The Philadelphia 76ers have been struggling lately, but they still have a winning record despite disappointing performances that have only been worsened by the litany of injuries they’ve already encountered. Still, this franchise is aiming much higher than a mediocre finish, not just this season, but in the future.
But as long as they are the ones paying Paul George, roster building will be a very difficult escapade for the front office. Financial flexibility is completely lacking for them at the moment, and really their only way out of his massive deal is to find a potential trade partner and incentivize that team to take on the All-Star’s deal, which will continue for two more seasons after the current one.
As mentioned repeatedly before, Lauri Markkanen is essentially the perfect player the 76ers could trade for to bring George into the fold. That would obviously mean paying a very high price, but with such a win-now mentality and a good amount of young talent anyway, parting with draft picks to get the All-Star doesn’t sound like a grim proposition.
Unfortunately, that seems to be heading towards a state of impossibility.
The 76ers no longer have the one ideal way to get out of Paul George’s contract
As NBA insider Marc Stein noted (subscription required), the Jazz are more likely to hold on to Markkanen and try to acquire pieces around him to build their roster. If true, that would essentially eliminate any chance of their front office actively trading him to acquire assets aimed at building through a draft-heavy approach.
While that remains a market whisper, that position is on all fours with Utah buyers, as has been signaled in recent years. And with Markkanen returning to his All-Star form this season, one can only expect their hold on him to become even stronger.
The 76ers were never really firmly established as one of the teams looking to move the ball for Markkanen, but they were definitely one of the few ball clubs with the plausible assets to make both the money and the reasoning work. Philly has some attractive draft assets of its own and some young players who could pique the Jazz’s interest, besides George, of course.
But with Utah showing no inclination at all to part with Lauri Markkanen, those hoping the 76ers can move past Paul George can say goodbye to that moot prayer. It’s actually pretty much over.
#76ers #find #corner #trade #rumors #crush #ugly #situation