The Athletic shared some interesting insight into the story behind acquiring Paul George. Daryl Morey called it “a risky plan.” Also, his story showed that he was going for a lion’s share. Now, the Sixers have their Big Three team. Furthermore, the team ranks among the top three in the Eastern Conference. What did Morey tell the Athletics?
Daryl Morey’s Plan To Get Paul George
Daryl Morey told The Athletics about his plan to get Paul George on the team. This 2024 offseason wasn’t the first time the Sixers tried to acquire Paul George from the Los Angeles Clippers. Thus, Joel Embiid wasn’t the only person after George this offseason.
When James Harden was a Sixers, the team tried to fit in together. However, it didn’t work, as Harden had his perspective on how the game should be played. Harden wanted the team to evolve around him, while Joel Embiid was the franchise’s face. On the other hand, Embiid needed a supportive player to amplify the team’s overall performance.
Harden demanded a trade from the franchise with these hiccups in the team’s chemistry and contract issues. This period also started the race for Paul George. Daryl Morey wanted to trade James Harden to the Clippers for Paul George. Yet, that didn’t work. Finally, the Sixers President of basketball operations traded James to the Clippers for some draft picks and good players. This trade also improved the Sixers’ cap space for any favorable future opportunity.
“We were taking what we thought was the best plan to keep ourselves in title contention, but it definitely was a risky plan,” Morey told The Athletic. “They don’t always work out, but we felt like all the other plans were worse.”
Morey Doubted Signing Paul George
After losing to the New York Knicks in the 2024 postseason games, the Sixers entered the offseason with a cap size of over $60 million. This cap size was enough to build around Joel Embiid and the reigning Most Improved Player, Tyrese Maxey. Interestingly, Paul George was on the brink of leaving his hometown. Thus, the Philadelphia 76ers saw this as an opportunity.
Undoubtedly, the Sixers were the favorite to sign Paul George with enough cap size in their arsenal. However, The Athletics opined that Morey put his initial odds of acquiring the six-time All-NBA player at less than 50%. Though it took a while, Paul George signed a four-year contract with the 76ers. Also, this signing increased the team’s chances of being a title contender next season.
“I feel like we’re one of the top few teams,” Morey said. “I think Boston’s pretty clearly the team that deserves to be called the favorite. They played great last year. They played really historically well, but I think we have a shot to get right in there, in the mix with them, and beat them this year.”
Daryl Morey added Eric Gordon, Reggie Jackson, Caleb Martin, Guerschon Yabusele, and Andrew Drummond to the team to crown the Sixers’ off-season success. So far, the team’s chemistry has been optimistic; we could observe this chemistry from the training camp in the Bahamas. The Philadelphia 76ers will play against the Timberwolves to kick off their competitive run for the 2024-25 season.
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