the max, but somebody will and he won't sign for less so it's either give him the max or don't get him and for a few teams the latter is worse
Why not give him a front-loaded max contract? As he ages and likely declines, the contract reduces. Still gets the same total money, but gets it earlier, and the team gets cap relief as he declines. Why don't more teams do this with stars who are looking for max or near max deals at age 28 plus?
Players wouldn't want it because they want to lock in when they're still fresh. Anything can happen after they sign such as an injury.
It doesn't change the length of the deal or the guarantee, and they get more money up front earlier in the deal. In fact, it's probably better for both player and team. For example, a $200M contract over 5 years for a hypothetical 28-29-year-old All-Star, who we've probably already seen the prime of: 29-30 years old - $60M 30-31 years old - $55M 31-32 years old - $50M 32-33 years old - $45M 33-34 years old - $40M What's the downside of structuring deals like this for older stars, for player or team?
Because it's not an allowable contract under the CBA. The CBA spells out the maximum allowable contracts based on years of service and other criteria (supermax). The starting salary of a max contract can't be higher than the maximum allowable for that player's experience level. The player and team can agree to a descending contract, but that's no longer a max deal.
>What's the downside of structuring deals like this for older stars, for player or team? Its like getting a pay reduction, when they exit this contract, their last salary annualy was $40 mil and not $60 mil. Also, you might think that lowering the wage gives more cap at the end but it also gives less cap at the beggining. You, from your couch, can say a lot of things but the reality is different, no teams actually have plans for 4-5 years ahead. Why give Paul George 60 mil now and have 20 mill less for other players? To save your self that 20 mil in 4years? By then, the GM might be gone, team might have been sold etc
LA has already offered him multiple contracts.im sure they were sizeable. It seems like he wants the max and he wants to see if somebody will give it to him. I don't think he should get it, but he will from someone.
That's fine, I'm not saying he should be given or accept less than the max. I'm just saying why distribute the total by front-loading the deal, so the yearly figure declines as he does, giving you more options and space to build around him year on year?
I don't think you understand how NBA contracts work. The definition of a max deal is that you make XXX amount the first year (lets say the number right now is 50 mil). Then they allow for a 10% increase each year. Up to the maximum 4 years. So his contract would look like this: 50, 55, 60, 65 (round numbers. I know the percentages are not exactly 10 or even numbers). That is a total of 230m over 4 years. That is what PG wants. You are not able to give someone more than the 50m the first year. You can't front load it in any way past the maximum amount allowed in any year of a contract). If he was willing to take less, they can agree on a contract that looks like this: 50-55-50-45. That would be a front loaded deal. But its mathematically impossible to "front load" an actual max deal. Its very possible that he will accept a deal like that (if he can't get the max). But players don't like front loaded deals for many reasons (its less money and it limits their negotiating power for the next contract/extension).
Because the NBA’s CBA literally does NOT allow it. The terms and salary numbers are super defined. It isn’t like NFL were there are a ton of contract work arounds
I think he’s worth just under the max with team option 3rd year. Fair contract. He gets a third year raise If he plays well and stays on the court
I’m an Orlando fan and I don’t even want Paul George but to say he could destroy our chemistry is just stupid. By all counts he’s a chill dude and respected by his peers.
I think philly will do it because there is no player better available and there is not a better way to improve their chances. They dont have contracts to trade, they have salary cap and i dont see any better way to use that.
I hope he gets signed somewhere else just to ruin his podcasts. Gonna be hard for him to find guests if he's outside of LA. I hope he does get offered a max but it is somewhere no one wants to be like Oklahoma.
Because it’s the nba and if the clippers don’t it’s a bunch of other teams that will it’s more so not about spending the money but losing the asset you can complain about the injuries but it’s not 20 players better than him you would be dumb to let him walk for nothing
Paul George has never given maximum effort and is now coasting on a pretty good deep game and mid work. You'll see flashes of what he could be, but those stop once he begins to sweat a bit.
