The Philadelphia 76ers now have their Big Three, introducing forward Paul George on Tuesday as the star joins forces with guard Tyrese Maxey and center Joel Embiid.
The Sixers reeled in George with a four-year, $212 million max contract earlier this month. They were able to do so because Maxey waited his turn for an extension of his own, giving Philadelphia’s front office the ability to maneuver within the salary cap.
Maxey, winner of the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, has since inked a five-year, $204 million max extension, forming a core trio that should give 76ers fans hope to compete with the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and others in the Eastern Conference.
“By being patient, he allowed us to put this offseason together, to really put us in position to be one of the very few legitimate contenders in the league this year,” 76ers president Daryl Morey said Tuesday.
Team owner Josh Harris was on hand at the team’s back-to-back press conferences for Maxey and George and heralded the new group as “among, if not the best team we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
George, 34, is coming off his ninth All-Star season in which he averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 41.3 percent from 3-point range. He’s seen as the piece the 76ers’ offense was sorely missing on the wing.
“Joel has secretly been one of my closest All-Star Game friends,” George said of Embiid, the former league MVP currently with Team USA in Paris for the Olympics. “It kind of felt inevitable that at some point, we would link up and be teammates.”
George also insisted he has “no ill will” toward his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers, whose initial offer to him he termed “disrespectful.”
“I thought everything just aligned perfectly,” George said of joining Philadelphia. “… I’m all in. My family’s here all in, and I’m excited, and looking forward to this next opportunity.”
As for Maxey, 23, the timing worked out perfectly for him to get a payday after his fourth and most successful season in the league. The 2020 first-round pick averaged 25.9 points, 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 70 games (all starts) in 2023-24.
“It’s a very hard thing to do, especially when you work extremely hard,” Maxey said of being patient for his extension. “But when they brought it to me, I understood. … You don’t have that many opportunities as a franchise to do something like that.”
Reports said earlier Tuesday that veteran guard Reggie Jackson planned to sign with the 76ers after clearing waivers. The 34-year-old appeared in all 82 games for the Denver Nuggets last season and averaged 10.2 points and 3.8 assists.
–Field Level Media
