After nabbing the third overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers approach the offseason bolstered with much more optionality to improve the roster. What initially seemed like a tall order for the front office to catapult the team back to relevance now appears to be pretty doable, as their lofty selection should be more than enough to arm the squad with a strong reinforcement for both the present and future.
Acing the draft will be pivotal, especially with the 76ers not really having much wiggle room to make any major signings in the open market aside from re-upping their own impending free agents. Luckily for them, this year’s draft class is undoubtedly teeming with quality talent, making it unlikely that the franchise pulls off a blunder in the draft.
Having said that, Daryl Morey and his crew have to take advantage of any possible opening that would be conducive to the team decongesting its otherwise muddled and top-heavy payroll. Doing so would allow the team to pursue more high-end role players who can address the team’s persistent issues on both ends.
And not to be disingenuous, but fans probably already know the foremost player who should be on chopping block in that respect.
The 76ers should immediately call the Magic to try and dump Paul George
Paul George occupies a huge chunk of the team’s salary books, and given the kind of campaign he turned in this season, a continued decline on his part seems to be more likely than a sudden surge in production, especially as he just turned 35 two weeks ago.
If the 76ers find a potential taker for George, they should exhaust all means to see it to its end. A trade framework that could actually be feasible is one involving the 76ers packaging the All-Star and their own third overall pick to move back in the draft and still get some assets in return.
Bill Simmons, in his recent pod with Zach Lowe, tossed the idea of Philly offering such package to Orlando for Franz Wagner, who turn in his best campaign yet this season.
Wagner, a do-it-all forward who is still just 23 years old, profiles as a theoretically perfect piece for the 76ers. However, such scenario being a viable one depends on two, defining factors: first, whether the Magic even intend to move him at this juncture, and second, whether Philly views him as an even better additive than whoever they select in this year’s draft.
The 76ers will be best-served dumping Paul George as soon as possible, but if doing so comes at the expense of them parting with such a sterling asset, the front office could be more inclined to believing that perhaps, his play from this season is a mere aberration, and whatever Wagner can provide is something that George can easily replicate when healthy.
In all honesty, this is probably a long shot. Still, the Philadelphia 76ers front office has to make it a point to sell hard on Paul George in order to give them some much-needed legroom to make the necessary moves to polish the roster and start building for the future.