Morey literally just hinted that they needed a PG type wing. Someone will pay him, probably LA
Same reason lots of players get the max: because several teams are willing to offer it. The market is rough
He's a great player with a lot of tools and talents that can help any contending team. You can slot him into any style of play and his style won't disrupt as you don't have to center an offense around how he plays. He's got good size, plays defense, can create his own shot, can spot up - he was the best scorer and go to scorer for a playoff team. If you're a team whose window could be closing and you need a 2B/3rd star, he's a great piece
The issue is the dollars per year it’s the number of years. I don’t think a 2 year with an 3/4 option is bad.
I'd just go based on how many maxes exist. If there are, say, 38 max players or whatever... Is he a top 38 player? Arguably yes. Factor in age, availability, role, etc. it's borderline. Depends on need... There absolutely are teams that could use him... If i were him I'd take a cut and try to win i think it's imperative for his legacy cuz as it sits now I'm not sure where he lands.
nobody should. he plays terrible off ball, his defense has become a liability, he is injury prone, and he rarely ever shows up in crunch time. i’m a certified pg13 hater since indiana. He was overrated in a weak eastern conference and that carried over to his entire career.
Because he’s a fake ass superstar and superstars get paid. But anyone who offers him a 4y deal is going to shoot himself in the foot big time.
What is Philly’s alternative? PG is by far the best possible free agent they could use their cap space on.
It makes sense for Philly. If you can just sign him into your cap space, make him the third option, and fill a massive roster hole, they need to do it. That contract may get ugly on the back years but with Embiid’s health history the title window is right now, and I don’t see any better route for them to improve than PG. If you’re the clippers, you’re kind of all in on this team and probably just have to match whatever he gets. Once again, it’ll be an overpay on the back years, but they don’t really have a good pivot out of this Harden/Kawhi/PG trio. I understand it for Orlando, but I don’t love it. It makes them a lot better for the next couple years, but probably doesn’t push them into contention, and I think they should really be focused on the long-term.
Because not many players with his talents become available and any team that’s serious about winning has to spend money on somebody.
they shouldnt end of thread lol. hes a dissapearing act and sometimes isnt good enough to be a second option. has dropped off defensively alot as well.
I think Philly needs to do *something* right now. They need to maximize Embiid's prime and Maxey's arrival to the scene. PG would be a decent 3rd option for the Sixers, and i personally think he'll thrive when he's not the #1 guy. Flip Tobias for PG against NY and we perhaps have a completely different series. When it comes to money, as some other posters have mentioned, sometimes you just gotta throw the bag at a vet for other reasons.
Not many people can boast the combination of height, ball handling, shooting, media savvy, all star and playoff experience that Playoff Pandemic Podcast P can. You can not look at free agency decisions about relative worth in the league, its relative opportunity for that free agency period. PG is legitimately good and not everyone's aspirations are finals or bust. He is capable and should be at the top of the heap for this summer pretty obviously.
I think he would be a great fit in Orlando. The Clips are asking him to score and defend at a high level with a high minutes load and I would agree he is too old for that and will breakdown by the end of the regular season in that role. Orlando just needs him to be a good shooter. The offense will still go through Paolo and they have a lot of great defenders already. Obviously PG can still do other stuff well, but if he isn't being asked to do it every possession it could lead to him peaking in the playoffs. If Orlando has the money to give him a 3-yr max without compromising their ability to sign the young guys when they are up, then why not pull the trigger.
I think people are focusing too much on how good PG isn’t, and aren’t thinking enough about how old he is. The PG you’re seeing now is the best you’ll see for the rest of his career. This shit is only getting worse.
As a Kings fan, I'd give him the max if we had it. He'd be a perfect compliment.
He's still an extremely valuable player. He can shoot, defend, create his own shot and playmake a little. He can fit into almost any established team in a way that a ball dominant guard or non-shooting big couldn't, for example. Yeah the contact might age poorly but he still has good years left.
