Paul George's second season with the Philadelphia Sixers is going much better than his first, but that certainly doesn't mean that the team shouldn't be willing to trade him before the February deadline if there is a team willing to do so. George hasn't been the player that the Sixers thought they were getting, and he won't live up to the max contract he signed in 2024.
The problem is that his contract alone is enough to keep teams away. George is making $51.6 million this season and will make $54.1 million next season. He has a $56.6 million player option in the 2027-28 season, and there is no way that he will decline it. Opting into that salary at 37 years old will be a no-brainer for him.
Still, that doesn't mean a team that is willing to at least inquire about a trade won't emerge. George isn't the star he once was, averaging 15.9 points (down from last season's 16.2 per game), but he's still a great defender. That's where he's shown his value this season. The Sixers don't need him to be "that guy" on the offensive end, not with VJ Edgecombe in town now.
Speaking of Edgecombe, if Philadelphia does manage to trade George, the rookie's presence will make a deal look better. Why? The Sixers won't get a lot in return, not for an injury-prone veteran on a max contract, but at least the George signing, in a way, led them to Edgecombe.
Is there a team willing to trade for Sixers' Paul George?
That's the million-dollar question. The CBA complicates things, as the chance of a team taking on the rest of George's contract is far less than what it would've been once upon a time. Successfully managing your payroll is more critical than ever. Because of that, odds are that he'll remain in Philadelphia, but you never truly know what will happen in the NBA.
Even knowing that they wouldn't get much, it'd help the Sixers to move off his contract. He's the second-highest paid player on the team this season, behind Joel Embiid, and that will continue to be the case for the duration of his contract, assuming Embiid hangs around.
Philadelphia has already accepted that signing George to that kind of deal was a mistake, and the organization is prepared to live with the consequences. But maybe, just maybe, there will be an out for the Sixers.