The Philadelphia 76ers will likely be among the most active teams in free agency, and Paul George isn’t the only big-name player the franchise will pursue.
Two other players on Philly’s radar are DeMar DeRozan, formerly of the Chicago Bulls, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, formerly of the Denver Nuggets. Yaron Weitzman of Fox Sports predicted on June 25 that DeRozan would ultimately land in Philadelphia on a lucrative short-term contract.
“The Josh Giddey acquisition changes the equation for the Bulls,” Weitzman wrote. “If they do, indeed, plan on putting the ball in Giddey’s hands then it doesn’t make sense to bring DeRozan back. I’ll guess he ends up joining the Sixers on a two-year, $90 million deal.”
DeRozan averaged 24 points per game in Chicago last season, per Basketball Reference, along with 5.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals across 79 games played. He led the league in minutes per game at 37.8, which offers the Sixers durability the franchise has found hard to come by with its star players in recent years.
Entering his age-35 season in 2024-25, DeRozan is coming off of a three-year deal worth $82 million in Chicago.
NBA Insider Says 76ers Hunting Path Toward Landing Caldwell-Pope Alongside George
GettyKentavious Caldwell-Pope, formerly of the Denver Nuggets.
DeRozan’s offensive prowess, particularly in the mid-range, would complement Philadelphia’s leading duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
However, NBA insider Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported on Sunday, just hours before free agency officially opened, that the Sixers were looking at ways to add both Caldwell-Pope and George to their starting lineup in 2024-25.
“League sources tell The Stein Line that the ever-ambitious 76ers have explored the feasibility/cap gymnastics required to land both Paul George and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency,” Stein posted to X on Sunday.
Caldwell-Pope is a two-time champion, first with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 and again with the Nuggets in 2023. He has been a durable starter over his 11-year career, playing fewer than 70 games only twice and never appearing in fewer than 67 regular-season contests.
Caldwell Pope, who will turn 32 years old next season, boasts career averages of 11.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals. He has also connected on nearly 37% of his career 3-point attempts (over 40% in three of the past four years) on 4.6 tries per game. He earned 30.1 million on his last contract in Denver, which spanned the previous two years.
76ers Optimistic They Will Land Paul George in Free Agency
Getty Paul George, formerly of the Los Angeles Clippers.
While DeRozan and Caldwell-Pope are viable targets, their futures in Philadelphia remain relatively up in the air until the Sixers figure out the situation with George — far and away the team’s primary target.
Philly could resolve that situation far sooner than later, however, according to reporting from Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report on Sunday.
“B/R Sources: There’s growing optimism the Philadelphia 76ers will land Paul George in free agency,” Haynes posted to X.
George opted out of the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers over the weekend after a months-long dispute on the fourth year of a max four-year deal. The Sixers are willing to pay George for four seasons, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, and can offer him as much as $212 million over that span.
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