Paul George basically confirming he's out of there!

[SelfishPlayer]

He’s either staying in LA or going to Orlando. Philly and New York were always media pipe dreams. He’s not leaving beautiful sunny California to play in any of those cold, expensive, overrated Northeastern destinations. What does make sense is leaving LA for another sunny, warm city, with no state income taxes. Also to play with a young, emerging, star, who can play both ends, and doesn’t have a history of injuries.

Philly isn't expensive...

Still cold and overrated

Philly has NEVER had a problem keeping its own free agents. I've never heard Philadelphia characterized as overrated. It is everything it is proported to be, down to it's booing fans.

[Pelon chingon]

he got sick of that California income tax

Sometimes the simple answer is the right one. He wouldn't be alone people are leaving the once great state of California in masses.

[basketballRob]

In order for this to be feasible Orlando would have to do the following:

Opt out/Renounce Joe Ingles
Opt out/Renounce Jonathan Isaac

Renounce Markelle Fultz
Renounce Gary Harris
Renounce Chuma Okeke

This would open $58.5M

Paul George full 4yr. max = $212.2 ($53.05 yr.)

Orlando will then roughly have $5m in available cap and still be operating under the salary cap.

What the roster looks like assuming they keep their pick this draft and no other trades are made:

Suggs/Black
George/Anthony/Howard
Wagner/Houstan/#15
Banchero/M Wagner
Carter/Bitadze (cap hold retained in example above)

If I’m not mistaken Orlando would still have a little money to fill a hole (for cheap) and still be able to retain/resign Goga.

Dependent on how the season goes they can remain patient on acquiring a point guard and let the ball run through Paolo/George/Wagner and make a trade when it benefits them.

Orlando doesn’t have to do everything in one off season.

You're wrong on your math.

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[basketballRob]

In order for this to be feasible Orlando would have to do the following:

Opt out/Renounce Joe Ingles
Opt out/Renounce Jonathan Isaac

Renounce Markelle Fultz
Renounce Gary Harris
Renounce Chuma Okeke

This would open $58.5M

Paul George full 4yr. max = $212.2 ($53.05 yr.)

Orlando will then roughly have $5m in available cap and still be operating under the salary cap.

What the roster looks like assuming they keep their pick this draft and no other trades are made:

Suggs/Black
George/Anthony/Howard
Wagner/Houstan/#15
Banchero/M Wagner
Carter/Bitadze (cap hold retained in example above)

If I’m not mistaken Orlando would still have a little money to fill a hole (for cheap) and still be able to retain/resign Goga.

Dependent on how the season goes they can remain patient on acquiring a point guard and let the ball run through Paolo/George/Wagner and make a trade when it benefits them.

Orlando doesn’t have to do everything in one off season.

What's the thinking in Orlando - are they gonna cut Isaac and decline the TO on Ingles? Seems like not a big deal to let Fultz, Harris and Okeke walk as well.

They would have to renounce all mentioned to be able to sign Paul George.

However, Inglés could be brought back on a minimum deal (there’s rumor that we brought him on a way above market deal last summer and it was essentially paying it forward) and if I’m not mistaken Isaacs contract could be restructured.

I believe Fultz/Harris/Okeke days in Orlando are numbered.

They have $49m in space if they let Harris, Fultz, Okeke, and Ingles go. They can create another $8m by not picking up the team option for Moe. Then, they could re-sign him using the $8m room exception. That would give them $57m while keeping Isaac.

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[HotelVitale]

If PG were smart, he’d go to the Pacers.

For one, it’s his only chance at having any kind of lasting legacy as an NBA player(I suppose his podcast could help keep him in the spotlight a bit). Right now, which fan base loves PG?
...
But who knows, maybe he doesn’t care about any of that? *shrug*

It's an issue that the Pacers are short on cap space by about 100% of his salary.

Could work out a sign and trade. Not sure what or how, but things could be worked out if he wanted.

I know you're not trying to make a realistic proposal, but he'd have to really really want to go to IND and it'd be really hard for them to pull it off too. Need to send back like $40m in contracts and they don't have that to burn now, even with resigning and trading some guys to reasonable-ish deals. And LAC would have to want that rather than just letting him go for nothing.

[vulture]

PG might have the prettiest game I’ve ever seen but he’s such an inconsistent playoffs player. He disappears when you need him most in big games. I hope that changes in his next stop but he’s 34 and he’s not worth a max imo.

