Paul George endured a nightmare debut season for the Philadelphia 76ers. The veteran forward struggled for health and form throughout a disastrous run that saw the Sixers miss out on the postseason.
As such, George could find his name floated in trade rumors during the summer. The Sixers are expected to make changes to the rotation. However, those changes will likely come in the form of the supporting cast.
Still, that didn’t Julian Ojeda of ClutchPoints from throwing out a potential trade that would see George head to the Sacramento Kings in return for Zach LaVine. Ojeda’s trade idea was part of a bigger article focusing on potential landing spots for the former Chicago Bulls standout.
The proposed trade looked like this:
Sixers get: Zach LaVine
Kings get: Paul George, a 2028 first-round pick, a 2029 first-round pick (Los Angeles Clippers swap rights), and a 2028 second-round pick.
“With George’s age and decline in production, the Sixers could consider moving him and taking a chance on LaVine,” Ojeda wrote. “The 30-year-old Zach LaVine had one of the healthiest seasons of his career, playing 74 games split between the Chicago Bulls (42) and Kings (32).”
LaVine would help ease the playmaking pressure on Tyrese Maxey. However, he is a significantly worse defender than George. That could be a stumbling block for the Sixers, as they continue to harbor hopes of contending for a championship.
Giannis Isn’t Walking Through The Sixers Door
A proposed trade recently suggested that the Sixers used George’s salary to help facilitate a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. Yet, Gabe Neitzel of ESPN Milwaukee doesn’t see the logic in the Bucks striking a deal with the Sixers, should they decide to trade their star asset.
“Can we at least make it serious trades only?” Neitzel said. “…Giannis to Philly…Guess what? You’re not getting Giannis on a discount. You’re not gonna get Giannis for your discarded scrap heap Paul George of a contract. Not happening. Mikal Bridges last year went for five first-round picks.”
The Sixers’ star players all have limited trade value this summer. Both George and Joel Embiid are viewed as major injury concerns. As such, they need to rebuild their trade value around the NBA.
Sixers Likely to Re-tool on The Fringes
According to a March 2 article from ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, the Sixers would be best served by rebuilding their frontcourt rotation.
“Although depth wasn’t the primary reason for Philadelphia’s failure, it disappointed nonetheless,” Pelton wrote on March 2. “Backup centers Andre Drummond and Adem Bona haven’t provided the cover the 76ers expected behind Embiid, and Caleb Martin wasn’t the strong role player Philadelphia expected. As a result, the Sixers have given more than 3,500 minutes to players my metric rates below replacement level this season, the league’s eighth-highest total.”
Whatever the Sixers decide to do this summer, nothing will be more important than the team getting healthy. If Embiid, Maxey and George can all stay on the court, Nick Nurse’s team has a shot at success. If not, then the Sixers will be facing another difficult year. At that point, a full-scale rebuild could be on the horizon.
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