Philadelphia 76ers' interest in Paul George has "significantly waned," report says
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia 76ers' interest in Paul George has "significantly waned in recent days," according to a report from The Athletic on Thursday night.
The Sixers are expected to "be aggressive elsewhere with its salary cap flexibility and draft capital leading into next week's NBA Draft," Shams Charania of The Athletic reported.
The Sixers have long been linked to George, the forward from the Los Angeles Clippers, as a target to pursue this offseason to pair alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but it appears that won't be the case.
George, 34, has a $48 million player option for the 2024-25 season and would've had to opt out for the Sixers to sign him in free agency. The Sixers were reportedly willing to offer George a max contract until Thursday's news.
With George appearing to not be in Philadelphia's plans this offseason, they'll shift their focus to other wings available in free agency or via trade.
The Sixers enter the offseason with a projected $55.5 million in cap space, and can create up to $65 million in space by renouncing the cap holds of their free agents, but that would come with the cost of losing their Bird rights. They also have multiple first-round picks in their arsenal available to trade.
One of the wings the Sixers could target is New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram. According to The Athletic, the Pelicans recently reached out to the Sixers to gauge their interest in Ingram.
The 2024 NBA draft starts Wednesday, and the Sixers own their own pick at 16, just outside the lottery, and also have a second-round pick they got from the Boston Celtics in the Jaden Springer trade at the deadline.
The Sixers forfeited their own second-round pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft following an investigation for tampering for P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr.
NBA teams can start negotiating with all upcoming free agents starting at 6 p.m. on June 30, about a week after the 2024 NBA draft.