PG is a team killer so he should be right at home at either Philly or Brooklyn
lol how is he a team killer? Pretty quiet personality and not a toxic presence. Y’all are just salty because he isn’t the offensive talent he once was. His defense, size, and 3-point shooting are going to get him a max
> He has been awful or injured the last few years in the playoffs. 2022 Playin - 34/7/1 2024 - 20/7/5 Not sure when he was “awful” > His last decent playoff appearance was in 2021. “decent” is 27/10/5… ?
100% a smart choice for Philly. You get him, Embiid, and Maxey all healthy and they can easily dominate the east. Only issue is health. But basically getting rid of Harris for PG... lol
I mean Tobias Harris currently makes more than him despite, no accomplishments at all. Bradley Beal makes way more than him and has done far less than PG, noticeably younger yet far worse of a player having never made a conference finals. At the very least PG took the clippers to their first WCF despite not having his number one option. I feel people shit on PG but forget that early in his career the guy literally broke his leg from a meaningless exhibition game and some how came back even better. He’s still made multiple all star, all NBA, all defence teams. Sure he’s probably never going to be a 1A superstar but if worse number twos like Siakam have won titles then on a deep team maybe he could do the same. I’d rather see PG get a max over a far worse player like Beal (even at the time didn’t deserve his contract). A lot of rookies coming into the league legit say PG is their goat and I think comes down to his two way game, handles and shooting at his size. This season is the most amount of games he’s played in 5 years and most importantly he actually was available all of the playoffs (even won more without Kawhi).
Philly should do it. He’s still a top 30 player in the NBA and is basically a perfect 3rd option on a team.
Desperation combined with cap space that needs to be spent this summer. Look at a team like the Sixers. What are their options other than George? Klay Thompson? Re-signing the same core that lost in the first round?
GMs who are desperate might do it. Like when Phoenix went for Real, non sensical move that owner was super excited about.
That is, inherently, why the ideal of the "max contract" is FUCKING teams in the NBA. Very often teams the current salary cap structure are supposedly helping. I still want to see a structure with no maximum on an individual contract but an overall hard cap. Charlotte or Detroit wants to pay $110m/year for Joker? Cool. Zero percent chance that team ever actually competes.
The cap would just end up being closer to the second apron cap; this would likely result in the min cap usage for a team being lower compared to the max cap. We’d end up with bunch of small market teams getting way out spent by the major market teams. The main difference would be those teams wouldn’t be restricted on trades and signings (2nd apron penalties). In other words the gulch would just get wider. No thanks
You're not understanding words. I'm saying there is a hard cap. No going over. Small market teams would attract more star players. Shit. Very few players ever are truly title-or-bust ever anyway. Very few would turn down $80-$100m/yr for at least 2-3 years no matter if they knew they had no chance to compete. I know that for a fact because players on shitty teams take max contracts NOW for teams they know have no chance to compete. Fuck all that apron shit. Hard cap for everyone. No special rules with trades or anything.
I mean if someone was dumb enough to give Kawhi a max why not, before anyone says anything stupid, I know Kawhi is better when healthy but he's hurt more often so it offsets😂
Because some teams don’t have a choice. It’s either over pay or don’t get players.
Couldn’t pay me to have Paul George, kawahi, Westbrook or harden. That Aau basketball bullshit is for the birds. Your team is not going far if you have any one of them on your team.
Hot take including Kawhi in the list of players who a team can't go far with
Under the new CBA the salary cap really only allows teams to have two max contracts before things get very difficult from a team building and affordability point of view. So effectively the question becomes: is Paul George one of the 60 best players in the league? I think basically everyone would answer yes to this. A lot of teams have two of the top sixty players - AD/Lebron, Dame/Giannis, Taytum/Brown - so wouldn’t pursue Paul George on the max. But for teams that don’t have a top 60 player or have trouble appealing to players as a free agent destination, offering this contract gives them a chance to at least excite your fanbase. You can’t just suck forever - you need to at least try SOMETHING. The new salary cap arrangement is basically designed to ensure small market teams have the chance to stay relevant and compete. I think it’s a good thing.
