Paul George’s Suspension and the Sixers Paradox: On-Court Risk, Financial Upside
Paul George’s suspension complicates the Philadelphia 76ers’ plans, but it also opens an unexpected scenario on the luxury tax front. Between financial benefits and basketball doubts, Philadelphia now finds itself at a delicate crossroads
For the Philadelphia 76ers, who seemed to have finally found a degree of stability, Paul George’s suspension represents a serious setback. A heavy blow that, however, also brings an unexpected silver lining – at least from a front-office perspective.
Not all bad news is entirely bad if you’re the Sixers and suddenly discover you’ll have to do without the second-highest-paid player on your roster, suspended for 25 games for a doping violation. All of this comes in a season that has been fairly ordinary so far, especially when compared to the recent past, marked by constant injuries, inconsistent performances, and disappointment in key moments.
Escaping the luxury tax
With Dominic Barlow and Jabari Walker holding two-way contracts that needed to be converted, Philadelphia was staring at a very real issue ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline. After 50 games played and with the postseason approaching, the Sixers would have had to decide whether to limit their usage or sacrifice someone on the roster to get back under the luxury tax, considering the franchise was already more than $7 million over the threshold.
In that scenario, players like Andre Drummond or Kelly Oubre Jr. would have become hot names on the trade market. A solution that would have weakened a team that is deep, yes, but also built around several players with notable injury histories – making a reliable minimum rotation is essential.
The picture changes dramatically with Paul George’s suspension. Under the CBA, the unpaid salary of suspended players counts only at 50% toward the luxury tax calculation. Given George’s $51.7 million contract, the savings are massive: more than $11 million lost by the player, with the Sixers’ tax bill nearly cut in half.
Philadelphia now finds itself just $1.26 million above the threshold, a manageable gap that allows the team to convert both two-way contracts without drastic moves and without paying the tax next season. A marginal transaction, such as moving Eric Gordon, would be enough to fix everything.
Trading Paul George…
Financial benefits aside, the central issue remains: the investment in Paul George. Handing out a max contract to a player clearly in the later stage of his career was already a gamble. A rules violation now turns it into an even heavier problem.
The 68 games played in a Sixers uniform tell the story of a broad decline: reduced statistics, diminished impact on both ends of the floor, and a profile that today looks more like that of an experienced sixth or seventh man. A role that makes sense given his age, but is far harder to justify when measured against his contract.
And it’s precisely that contract that makes him virtually untradeable, regardless of the needs of potential suitors. For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that with George on the floor, Philadelphia holds a 16-11 record, compared to 10-10 in games played without him. Numbers that don’t solve the dilemma, but do make it less straightforward.
…or waiting for him in the playoffs?
What leaves the bitterest taste, however, is the timing of the suspension. It came just days after a brilliant performance against Milwaukee, when George had looked surprisingly “vintage” in both production and presence.
Beyond the 32 points scored, he finished with 9-of-15 from three, 5 assists, and 2 steals, giving the impression that he could still make a real difference. Enough to reignite enthusiasm around a Philadelphia team that, with Joel Embiid healthy, an energetic backcourt, and that version of George, would have become a dangerous presence in the Eastern Conference race.
The risk now is that a 25-game suspension of what is theoretically the second-best player on the roster ends up undermining everything good that has been built.
It’s true: once the suspension is over, George will be available for the postseason. But before getting there, Nick Nurse will have to come up with more than one solution to make an already thin wing rotation functional – now further depleted. And there’s no guarantee that time will be on the Sixers’ side.