This Could Change Everything…

This Could Change Everything…

the NBA off season is officially here and the Sixers decision for Star hunting may have got a little bit easier in this video I want to break down why the Paul George decision may be made for the Sixers and why there’s an interesting little contract clause that is coming to play in this overall discussion that being the player option that is attached to his name now we’ve been doing this Paul George dance for several weeks now we know that that was option A at the top of the Sixers list I’ve talked all about why I believe that was the case because of the standpoint for being capable of just signing him in free agency without having giving up any sort of draft picks being able to keep the five first round picks the Sixers can currently use in a trade for a superstar if they elect to go that route well that may no longer be on the table as there is some doubt that Paul George will hit free agency and why is that the case it is that player option right here so to start off with and take a look at his contract here that you can see that player option for $ 48.7 million the deadline for that is on June 29th which is Saturday also just a couple days after the draft which of course we have to go through that starting tomorrow I’m excited about the draft aspect of things from this being the trigger this will be the first Domino that goes into play but for Paul George specifically there’s a lot bigger issues at hand here and it does seem to be trending toward him his desire to opt in that contract we did get this report talking about why that is the case from Mark Stein here says Paul George opting in and then requesting a trade is starting to feel like a realistic option per the Stein line the Clippers are unwilling to offer him a contract larger than Kawhi Leonard’s quote there is a growing feeling League wide that the 34y old picking up his $ 48.8 million player option for next season to force the Clippers to trade him is an increasingly realistic scenario after months of fruitless contract extension negotiations between the parties the Clippers appear unwilling to offer a richer deal to George than Kawhi Leonard received in January 150 million-ish over three seasons so a lot to digest there and we do understand kind of the hurdle that the Clippers are currently facing as a franchise I don’t know what the Clippers should do from their standpoint here you’re in a tough spot and I’ve heard all this all these conversation and talking points about this new Arena how they have to have these Superstars but my honest push back and question to that is as a Clippers fan would you be excited right now rolling in again with Paul George Kawhi Leonard and James Harden and feeling like this is a championship Contender that’s not a bad team by any means there’s certainly a ton of talent there but that’s just about as poor of injury luck as you could possibly have and for Kawhi Leonard specifically while I feel bad for the guy I just think it’s a poor gamble to make as an organization at this point to believe that dude can get through a playoffs heal and I get it I’m kind of throwing stones at a glass house speaking about these Sixers who have Joel embiid but realistically when having this type of conversation at least we see Joel embiid playing at some level in the playoffs no he’s not the 100% version of himself and he’s obviously playing through injuries but he’s on the court that hasn’t even been the case with Kawhi Leonard since he’s really put on a Clippers jersey and I don’t feel great about that moving forward as he continues to get older now that was kind of the first domino in this whole conversation is the Clippers did reach that deal with Kawhi Leonard and there did feel to be a bit of an understanding that we’re not going full Max contract we know that there’s the inherent risks that come with Kawhi Leonard because of those injury concerns and it does seem like that did rub Paul George the wrong way a little bit now I do have the times that he was asked about the extension here this being uh via tomor azly of clutch points here he says here were the three times we asked Paul George about extension talks and the dates January 10th 2024 PJ say PG says he’s optimistic on the day of qu’s extension announcement on February 10th exactly one month later PG says extension is still the goal then on April 20th 2024 right before the playoffs Paul George does not answer extension questions and there was an interesting change up there and when you watch the video there’s definitely a change up in tone that you can see he’s a little bit stiffer seems a little just not happy with the topic the more that this goes on and that does seem to be the approach overall the bottom line is Paul George has his dollar Mount set and the Clippers appear unwilling to give it to him now where the human side of this comes in is Paul George I think wants to be in Los Angeles that that is his hometown and to kind of put his business out there a little bit he does have a mom that is wheelchair bound that is capable of going to every single home game sitting Courtside you’re not going to get that if you move to another team and I do think that’s a key factor consider here that as much as we talk about these athletes for the skill sets they have for the money that they’re making they are still human beings and there has to be what they want that it’s one thing to you