[FeatheryTouch]

Paul George is not a winning player imo.

If Philly honestly think signing him could get them over the hump in the East should beware of the Dame Lillard experience in Milwaukee last season.

The ideal/best situation for PG is to take up a Mentorship type of role for Paulo at Orlando.

If he's not a winning player then why on earth does Orlando want to pay him $50 mill/year to mentor Paolo?

[Drakeem]

Paul George is not a winning player imo.

If Philly honestly think signing him could get them over the hump in the East should beware of the Dame Lillard experience in Milwaukee last season.

The ideal/best situation for PG is to take up a Mentorship type of role for Paulo at Orlando.

If he's not a winning player then why on earth does Orlando want to pay him $50 mill/year to mentor Paolo?

While I think PG can still help teams, plenty of teams have made bad decisions with their free agent signings.

[Magic_Johnny12]

What's the thinking in Orlando - are they gonna cut Isaac and decline the TO on Ingles? Seems like not a big deal to let Fultz, Harris and Okeke walk as well.

They would have to renounce all mentioned to be able to sign Paul George.

However, Inglés could be brought back on a minimum deal (there’s rumor that we brought him on a way above market deal last summer and it was essentially paying it forward) and if I’m not mistaken Isaacs contract could be restructured.

I believe Fultz/Harris/Okeke days in Orlando are numbered.

They have $49m in space if they let Harris, Fultz, Okeke, and Ingles go. They can create another $8m by not picking up the team option for Moe. Then, they could re-sign him using the $8m room exception. That would give them $57m while keeping Isaac.

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I am not wrong on my math.

They will have approximately $43M w/o Harris/Fultz/Okeke/Ingles.

It looks like you’re not accounting for Gogas cap hold, ‘24 FRP and empty roster salary that equals to a little over 8M

Without Isaac (keeping Wagner) = $58M

Keeping Isaac (declining Wagner) = $51M

[In-N-Out 247]

What's the thinking in Orlando - are they gonna cut Isaac and decline the TO on Ingles? Seems like not a big deal to let Fultz, Harris and Okeke walk as well.

They would have to renounce all mentioned to be able to sign Paul George.

However, Inglés could be brought back on a minimum deal (there’s rumor that we brought him on a way above market deal last summer and it was essentially paying it forward) and if I’m not mistaken Isaacs contract could be restructured.

I believe Fultz/Harris/Okeke days in Orlando are numbered.

They have $49m in space if they let Harris, Fultz, Okeke, and Ingles go. They can create another $8m by not picking up the team option for Moe. Then, they could re-sign him using the $8m room exception. That would give them $57m while keeping Isaac.

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Are you factoring in incomplete roster charges and the cap hold for #18?

Here is what I got (from Spotrac) - your scenario (all free agents renounced, Ingles option declined, this also includes waiving Caleb Houstan):

Isaac - $17,400,000 (Non-guaranteed)
Anthony - $12,900,000
Banchero - $12,160,800
Carter Jr - $11,950,000
Suggs - $9,188,385
Wagner - $8,000,000
Black - $7,607,760
F Wagner - $7,007,092
#18 Pick - $3,639,120
Incomplete Roster Charge - $3,308,787
Total - $98,440,264

Cap Space - $42,559,736

Declining the TO on Mo Wagner save another $6,897,071 (his $8M salary less IRC) so $49,456,807.

To make a legit run at PG13 they really do need to cut ties with Isaac.

Cutting Isaac and keeping Mo cap space is $58,856,807. Cutting Mo as well puts cap space at $65,753,878

[Snotbubbles]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but Philly is a disaster fit. Orlando easily makes the most sense, and he helps them tremendously. In Orlando, it's a team with a bunch of scrappy, defensive-minded athletes. They do the dirty work PG doesn't want to do. It's a clear plug-and-play fit there. With Philly, I see fit issues on both ends of the floor.

I think you're in the minority. Philly needs a wing player that can shoot the 3, take some of the ball handling responsibilities from Maxey and handle the scoring for the non-Embiid minutes. Not sure how Philly would use George on defense, since I don't know who else they're bringing back.

Personally, I think Lebron is a better fit for Philly or that they should go after a younger guy like Mile Bridges and fill out the rest of the roster with better subs rather than use most of their cap on George. They don't need another star, but Morey is gonna Morey.