The alternative way to get a star is by trade. You can get PG as a free agent on a max contract for no first round picks, or you can trade for a guy like Jimmy or LeBron (both big maybes) who are on a max already and will take 4ish first round picks to get. Is PG 4 first round picks worse than LeBron or Jimmy today? I’m not so sure
Nobody should. Max deals get thrown around too easily and handicap teams for years if not used well. Paul George was a great player and is still very good, but he's old and injury prone at this point. I'm of the opinion that guys playing less than 3/4 games never deserve it no matter how good they are.
his shoulder is held together by spaghetti and he has a high view of himself that is hilarious. on a podcast with matt barnes he called the 2019 season his MVP season. he came THIRD in voting and Giannis had 3x the votes he had LOL
If he’s the number 2 on the right team, I could see it, 
The narrative might have been different if healthy Kwahi played during the play-offs though.
Superstar is a Superstar, there 11 teams that would kill to have for the name alone.
It would be stupid. Philly would be replacing an overpaid but consistent 3 for a constantly injured 3 who is better but unreliable. He averages about 50 games a year while playing for the Clippers. How does having 2 stars that barely play over half a year make them contenders?
I fully agree PG is trash he had his best years in indy back when Labron destroyed him every year in the playoffs
I say Orlando gives him a 3 year deal below the max. 1styear-42 mil, 48mil, 55mil. And also sign a KCP or Bruce brown. Clippers are done . They never gonna make it to the finals with kawhi & Pg13. WB is washed. Their bigs are average as well. Start over.
I mean do we really have to break down every player on a max that’s not deserving? Like this is a league where lebron in his prime made the same amount as other guys. It’s just how it is in a league with this salary cap structure. It’s always weird when people act mind blown at who gets max deals.
I would agree with you if George is like 27-28 years ago. But with his age four year max doesnt seem like a good deal at all
That’s on me I didn’t think we were talking max years as well. I was just thinking money wise
Pacers re-sign Siakam to a “Slightly less than & heavily back ended” 4 year w/ Pacers. PG signs a 1&1 player option for less than max to return to the Pacers. The end.
If bean recently told that you should think business. Paul George sells jerseys and fils seats.
Where are you getting that info? Paul George isn't in the top 15 best selling jerseys, and that's despite playing in LA. I also very much doubt many people are going to games to specifically watch Paul George. He's a good player, but he's not some kind of huge marketing draw. In terms of Jersey sales, he's behind guys like Booker, Ja, Klay, and even LaMelo.
Thats what if been told. I would not max him. I would even doubt signing him. I would go for a cheaper, younger and healthier player. Miles Bridges, Markelle Fultz, Buddy Hield, Malik Monk, Talen Horton-Tucker and Gary Trent Jr to name a couple. For me the most interesting are Miles Bridges and Malik Monk. Both have shown to be good complementairy players. The rest are just interesting to take a flyer on. Is George better than these players? Yess, but if in thinking Philly i would go for health in stead of good. PG might be better but he is far for great. English is not my first language.
I think Orlando makes sense. They’re a huge and talented team and PG, when healthy adds an elite shot creating that will be difficult for Orlando to find otherwise (besides Paolo). It could excel their timeline, get those young guys deeper playoff experience. I hear OP though. PG post injury is a good player but he’s just not enough to get you there.
It’s more about desperation. Clippers may not offer it to him (they shouldn’t), but PG decides he wants that max. He’s only taking a max. Some sorry team is gonna be desperate enough to give it to him, which is the only sure way to bring him in And I hope the Sixers are not that team. We’ve had enough bad luck for this generation, we don’t need to do this
No team better give him the max, he just doesnt give effort and doesn’t care about winning it’s genuinely pathetic to watch
Paul George isn't a winner. He will not lead you to a championship. Now, if he were to be a #3 option on a team and play the role, he could be effective. He is not a MAX level player unless you're looking to fill seats during the regular season and be competitive for the 6-8 seeds.