Daryl Morey catches big fish, Sixers land star wing Paul George

The Sixers have landed free-agent wing Paul George, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The deal will pay the 34-year-old star the maximum $212 million over four years to walk away from the Los Angeles Clippers' perpetual offer of roughly $150 million over three years.

The first year of a George max deal projects to pay him 35 percent of the 2024-25 league cap. The cap, the NBA announced on Sunday evening, is set at $140,588,000 for 2024-25. So, that's a projected salary of $49,205,800 in year one.

His 2025-26 salary would see a raise of five percent on his payment in 2024-25. Your calculator should read $51,666,090. A 10-percent raise on the first-year salary pays George $54,126,380 in 2026-27. A 15-percent raise on year one pays George $56,586,670 in 2027-28.

In other words, a four-year max contract for Paul George projects out a total cost of $211,584,940.

Pros of George

- George shot 41 percent from three on nearly eight attempts per game this past season. At 6-foot-8 with a high release point, George should be able to maintain shot quality enough to bet on his efficiency from deep as he gets older, even if the context in which those attempts come changes as he ages.

- Not only is he a high-volume three-point shooter in raw numbers, but he's a willing and adept shooter off the catch. He led the Clippers in threes attempted off the catch this past season, knocking in better than 45 percent of those looks. That willingness and skill as a catch-and-shoot threat would play nicely next to Maxey, who the Sixers ostensibly want to control the ball on the perimeter as much as possible. It obviously also plays nicely next to Embiid, who is the hub of the offense at almost all times when he's on the court.

- That isn't to reduce George to a volume three-point guy with size. Much to the chagrin of Sixers fans, there is some overlap with George and Tobias Harris. George will set up by the short corner or elbow, extending his arm to receive a mid-post touch against the right defender. One of the attributes that should make the locals a bit more open-minded to George is that he has some creative chops on swing passes. If he catches the ball with a defender off balance or out of position, George will make quick work to carve his way into the paint. One of the ways in which he profiles most differently from Harris is that he has strength and craft at the rim, capable of scoring through contact out of drives.

- George scored an excellent 1.054 points per possession as a pick-and-roll ball-handler last season, according to Synergy. So, at the very least, having a wing capable of calling his own number in the pick-and-roll gives you some flexibility with building backcourt combinations while diversifying your offensive attack.

- He played 74 regular-season games in 2023-24, by far his most since playing 77 in his age-28 season.

Cons of George

- He'll turn 35 years old towards the end of the first year of a max contract.

- Does George playing his most games since 2018-19 this past season mean he's due for some wear and tear and a step backward with availability and general health?

- As good of a three-point shooter as George is almost regardless of context, he's lost a step with his offensive creativity. He doesn't consistently beat defenders to spots anymore, rendering his isolation moves sometimes useless. It's not uncommon for him to settle for difficult jumpers because his step to the basket isn't quick enough or defenders are able to catch up with his shiftiness off the dribble.

- His three-point rate was rather average for forwards this past season, per Cleaning The Glass. He also didn't get to the rim often. While he was excellent at getting the whistle on non-shooting fouls, he was below average at earning the benefit on contact on his shots.

So, three-point attempts don't dominate his shot volume. He doesn't often get close enough for easy looks at the rim. He's not a notable foul-drawer at this stage of his career. Analytically, that all means you can make the case that he's the antithesis of an efficient scorer. So, how are people supposed to trust that his offensive repertoire will translate as needed for a deep playoff run?

- Steal percentage still suggests that George is adept at using his length and being in the right spots on defense. But, our last memories of him on that end of the floor are of a star who did not take the primary assignment with a playoff series on the line. Instead, he accepted an off-ball role in the corner, away from the action as the Dallas Mavericks picked the Clippers apart. If that doesn't tell you something about the pride he takes in winning, perhaps it tells you something about where he is physically at this stage of his career. We're talking about a guy who has four All-Defensive Team selections and a Defensive Player of the Year finalist on his resume. Either it isn't in there anymore or his priorities were elsewhere when his team was most desperate.

- When you've played in 114 career playoff games, you're inevitably going to have highs and lows. George has had his highlights, but he's also had some high-profile flameouts. The Clippers' collapse against the Denver Nuggets in the 2020 playoffs in the pandemic bubble will live in infamy for the franchise. But, George hitting the side of the backboard on a corner three late in Game 7 will forever be the poster of that meltdown. Playoff pedigree matters.

- Perhaps it's that the Al Horford experiment crashed and burned so badly partially because he chased the payday and appeared checked out halfway through the season and that memory remains fresh. But, it's been clear for some time that George would prefer to stay on the west coast if all things were equal. He's coming to Philadelphia because of the payday. So, will he be emotionally committed to the project? Will he give it his all? Will he care when adversity hits? Or, is he just making the cross-country move to do little more than collect a paycheck?

Only time will tell. But, for now, Morey and the Sixers got their big fish. The offseason isn't complete; there's plenty of work still to be done. But, the Sixers pointed their bats to the fences.

And then they clobbered a home run.