This offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers signed All-NBA forward Paul George to a 4 year $212 million contract. George, a 34 year old veteran who has played for the Pacers, Thunder, and Clippers, joins fellow all stars Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid to form one of the NBA’s premier trio of stars.

By signing George, Philadelphia significantly boosts their overall talent, increases the team’s compatibility, and also improves their lineup flexibility. This upgrade should make the team much better than last season, and although it doesn’t address all of the team’s possible weaknesses, it does resolve enough of them to help their chances of making the NBA Finals.

Improvement of Talent:

As any diehard fan would tell you, the 76ers had very little talent on their roster last season outside of Maxey and Embiid. Exemplifying this was the play of forward Tobias Harris, who underachieved drastically the past few seasons after signing a 5 year $180 million contract in 2019.

This particularly stood out in their first round series against the New York Knicks, where many of Harris’ stats decreased dramatically. This was a pivotal factor in the team losing in 6 games, and led to Harris joining the Pistons this offseason, which freed up the necessary cap space to sign George in the first place.

In general, George should be much better than Harris this season, as George adds much more value with his three point shooting, shot creation, and defense. Last season, George averaged 22.6 points per game, 3.5 assists per game and 1.5 steals per game with the Clippers, while also shooting 7.9 three pointers per game on over 41% efficiency.

In comparison, Harris averaged only 17.2 points per game and 1.0 steals per game last season, while only shooting 3.7 three pointers per game on 35% efficiency. George also has the ability to create space to shoot, which is a strength that Harris is lacking. These factors coupled with the offseason signings of forward Caleb Martin and center Andre Drummond, are expected to lead to better overall play across the board, which helps Philadelphia firmly establish themselves as a contender.  

Improvement of Team Compatibility:

While acquiring better players is crucial for any team aiming for success, that is not the only factor that can boost their chances of winning. Given the high level of talent throughout the league, an equally important aspect is how well the team’s players can actually play together. On paper at least, George’s signing to the 76ers markedly increases the team’s overall synergy, as he addresses many of their previous weaknesses.

Last season, Maxey and Embiid were the only players consistently handling the ball, which hampered Philadelphia because opposing teams could focus most of their defensive attention on just the two of them. With George however, the 76ers now have an extra ball handler, which stretches opposing defenses much thinner than they previously were.

Furthermore, Philadelphia didn’t have many consistent shooters last season, which forced Maxey to take a lot of tough shots or telegraph his passes to Embiid. Fortunately for them, George happens to be an elite three point shooter, especially off of the catch. This should also increase Maxey’s and Embiid’s assist numbers, especially given how Embiid’s mere presence down low forces defenses to either double him or give him a favorable opportunity to score.

On the defensive end, George is a fantastic help defender, which gives Embiid much more support than he was receiving last season. Overall, this signing counters many of the problems Philadelphia faced last season, which should give them a much better chance at performing well deep into the NBA Playoffs.

Improvement of Lineup Flexibility:

Another benefit of the George signing is the advantage it brings in regards to setting up different lineups. Last season, the 76ers’ limited depth outside of Maxey and Embiid essentially forced the team to play with one of them on the floor at any given time. This reduced the amount of time they had to play with each other, and even when head coach Nick Nurse decided to keep them in together, it often led to lineups that excluded both players.

With George however, Nurse has many more different combinations to choose from, which enhances all three players’ abilities to be compatible with each other. While they probably will all start with each other, George could theoretically stay in to lead the backups, and when the starters come back on, he could take a break while Maxey and Embiid run the show. This mitigates the team’s tendency to give up large runs to better bench units, namely the ones of their division rivals.

Furthermore, if a particular lineup combination isn’t working, there are several other choices Nurse can try out. Overall, this signing enhances Philadelphia’s tactical flexibility, which gives the team more options to pursue in the case that their usual strategy isn’t working.

Potential Reasons for Concern:

While there are clear advantages in signing George, that doesn’t mean that this move is guaranteed to work as seamlessly as previously described. Although George is quite a talented player, he is also 34 years old, which is past the prime of most NBA stars.

He has also dealt with a multitude of injuries, and while he did play 74 games last season, he never played more than 60 games in the previous four seasons before that. These injuries have also hampered George as a player, as his athleticism and explosiveness have taken noticeable hits. This hinders his ability to drive to the basket and play agile defense, although those are strengths exemplified by Maxey and Embiid, respectively.

The George signing also doesn’t address the 76ers’ lack of an elite passer, as Maxey is much more of a scorer and backup point guards Kyle Lowry and Reggie Jackson aren’t projected to be elite enough passers to offset that. While this doesn’t mean that Philadelphia won’t be as much of a contender as experts project, these are factors to consider when evaluating why the team could potentially fall short.