Paul George in Philly would be best used as a 3-point specialist who occasionally plays defense. He would be a rich man's Batum role or something. Do you want your team to pay 50 million per year for a glorified role-player? Like Philly CAN theoretically offer him a very convenient complimentary role, but he'd be paid to be a legit all star without giving you that level of impact. Also... you do NOT want PG handling the ball trust me. Miles Bridges would be a worse fit IMO because PG is a top 5 3 point shooting talent, Bridges isn't. With the inside/out game of Maxey/Embiid I think a wing who can reliably shoot 3's is a must.

Well Embiid is an MVP candidate, no matter who they bring in, they're going to be a glorified role player. Embiid is option #1.

But you're making a different argument now. Your first was whether would George be a good fit. IMO, he would fit like a glove in Philly. In fact Philly's needs and George's strengths align, plus, Philly (when Morey signs everyone) will be a more vet-laden team so George won't have to deal with the growing pains Orlando's youth presents. Orlando, is still a couple years away from being a true contender (if they ever get there) and George doesn't have 3 years to wait for Orlando to mature (assuming George cares about winning a title). Philly is definitely riskier, with Embiid never being healthy, but from a fit standpoint and being closer to a championship...provided health, Philly would be the smarter move.

[Residual-Heat]

They would have to renounce all mentioned to be able to sign Paul George.

However, Inglés could be brought back on a minimum deal (there’s rumor that we brought him on a way above market deal last summer and it was essentially paying it forward) and if I’m not mistaken Isaacs contract could be restructured.

I believe Fultz/Harris/Okeke days in Orlando are numbered.

They have $49m in space if they let Harris, Fultz, Okeke, and Ingles go. They can create another $8m by not picking up the team option for Moe. Then, they could re-sign him using the $8m room exception. That would give them $57m while keeping Isaac.

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Are you factoring in incomplete roster charges and the cap hold for #18?

Here is what I got (from Spotrac) - your scenario (all free agents renounced, Ingles option declined, this also includes waiving Caleb Houstan):

Isaac - $17,400,000 (Non-guaranteed)
Anthony - $12,900,000
Banchero - $12,160,800
Carter Jr - $11,950,000
Suggs - $9,188,385
Wagner - $8,000,000
Black - $7,607,760
F Wagner - $7,007,092
#18 Pick - $3,639,120
Incomplete Roster Charge - $3,308,787
Total - $98,440,264

Cap Space - $42,559,736

Declining the TO on Mo Wagner save another $6,897,071 (his $8M salary less IRC) so $49,456,807.

To make a legit run at PG13 they really do need to cut ties with Isaac.

Cutting Isaac and keeping Mo cap space is $58,856,807. Cutting Mo as well puts cap space at $65,753,878

They can trade Howard. They can attach their pick to Cole and dump his contract.

[Residual-Heat]

The Magic won 47 games with Fultz, Harris, or 19 year old Anthony Black starting. Go look at these guys stats and see how big of an upgrade PG is. They should easily be a 50+ win team. Then you have other factors.. What if Paolo makes the jump next season? What if Franz shoots the 3 like he has shown he is capable of? What if Suggs takes another leap? What if Isaac can play 25 MPG?

[uncleduck13]

The Magic won 47 games with Fultz, Harris, or 19 year old Anthony Black starting. Go look at these guys stats and see how big of an upgrade PG is. They should easily be a 50+ win team. Then you have other factors.. What if Paolo makes the jump next season? What if Franz shoots the 3 like he has shown he is capable of? What if Suggs takes another leap? What if Isaac can play 25 MPG?

ECF team with Paul

[dakomish23]

PG on that squad would be so fun to watch. I'm all for it. I'd like to see them try and go after Tyus Jones.

I don't get why more teams weren't after him. I think he's very underrated

[dakomish23]

The Magic won 47 games with Fultz, Harris, or 19 year old Anthony Black starting. Go look at these guys stats and see how big of an upgrade PG is. They should easily be a 50+ win team. Then you have other factors.. What if Paolo makes the jump next season? What if Franz shoots the 3 like he has shown he is capable of? What if Suggs takes another leap? What if Isaac can play 25 MPG?

