Grade the Trade: 76ers swap their future for controversial star in clutch proposal

Why the 76ers should trade for Paul George

The Boston Celtics just won the championship and will enter the next campaign as the undisputed favorites to repeat. The New York Knicks, the same team that ousted the 76ers in the playoffs, just got a lot better after trading for Mikal Bridges, who will fortify what should be a healthier squad in the following season. Philadelphia is currently nowhere near the caliber of those teams, at least on paper.

Put simply, the 76ers have to be on relatively equal footing with those teams, and the easiest way to do exactly that is to form a lethal core that has ample playoff experience and staying power as a collective. A quick-hitting answer, you say? Well, Paul George certainly fits the bill of a player who can thrive next to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

George’s theoretical affinity with the team, however, is as a clear as day. What matters more in the context of this trade proposal is the 76ers fully committing to their stern organizational mandate to snap a four-decades-long title drought. And if that requires them to mortgage their future to maximize their chances at a championship, you do it.

Five first-round picks is a pretty steep price, and the Bridges trade definitely didn’t help inculcate the value of draft capital. To be noted, though, is the fact that one of those will be exhausted today anyway, and at least two of those three picks are just the Clippers getting back their own selections. Taking those into account, the pitched deal is actually a fair one.