The Philadelphia 76ers came into the 2024 offseason as one of the few teams that was armed with ample cap space. While signs point towards the 76ers landing Paul George in NBA free agency, they have already agreed to smaller deals with key free agents including sharpshooting veteran Eric Gordon as per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Eric Gordon joins the 76ers in free agency after spending the 2023-24 season with the Phoenix Suns. The Suns were expected to be a championship contender and Gordon was viewed as a key veteran towards that goal. He will now be expected to play a similar role on a 76ers team that is also looking to jump into true contender status.
Gordon has been one of the NBA's better three-point shooters throughout his career. Last season, he appeared in 68 games, including 24 starts, at a little over 27 minutes per game. He averaged 11.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals with splits of 44.3 percent shooting from the field, 37.8 percent shooting from the three-point line and 79.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, this will be the fourth team that Gordon has played for during his 16-year NBA career. He has also played for the New Orleans Pelicans and Houston Rockets. He holds a career average of 37.1 percent shooting from three-point range. In the 22 games Gordon played for the Clippers during the 2022-23 season, he shot 42.3 percent from distance, the second-highest mark in his career.
All signs point to 76ers signing Paul George in free agency
In addition to adding Eric Gordon, the 76ers also agreed to terms with free agent center Andre Drummond. Drummond was a target of the 76ers back during the NBA trade deadline, and now they get a quality backup to Joel Embiid.
But the big domino to waiting to fall is Paul George. The Los Angeles Clippers released a statement saying they were informed by George that he intends to leave the team and sign elsewhere in free agency. Following the Orlando Magic agreeing to terms with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the only remaining teams with the cap space to sign George outright at the amount of years he is seeking are the 76ers and the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are not a contender and not in the running for George's services.
It would appear then that George to the 76ers is a mere formality. George would give the 76ers a third star to play alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. While George would certainly improve the 76ers roster, whether or not they would be legitimate threat to the Boston Celtics remains to be seen.
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