The Philadelphia 76ers had a plan for the summer of 2024. Their plan was simple: add a third star to play alongside perennial MVP candidate Joel Embiid, and rising star Tyrese Maxey. They completely cleared the books so that they could have enough cap room to sign any player they wanted. That player turned out to be Paul George.
When the Sixers managed to sign George, they were considered the winners of the 2024 offseason. And up until the season started, they looked like that. On paper, they have one of the best teams in the league. But now a new report says that Embiid had different preferences than the front office.
Joel Embiid Preferred a Different Star Than Paul George
While Paul George was the best free agent available on the market, per a new report, Joel Embiid had different wishes. The Sixers were supposed to compete for the best record in the league and a championship following the acquisition of Paul George.
Now, Vince Goodwill of Yahoo Sports claims that the move to get Paul George was not enough to appease the face of the franchise. During the last episode of Good Word with Goodwill Podcast, he said,
“He wanted Jimmy Butler. He told the 76ers, ‘Go Get my guy’. I don’t think Joel Embiid has been happy, even though they wound up getting Paul George. He wanted Jimmy Butler back over there.”
Embiid and Jimmy Butler helped the Sixers take the eventual champion Toronto Raptors to seven games in the 2019 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. It took a miraculous bounce shot from Kawhi Leonard for the Raptors to advance.
Goodwill explained that the talks between Miami and Philadelphia never progressed to the “deal zone”. But there might have been an opening after Jimmy didn’t get an extension.
It is clear Joel still wonders how deep that team could have gone. To this day, Embiid still has only respect for Jimmy. On Monday, after their loss to the Miami Heat, Joel said,
“Jimmy is Jimmy. He does everything, scoring and passing the ball. On both sides of the floor, he’s one of the best players in the NBA, probably top five, probably the best actually, the best player in the league.”
Did the Sixers Make the Right Choice?
If we look at the numbers, Jimmy is having a better season so far. He has played one more game, 9 to 8, and has posted averages of 17.7 points on 50% shooting (albeit only 21% from behind the arc). Paul George, on the other hand, has posted averages of 14.9 points on 38% shooting and 27.8% from behind the arc.
George is also one year younger. But so far, he has been more injury-prone. On Wednesday, George left the game against the Memphis Grizzlies with an injury.
One more thing to consider: Jimmy has led the Miami Heat to the Finals twice. George has never made it to the Finals.
Embiid Praised George in the Summer
Speaking to reporters on media day, Joel Embiid smiled when asked about Paul George. He was happy to have him on the team and even said that he spent a lot of time recruiting PG to get to Philadelphia.
Now, things must have changed after Embiid saw the reality. The Sixers are nowhere near the best teams in the East, and George is hurt. The report from Yahoo Sports definitely goes in line with Embiid’s body language on the floor. He is not as aggressive as he has been in previous years, and maybe it has to do with who he shares the floor with.
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