know threaten to take your ball and leave it’s another thing to actually have to step away and go create a life somewhere else in the way that Paul George would in this specific situation now from the Sixers angle here my complete selling point and my my reason that Paul Jord was number one on my wish list for this Sixers team was because of the free agency aspect that it would be too Grand of an opportunity for me to pass up this caliber of talent who I still think people are under selling to an extent even though I do understand the point that he is 34 years old there is injury concerns all these things but he’s still a dude that just last season averaged 22.6 points per game 5.2 rebounds 3.5 assists 1.5 steals per game 41.3% from three which is the biggest number that jumps out to me doing that on 7.9 3point attempts per game Real Deal 6’8 shot 45.7% from the corner and by the way he’s been doing this for a long period of time this is no fluke for Paul George that when you look back to what he has produced on the court overall he’s been doing this for a long time at this point this is a guy who was an Allstar last year has been several times in his career a former most improved a guy who at one point could do it on both ends of the floor that certainly has faded a little bit from a basketball fit that you can see the way he’s that seamless connector between a guy like Tyrese Maxi and Joel embi but once again my selling point was being able to straight up sign him if he is going this route of wanting to opt into his contract and have a trade he bumps down my list of priorities because those red flags become more relevant and when I’m really thinking about this Sixers puzzle as a whole that it’s not just one player they’re far more than one player away we know that the roster is currently constructed is Joel embiid Tyrese Maxi and a blank slate and I do think Paul George would would be a guy certainly worth filling in and I think it’s interesting when we have these conversations with basketball basketball more so than any other sport I do believe one player can make such a difference that even in this specific situation you got five guys on the court at a time so you got Tyrese Maxi you got Joel embiid that’s 40% of your team right there and I know you need rotation players you need backups all those type of things it’s a long season but if you’re thinking about just straight up winning a basketball game that’s 40% of your team right there Paul George becomes the 60 then you have those five first round picks and you can start swinging deals such as maybe you trade a first round pick for a role player a guy that you think can add maybe you bring back Kelly niik Batum and we’re talking about whoever whoever that could be the case that you can use those draft picks to F out the roster in a way as well as attracting win now veterans that want to come join a championship Contender which I don’t think can be disputed that a trio of tyes Maxi Joel embiid and Paul George would be up there now I want to put those conversations to bet because I’m not interested in trading for Paul George when you have to start giving up these assets even if the price tag is not as steep as it should be for a level of his talent when you think back to some of the sign and trade examples of the past and to give one that hits close to home right here in Philadelphia think about the Jimmy Butler situation that he desired going down to South Beach playing for the heat the Sixers obviously worked with him to get him there rather than let him lose lose him for free and all I got back was Josh Richardson like that is not something you’re bragging about and by the way Josh Richardson stunk here so did not work out in that case and a clear kind of example in this specific situation let’s not foret forget about James Harden just last year with the very with the Los Angeles Clippers themselves now there were obviously a little bit better circumstances with Paul George than was the case with James Harden but the point being that he had had destination Circle he opted in forces the team’s hand and ultimately the team worked together now from the Sixers perspective you can bow out just fine and I do think that is really the the reason for this report from sham Shania saying that the Philadelphia 76ers interest in pursuing Paul George has significantly waned in recent days and the franchise is expected to be aggressive elsewhere with its Sal cap flexibility and the draft Capital leading into next week’s NBA draft the NBA draft is now tomorrow and it’s time for the Sixers to act and I think after digesting this for a little bit of time that is why they sent out that message it’s we’re not waiting for that Saturday June 29th deadline for him to decide whether he wants to opt into his contract enforce a trade or just join free agency I think they need some sort of commitment from Paul George I know it’s the tampering the back room conversations but there has to at least be a convers to make the Sixers believe he’s worth waiting for and at this point in time he just might straight up not be that when we talk about this version of Paul George which I know I’m still more of a believer in than most but there are some Fair red flags here talking about how he didn’t he missed having Robert Covington and Nico Batum and how that forced him to do the dirty work or things like him showing up with this quote doing an interview for boardroom