76ers News: Joel Embiid Hints at Major Offseason Signing for Philadelphia

The Philadelphia 76ers entered the 2024 offseason following a disappointing first-round exit in the postseason, falling in six games to the New York Knicks. After trading away guard James Harden, the 76ers relied upon the prowess of All-Star center Joel Embiid and newly-minted All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton throughout the regular season. Although Embiid missed a significant portion of the year due to injury, he was able to return for the postseason. However, it wasn’t enough and now they head into the summer looking for some answers.

Philadelphia is expected to have max cap space to work with this offseason, giving the team a good chance to completely retool the roster around Embiid and Maxey. 76ers general manager Daryl Morey has never been shy about taking big chances with his teams and he is expected to do the same again with the 76ers this offseason. Many believe that Philadelphia will target another star player, giving them more to work with next season.

While appearing on ABC‘s pre-game show before Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Embiid seemed to potentially hint at the team going after a certain free agent. Los Angeles Clippers star forward Paul George, who could decline his $48.8 million player option for 2024-25 and become an unrestricted free agent this summer, was also sitting there and Embiid side-eyed toward him when speaking.

“Hopefully, this offseason we find a way to get better and add some pieces,” Embiid said, while gratuitously side-eyeing George.

This could be considered blatant tampering from Embiid and he could receive a fine from the NBA. Again, George is still technically under contract with the Clippers but has a player option that he has to make a decision about. He is most likely going to decline the option and seek a new max deal in free agency. To this point, the Clippers and George have been unable to reach an agreement on terms for a new deal, making it a possibility that he departs for another team.

The 76ers have been rumored as a destination for George given that they could see a star forward and they will have the cap space to sign him. A trip of Embiid, George, and guard Tyrese Maxey would make Philadelphia one of the best teams in the entire NBA. They would instantly become one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference and would be seen as more of a threat to win the title.

While it’s no guarantee that George will head to the 76ers, his situation with the Clippers remains complicated. He would prefer to stay in Los Angeles but believes that he deserves a max contract. George averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game for the Clippers last season.