The Philadelphia 76ers have underachieved considerably despite entering the season as a championship favorite.
Joel Embiid has suited up in just 13 games this season and hasn’t been playing up to his MVP-level self. Paul George hasn’t quite panned out in Philadelphia, so the Sixers might look to cut ties with their prized offseason acquisition as soon as they can.
Sports Illustrated proposed a deal that sends PG-13 back to where it all started.
Indiana Pacers receive: George and a 2027 second-round draft pick
76ers receive: Myles Turner, Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith, and a 2028 first-round draft pick
The draw for the Sixers here is that they can get out of George’s $211 million contract one year into his four-year deal and add a couple of solid two-way wing players and a first-rounder.
Turner is set to be a free agent, but Philadelphia could look to bring him back to help manage Embiid’s minutes throughout the regular season or simply make him their starting center in a lineup featuring Tyrese Maxey if their franchise big man requests a trade in a doomsday scenario.
George could help a Pacers team that just got to the Eastern Conference Finals last season experience another deep playoff run, as he’ll take a ton of scoring pressure off of Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam and benefit from the playmaking of Indiana’s star floor general.
Though George isn’t the same lockdown defender as he was during the prime of his career, pairing him with Siakam could still help bolster Indiana’s defense. A side of the floor they haven’t necessarily figured out.
The Sixers would ideally like to give the PG-13 experiment more time in the City of Brotherly Love, but they may need to give up on this deal if they can’t reach .500 by the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
MORE SIXERS NEWS: Paul George unfavorably compared to 76ers Hall of Famer
