Report: 76ers ‘Heard Rumors’ of Knicks, Warriors Eyeing Paul George Trade Before FA

Before the Philadelphia 76ers landed Paul George in free agency, they found themselves waiting to make sure they would even have a chance to sign the nine-time All-Star.

Per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, the Sixers “heard rumors” for weeks that the New York Knicks or Golden State Warriors were a threat to potentially acquire George in a trade.

Neither the Knicks nor Warriors were initially regarded as landing spots for George, but that was when it was assumed he would opt out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.

When the possibility of George opting in to his deal to facilitate a trade became a possibility, his list of potential landing spots increased. NBA insider Marc Stein reported on June 23 that the Knicks were considering a trade for the veteran forward.

The Knicks were taken out of the equation on June 25 when they agreed to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges. If that didn’t definitively take them out of the market for George, they were the next day when OG Anunoby agreed to a five-year, $212.5 million deal to stay in New York.

Golden State reportedly made a strong push to add George before his June 29 deadline to opt in.

Per The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami, the Warriors proposed “proposed several variations of a trade” they thought the Clippers would accept and “believed—several times—that they were on the verge” of making it happen.

Kawakami also noted Golden State was willing to give George a four-year max extension if the trade had been worked out. The trade offers were built around some combination of Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Chris Paul and a future first-round draft pick.

When the Clippers never agreed to any version of the Warriors’ offer, George decided to opt out and become a free agent. He wasted little time in agreeing to a four-year, $212 million deal with the 76ers, per Wojnarowski.

This seemed like the dream scenario for months in Philadelphia. President of basketball operations Daryl Morey set the team up to have cap space to sign an All-Star-caliber player after trading James Harden to the Clippers in November.

Morey’s gambit paid off in a huge way, with George joining a roster that already had Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. Maxey also got his max extension by agreeing to a five-year deal worth $204 million on Monday, per Wojnarowski.

It remains to be seen if this will be the trio that can get the 76ers to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2001, but this is the most optimistic the franchise has felt going into a season in years.