The Philadelphia 76ers pursuit of Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George has been heavily documented over the last few months, but that appears to have changed in recent days. The Sixers are apparently moving on.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Sixers' interest in George appears to have soured in the last couple of days.

The Philadelphia 76ers' interest in pursuing Paul George has significantly waned in recent days, and the franchise is expected to be aggressive elsewhere with its salary cap flexibility and draft capital leading into next week’s NBA Draft.

The Sixers had reportedly been interested in George for months, with them and the Orlando Magic both strongly considering offering him a max contract should he opt out of the final year of his deal with the Clippers.

Paul George's Podcast P Comments

This comes just a day after Paul George spoke on his podcast and said the desire to win an NBA Championship is not his number one goal in free agency.

“I mean, for sure contributing to winning basketball,” Paul George said on his podcast. “But, I mean at this point… I'm not even necessarily… It’s not even about… Like… People are saying, ‘chasing a championship.’ Like, it’s not that. But it’s playing the right style of basketball is what I’m chasing.”

The Sixers, equipped with cap space along with two stars in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, are expected to heavily pursue a third star in free agency this summer.

This past season, Paul George averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game on 47.1 percent shooting from the field, 41.3 percent from three, and 90.7 percent from the free throw line as a member of the Clippers. His shooting efficiency from the field, from three, and from the free throw line were all career-highs.

George has been desiring a max contract from the Clippers in recent months, but that deal has not been on the table. With a player option worth $48.7 million for the 2024-25 season, George could walk and test free agency. Until now, the Sixers have been a candidate to nab George from the Clippers, but with this news, his leverage for a max deal from the Clippers only dwindles.

“You’re always looking to improve the team,” President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank said at his end-of-season press conference. “And number 1, we’d like to be able to bring back and retain Paul [George] and James [Harden]. We have a couple of players that have player options where the ball is in their court. Paul has a player option as well.

“[Running it back] is our intent. We want to retain those guys. We’re hopeful we can. But also understand and respect the fact that they’re free agents. Paul has a decision with his option. James will be an unrestricted free agent. So, our intent is to bring them back but also realize that they are elite players and they’ll have choices.”

Paul George has until June 30th to decide on his player option for the 2024-25 season, and free agency is set to begin that same day at 3PM PST.