If PG comes to ORL, Paolo is going to average north of 27 PPG. Maybe 30 PPG

[OkcSinceSGA]

The Magic won 47 games with Fultz, Harris, or 19 year old Anthony Black starting. Go look at these guys stats and see how big of an upgrade PG is. They should easily be a 50+ win team. Then you have other factors.. What if Paolo makes the jump next season? What if Franz shoots the 3 like he has shown he is capable of? What if Suggs takes another leap? What if Isaac can play 25 MPG?

He's a dream fit. He wants less responsibility, and if you have $ to throw at him he can get that there because the Magic have a bunch of young guys who want bigger responsibility. The Clippers have an old team with stars winding down and very old role players. They DON'T want that burden. I'm sure Banchero would be happy to put up more shots, or take on more playmaking with PG spotting up from 3.

[madmaxmedia]

I'm not a CBA expert so not 100% sure You can S&T player who just declined his player option but I'm guessing some kind of S&T would be plausible to both sides here... Quite sure LAC would see some combination of Giddey and some Williams not named Jalen + trade exception as at least some positive return and PG could be payed more. But I'm not really sure if OKC should really make that deal, maybe if there is a team option on that contract in year 3 or 4.

That's the rub with any team considering PG, especially the Clippers. If he'd be willing to sign the same deal as Kawhi (3/~$150M) I'm pretty sure we'd do it. But since this is his last big deal, he's looking for a full 4 years (obviously a 3 year deal with 4th year player option essentially ends up a 4 year deal, whereas a 3 + 1 TO is gonna end up a 3 year deal.)

However, a team looking for a piece to put them over the top now might take the pain of the 4th year and give it to him (also depending on their roster situation.) It makes less sense for the Clippers, who I don't think are a legit contender if they re-sign him.

[In-N-Out 247]

They have $49m in space if they let Harris, Fultz, Okeke, and Ingles go. They can create another $8m by not picking up the team option for Moe. Then, they could re-sign him using the $8m room exception. That would give them $57m while keeping Isaac.

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Are you factoring in incomplete roster charges and the cap hold for #18?

Here is what I got (from Spotrac) - your scenario (all free agents renounced, Ingles option declined, this also includes waiving Caleb Houstan):

Isaac - $17,400,000 (Non-guaranteed)
Anthony - $12,900,000
Banchero - $12,160,800
Carter Jr - $11,950,000
Suggs - $9,188,385
Wagner - $8,000,000
Black - $7,607,760
F Wagner - $7,007,092
#18 Pick - $3,639,120
Incomplete Roster Charge - $3,308,787
Total - $98,440,264

Cap Space - $42,559,736

Declining the TO on Mo Wagner save another $6,897,071 (his $8M salary less IRC) so $49,456,807.

To make a legit run at PG13 they really do need to cut ties with Isaac.

Cutting Isaac and keeping Mo cap space is $58,856,807. Cutting Mo as well puts cap space at $65,753,878

They can trade Howard. They can attach their pick to Cole and dump his contract.

Yeah they could, but until they actually do it's just speculation. It's impossible to project cap space based on theoretical trades so it's not worth the effort.

[Residual-Heat]

Are you factoring in incomplete roster charges and the cap hold for #18?

Here is what I got (from Spotrac) - your scenario (all free agents renounced, Ingles option declined, this also includes waiving Caleb Houstan):

Isaac - $17,400,000 (Non-guaranteed)
Anthony - $12,900,000
Banchero - $12,160,800
Carter Jr - $11,950,000
Suggs - $9,188,385
Wagner - $8,000,000
Black - $7,607,760
F Wagner - $7,007,092
#18 Pick - $3,639,120
Incomplete Roster Charge - $3,308,787
Total - $98,440,264

Cap Space - $42,559,736

Declining the TO on Mo Wagner save another $6,897,071 (his $8M salary less IRC) so $49,456,807.

To make a legit run at PG13 they really do need to cut ties with Isaac.

Cutting Isaac and keeping Mo cap space is $58,856,807. Cutting Mo as well puts cap space at $65,753,878

They can trade Howard. They can attach their pick to Cole and dump his contract.

Yeah they could, but until they actually do it's just speculation. It's impossible to project cap space based on theoretical trades so it's not worth the effort.

This whole thread is speculation. Im just saying its an option, and IMO a more likely one than letting Isaac go.18+ Cole for cap space is a good deal for a lot of teams. He's on a 2 year contract at 13 mill/yr, and could turn into an asset if he can get his 3pt% back to where it was in 2022-2023.