The 25-game suspension the NBA announced for Paul George on Saturday came across as a complete surprise to everyone in the Philadelphia 76ers organization. George’s suspension caused shockwaves which will undoubtedly affect what the Sixers are doing both on and off the court for the remainder of this season.
In a statement released to Shams Charania of ESPN, George said he was seeking treatment for a mental health issue. In the process, he took a medication that violated the league’s anti-drug policy. George will not be eligible to return to the floor until March 25. However, the Sixers plan to keep George around the team throughout his suspension.
“He’s still part of the team,” head coach Nick Nurse said on Saturday, via NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Noah Levick. “He can’t play the games but is still allowed in the facility and practices and all that stuff. We’re going to make sure those things continue to happen to get him back. And I just told him listen, as with all our players dealing with this type of stuff, we care about him. We’re here to help him in any way possible. Got to get through it the best way we can, and then go from there.”
While George might still be around the team, his absence from the lineup will be difficult to overcome. The 35-year old was averaging 16.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 38.2% from 3-point range. His absence will be felt particularly hard defensively. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Sixers gave up 4.4 fewer points per 100 possessions with George in the game than when he was on the bench. In the words of star center Joel Embiid, replacing what George brings to the floor will be “impossible.”
“I know people have mixed feelings about what he brings to the table, but you can’t replace it,” Embiid said on Saturday after the team’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans. “He does everything for us. Defensively, probably our best perimeter defender. Offensively, he can play so many roles – knock down shots, post up, creation, playmaking. Can’t replace it. It’s going to be tough moving forward, but we’ve just got to try.”
Philadelphia, prior to the George suspension, did not have a lot of forward depth. The Sixers are going to be forced to put both Kelly Oubre Jr. and Dominick Barlow in the starting lineup until George returns from suspension. In that case, the starting lineup should be able to survive defensively due to Oubre and Barlow’s above average defensive skillsets. However, making it work offensively will be a more difficult challenge. Oubre is shooting a career-high 36.9% from 3-point range this season. Barlow is largely a non-factor in terms of production on the perimeter. The Sixers will be forced to rely on Oubre continuing to shoot at a high percentage to avoid floor spacing becoming an issue.
Beyond Oubre and Barlow, the Sixers will have to look towards Trendon Watford and Justin Edwards to be their first forwards off the bench. Watford, when healthy, has shown some flashes of being a productive bench player. He is averaging 5.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 40.9% from 3-point range. On the other side of the coin, Edwards has struggled this season. His production and efficiency fell nearly across the board from his rookie campaign. Outside of Edwards, Philadelphia could look to run some small-ball lineups with any combination of Tyrese Maxey, V.J. Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and Jared McCain on the floor.
Regardless of the Sixers’ lack of forward depth, the brunt of the impact of losing George for 25 games will have to be handled by Maxey and Embiid. Maxey was already averaging 39.0 minutes per contest. Playing Embiid more minutes comes with increased risk he is not able to stay healthy going into the playoffs. Nurse will have to get creative in how he deploys his star duo. If he does not, he risks one of them running out of gas by the time the playoffs come around.
In addition to the on-court impacts, George’s suspension could also play a large role in what the Sixers do at the trade deadline. In prior years, the organization made it a priority to avoid exceeding the luxury tax line. Doing so this season, prior to the George suspension, would have required shedding $7 million in salary. However, George’s suspension costs him $11.74 million. The Sixers as a result will receive a luxury tax credit worth $5.87 million. This puts the team just $1.26 million above the luxury tax line.
When factoring in the salary cap implications of converting both Barlow and Jabari Walker’s two-way contracts to standard deals, the Sixers would have to create enough space to get at least $1.43 million below the tax line. Philadelphia has a few different routes they could take to clear up a minimum of $2.69 million in cap space. The team could salary dump Andre Drummond’s $5 million contract. Another option involves trading a combination of Eric Gordon ($2.3 million) and either Kyle Lowry ($2.3 million), Adem Bona ($2.0 million), Johni Broome ($1.27 million) or Edwards’ ($2.05 million) contracts.
Being without George for a large portion of the remainder of the regular season could also reverberate through whatever other potential moves the Sixers make at the trade deadline. The Sixers are reportedly on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s radar of teams he is interested in being traded to. Any offer Philadelphia would make for Antetokounmpo would involve sending George, as well as multiple other young players and draft picks, to the Milwaukee Bucks. George, despite the suspension, can still be traded. However, if Milwaukee had plans to route George elsewhere as part of a larger trade, the suspension makes finding an interested suitor more difficult.
Prior to George’s suspension, the Sixers were well positioned to comfortably make the playoffs. Between his absence from the lineup and the Sixers’ difficult upcoming schedule, their chances of making it into the postseason while avoiding the play-in tournament are decreased.
Will the organization aggressively look to add another piece to help steady the ship until George returns in late March? Will the Sixers only look to make a move to get under the luxury tax? George’s suspension throws an unexpected wrench into what has the potential to be an already chaotic trade deadline in Philadelphia.
