Paul George has not lived up to the max contract the Philadelphia 76ers signed him to last offseason. The Sixers may not be able to get themselves off that contract entirely, but they could trade for someone paid around the same ballpark
A good candidate would be Zach LaVine, who is overpaid but has had a better season than George. However, though the Chicago Bulls guard is still mentioned in trade rumors, they likely wouldn’t want George.
A direct trade between the two sides doesn’t seem likely. Hence, the trick would be finding a team that would. NewsWeek proposed a trade that would send George to the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that just might be desperate enough to trade for him. He outlined the following three-way trade between the Sixers, Bulls, and Lakers.
Sixers receive: LaVine, Jarred Vanderbilt, and a top-10 protected 2029 first-round draft pick
Lakers receive: George and a 2028 second-round draft pick
Bulls receive: Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Max Christie, Kenyon Martin Jr., Jalen Hood-Schifino, and a 2027 second-round draft pick
Despite how much those two are paid, LaVine and George are much better than the players who would be sent to the Bulls. Their trade values are both pretty low because of what their teams owe them.
LaVine is younger than George and his contract is shorter
The Sixers only do this if they believe it’s not worth keeping George and that LaVine is the better option going forward. George has not worked out how the Sixers would have liked, and he will only get older. His contract may be one of the NBA’s worst.
Trading for LaVine could partially undo a major mistake. If the Sixers are offered this trade, they should consider it, as long as it doesn’t cost too much.
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