NBA offseason winners and losers: Paul George heads to 76ers, while Warriors and Clippers strike out early

NBA free agency is underway and we got our first major news in the wee hours of Monday morning: Paul George is heading to the 76ers. George heads to Philly after five years with the Clippers, who issued a press release Sunday night stating they would not be re-signing the nine-time All-Star.

With the NBA Draft is complete and now free agency opening, and with a few big trades already on the books, here are some early winners and losers from the 2024 NBA offseason. This is a fluid list. Things can change quickly. But here’s how it looks at the moment. 

Winner: Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers are winners by landing George, who fits neatly in their starting lineup between fellow All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. George will almost certainly be the best player to change teams in free agency, and his addition makes the Sixers one of the NBA’s top title contenders behind the reigning champion Celtics. A report in recent weeks indicated the 76ers’ interest in George was cooling, but that never made much sense. The fit here is obvious. The Sixers needed an impact wing and had no issue giving George a fourth year on his contract, something the Clippers apparently refused to do.

Loser: Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers actually put out a statement before even officially losing Paul George.

“Paul has informed us that he is signing his next contract with another team,” the Clippers said. “Paul is a tremendous talent and an elite two-way player. …We negotiated for months Paul and his representative on a contract that would make sense for both sides, and we were left far apart. The gap was significant. We understand and respect Paul’s decision to look elsewhere for his next contract.”

Look on the bright side … The Clippers still get to pay Kawhi Leonard, who will never be healthy, and James Harden, who hasn’t been worth his salary for his last three teams and will only get worse, almost a quarter billion dollars over the next three years! 

So what’s next? Late Sunday night (technically early Monday morning here on the East coast),…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-offseason-winners-and-losers-paul-george-heads-to-76ers-while-warriors-and-clippers-strike-out-early/

Author : Brad Botkin

Publish date : 2024-07-01 09:43:26

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