Paul George might just be able to thrive in his new role, but the Philadelphia 76ers remain heavily burdened by the fact that they will have to pay him a massive amount of money for the next two seasons after this current one. The nine-time All-Star, in all likelihood, has little chance of returning to his previous form, and he will most probably never live up to his contract.
George is getting up there in age, and injuries have slowly deprived him of his signature mix of burst and perimeter prowess during his prime. Now, the 76ers have slowly come to terms with the fact that at this point in his career, he can only be a role player. But even if his diminished role bears fruit to something good, the front office cannot possibly be thrilled about having to pay him star money for role players production, right?
The lack of financial flexibility the 76ers are facing will be lethal to their ability to retain their younger players. While the day of reckoning for that is still years away, there is no disputing the fact that the front office is basically shackled by the very existence of George’s mammoth deal. That makes it imperative for Philly to seek out any and all opportunities to move on from his contract.
The 76ers badly need to trade Paul George if they want to properly retool the roster
Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are the two players around whom the 76ers should be building. For now, the roster remains a flawed one, partly because it was constructed in anticipation of Joel Embiid and Paul George still being part of the very nucleus of this team.
Now, Embiid may still belong to that core, but George’s footing therein has become shaky at best. As a result, trading him will be the perfect conduit toward the front office making the necessary changes and upgrades to bolster the roster around their dynamic one-two punch in the backcourt.
Of course, that endeavor is much easier said than done. It remains to be seen whether a team out there expresses any semblance of interest in George, but if we’re guessing, that is probably wishful thinking at this juncture.
Still, that should be the disposition of the front office moving forward. Even if Paul George proves everyone wrong, the 76ers have to part ways with him. His big has become too big of a handicap, and with it being a part of the equation, roster-building is simply that much difficult.