talking about his podcasting career saying Paul George says he spent time watching film on Stephen A Smith Shannon sharp and Chad o Joo to help him become a better podcaster quote just like George prepares and watch his tape of himself and his opponents he’s also watched and learn from other media personalities and former players from Stephen A Smith’s articulation to chadow joso’s ability to be funny by stay by staying within himself and attributing in Ryan Clark Brandon Marshall Shannon sharp Cam Newton and others he made sure to pay homage to those who pave the way this man got clamped up by Derrik Jones Jr and then ran home to see what Stephen A Smith had to say about it that is not a guy that is screaming a winner to me at this point in time and I’m not hating on the dude having a podcast I do actually think he’s very good on it for the most part in a far better interview than I ever would have guessed but the point being you should be interested from the Sixers perspective for guys that are going to want be hungry to help win a championship and I’m just not getting those vibes from Paul George that I do think he kind of Hit the point in his professional career where he’s accomplished the things that he’s wanted to and he’s okay with coasting from here he certainly wants the money there’s no doubt about that but in this opin situ ation you’re extending this another year that for all the age concerns it’s not this four-year Max that the Sixers have waiting for them it’s now you’re taking him on that $48 million contract and then have to extend him now there is good news here as I mentioned the NBA draft kicks off tomorrow and that’s when a good amount of movement will begin around the league well there is some growing just kind of speculation SL reporting here that the Sixers do have their eyes on another Target and I do think there’s a possibility that tomorrow night we’re talking a little bit more in depth about Brandon Ingram here and that is a guy who still averaged 20.8 points per game 5.7 assists 5.1 rebounds shot just 35.5% from three a little bit lower volume too he has had better shooting years than was the case last year but it does seem like the Pelicans are motivated to move him and I do know that there’s at least some preliminary conversations on these Sixers and there that is a guy who’s younger than Paul George you do have to do the contract dance a little bit here as Ingram has just one year left on his deal and that’s a large part of the motivation that the Pelicans want to move on from him but the bottom line is is they don’t have their wagon hitch to Paul George and may never tried to do that again that as great as it was as much as this was a theoretically a seamless fit in an idea the Sixers may have to look elsewhere and it does seem like Daryl muray is getting busy doing this so for Paul George if you opt into this player option cyanara from your hopes of playing for the Sixers is kind of the way that I look at it that I’m not interested in trading for this dude I would have straight up sign him and would have given him that Max contract as I do think it’s something that these Sixers could have managed and built a success uccessful team around him if that’s the case we’re talking about giving assets back just to bring this guy in sign me up for a Brandon Ingram or Mel Bridges or a l Markin or some of these other options even a Jimmy Butler or OG an anobi who are all floating out there it does feel like the focus has shifted away from Paul George and I do think that’s the right call so a lot to pay attention to over these next couple days the draft will begin to turn the NBA news cycle have some things happening and start The Dominoes in motion and of course stay tuned for Saturday because if there’s no big fish on these Sixers roster to that point and Paul George opts into that player option I do think the hopes of him playing for the Sixers or the expectations of him playing for the Sixers should essentially be out the window so let me know what you guys think there but that’s where I’m at at this point that if Paul George wants to be a free agent wants to go what is the most competitive and best basketball location which is Philadelphia sign me up for a straightup free agent deal if you’re opting in and we’re starting to work the trade market I’m absolutely out and I think there are better options out there that are more worth giving up assets for so let me know if you guys agree with me or not drop your comments below make sure you are subscribing to the channel if you have not already let’s keep this digest family growing we got a ton of awesome content prepared to come out immediately after the draft when we find out who the Sixers are bringing in or what those trades are or what Daryl Mory says in his presser at the conclusion of the draft also make sure you’re liking this video if you have not already I’ll be talking with you next time right here on Sixers digest peace

This Could Change Everything…

The NBA offseason is off to the races and the Sixers are in the midst of all of it. However, there is growing speculation of the legitimacy of Paul George’s desire to come to the Sixers with a particular contractual factor at the center of this. Sean Barnard breaks down the latest for why the Sixers may be wise to search elsewhere and what the deciding factor in the Sixers’ PG interest could be.

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