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Tim Bontemps, ESPN
CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers held a pair of news conferences here at their practice facility Tuesday: one at 11 a.m. to celebrate Tyrese Maxey signing a new five-year max contract and another at 1 p.m. heralding Paul George’s four-year max contract commitment.
It was fitting that the pressers were held in that order — Maxey first, followed by George — because all of the excitement around the 76ers’ offseason was possible only because of the sacrifice Maxey made last summer: agreeing to be patient and to allow 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey to use Maxey’s small salary cap hold this summer to chase a star in free agency.
Ultimately, Morey made it clear throughout Tuesday’s celebrations that Maxey’s patience needed to be recognized and rewarded — and Maxey himself was quite happy with how it all played out.
“I think it worked out well,” Maxey said with a smile. “I mean, honestly … [it was] hard. It’s a very hard thing to do, especially when you work extremely hard.
“But when they brought it to me, I understood. … You don’t have that many opportunities as a franchise to do something like that.
“I’m just happy, man. I’m happy that we were able to do what we did this offseason and give us a chance to do something.”
That the 76ers are now considered true championship contenders, however, is because of the arrival of George, who — despite turning 34 in May — remains one of the NBA’s elite two-way wing players. George made his ninth All-Star team this past season for the LA Clippers with career bests in every shooting category: 47.1% overall, 41.3% from 3-point range and 90.7% from the free throw line.
But after the Clippers didn’t offer George a full max contract this summer, it paved the way for Philadelphia to do so.
“Amazing time [in L.A.],” George said. “No regret … they went out and gave me an opportunity to play home, which, at that point in time was a ton of value for myself to be able to play in front of my family, my friends, and have a legitimate shot to chase a championship every season. Obviously, injuries kind of deterred us a little bit. But just to speak on that situation as a whole, there’s no ill will … again, forever grateful for the opportunity that they gave me to come back.
“We had a great mutual talk as it all played out, and I felt it was great closure on the situation. I’m happy for them, they’re happy for me, and I’m a Sixer now. So that’s behind me.”
What’s in front of him, and the Sixers, is a trio that compares favorably with any in the NBA today. The combination of Maxey — a breakout star, and the league’s reigning Most Improved Player — as its lead guard, George on the wing, and former MVP Joel Embiid — one of the best centers in the NBA, alongside Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic — gives Philadelphia a perfectly balanced trio of stars to build around.
That Morey has since retained Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kyle Lowry, while adding Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond as free agents, has allowed the 76ers to put a credible supporting cast around their starry trio. They have the confidence that they can put the fight to the defending champion Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks — who also loaded up by trading for Mikal Bridges this summer — for Eastern Conference supremacy.
“I thought everything just aligned perfectly,” George said. “Where they’re at and where they’re trying to go and where I’m trying to get to, as well. I think we got a real legitimate shot. I’ve always been a fan of Tyrese and Joel from afar, and Joel has secretly been one of my closest All-Star Game friends. And so, it kind of felt inevitable that at some point we would link up and be teammates.
“So, I’m all-in. My family’s here all-in, and I’m excited, and looking forward to this next opportunity.”
With ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting Tuesday morning that Philadelphia will eventually add George’s close friend and former teammate for four years with the Clippers, Reggie Jackson, the 76ers will have 13 players under contract and one or two more spots open on their roster. They also could, as Morey himself said during the presser, add to their team throughout the season, thanks to the salary they have on their roster and to the several tradable first-round picks Morey has at his disposal.
In the meantime, however, the biggest question mark around the 76ers is health — and, specifically, whether George and Embiid, both of whom have lengthy injury histories, can be healthy for a full playoff run together. George, who spent the past few seasons dealing with a seemingly eternal list of questions around injuries involving teammate Kawhi Leonard, said the fact Philadelphia has three stars should allow all of them to stay healthier — something Embiid himself told ESPN earlier this month.
“I think just taking the pressure off Joel,” George said. “I think I can kind of help him get through a season healthy. And again, it’s just not putting so much pressure on him. Regardless of how good you feel, I think pressure causes a lot of injuries as well, and you think you have to get overplayed, you have to touch every possession, that kind of just wears you down, especially for how physical he is.
“So that’s the key. Everybody do their part, make sure we’re working on our bodies, and that we don’t just put that pressure on one individual to go out and win games for us.”