Paul George Rumors

And Kuminga remains a square peg in a system designed for those who fit neatly into round holes. “One guy that was put in a similar situation is Paul George when he got to Indiana,” one NBA front-office executive tells NBC Sports Bay Area. “When he got there, they were right on the cusp. Danny Granger was playing in front of him, and Lance Stephenson was there. And eventually, he was able to play with that David West group; they were competing for championships. “But it was like the perfect setup for Paul. They weren’t a big-market team, but they were a good team. He got a chance to grow while they were trying to win. And a lot of his mistakes weren't as magnified as Kuminga’s have been because of the team he is on.”

NBC Sports Bay Area

Twelve-year NBA veteran Patrick Beverley certainly believes so. During a recent episode of "The Pat Bev Podcast with Rone," Beverley revealed he thinks Golden State would have won more than four titles if Paul George replaced Thompson. "If you put Paul George in that role playing as Klay Thompson, playing with [Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala] at a point -- obviously we know Paul George a couple years ago, was in the MVP race," Beverley said. "If you substitute those two, and we don't know, we're just going off what we think in basketball, I think that Golden State probably wins more championships."

NBC Sports Bay Area

Paul George: Shoutout John Wall on a great career 💯 Class of 2010 brothers for life 🫡

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But like every athlete facing a major decision, the choice is rarely simple. PG-13 himself pointed to two key factors that carry real weight: the city and the culture surrounding the team. On both fronts, the Hornets present a tough call — one George said he'd rather stay away from. "Listen, if I'm in free agency, I'm not picking Charlotte just because there's no winning culture there," the 76er emphasized. "Charlotte is an amazing city. Would love to play for it, because of the city — like, I can see myself living there. But in terms of a basketball standpoint, I'm not going. My career is over if I go there."

Yahoo! Sports

"Shams, when exactly did this injury occur, and how will it impact the rest of PG’s offseason here?" Shams Charania: "I'm told Paul George suffered the injury during an on-court workout last week. He visited a doctor on Friday, and the decision was made to undergo arthroscopic surgery. Doctors felt this was an injury that would linger. He was never fully healthy last season—ending the season rehabbing from groin, knee, and finger injuries. He’ll be re-evaluated at the start of training camp, and both sides plan to be cautious. They want to see full-form Paul George, which they haven't seen in Philly."

YouTube

Shams Charania: Reporting for NBA Today on Paul George's surgically repaired knee and how this impacts his and the 76ers offseason:

x.com

Kyle Neubeck: A source familiar with George’s injury told me this was essentially an arthroscopic clean up and did not involve the major ligaments Don’t know much more than that as of yet

Twitter

Shams Charania: Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure on his left knee Monday to treat an injury suffered during a recent workout, a team official tells ESPN. George will now begin a rehab program and be re-evaluated prior to start of training camp.

x.com

Pretty high praise, right? Well George wasn't done. No, he took things a step forward, noting that Edgecombe has “that dog in him” in a way reminiscent of another 76ers legend: Jimmy Butler. “He got that dog in him. Watching him, it was like watching a young Jimmy,” George declared. “He moves like Jimmy. Kind of has that mid-range tenacity. He's kind of got a lot of the Jimmy likeness to him, so he's definitely going to be good.”

Clutch Points

Kendrick Perkins: The Philadelphia 76ers are nowhere in hell. I believe Joel Embiid is going to come back on a revenge tour. I believe so. This is going to be a revenge season for Joel Embiid. I believe he's going to come back on a mission. Well, he should. He should because him and Paul George are probably, in my opinion, not probably, they are. When it comes to pressure, they're the top two for as most pressure in the NBA to get something done. Nobody wants to hear nothing else. You got to get it done. You got to get that sh*t done. Period. No other way around it. Conference Finals minimum with that big three with Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and Joel Embiid.

YouTube

"T-Mac, I'm telling you dog, listen — T-Mac was another level," Pierce said on Paul George's podcast. As terrific as McGrady was, he couldn't do it alone. In Orlando, the best players he played with were an oft-injured Grant Hill and a young Mike Miller. In Houston, he had the pleasure of playing with Chinese phenom Yao Ming. However, the 7'6" behemoth also dealt with a litany of injuries and was already out of the NBA after just eight seasons. "He needed that one other superstar. If you had to put T-Mac with KG, if you had to put T-Mac with Shaq, you know, yeah," Paul stressed. "People be like, 'Oh he played with Yao.' Yao was kind of hurt. He was in and out. And like, you put T-Mac with LeBron, man come on."

Yahoo! Sports

On Podcast P with Paul George, former NBA player Paul Pierce truly believes that Jordan's positive nature will help bridge the gap between the older and newer generations. “If MJ comes out and just gives the flowers than everybody is just going to have to shut the hell up,” Pierce said. “It’s MJ, if youre seeing the GOAT, I think the rest of the older school players, older than me will fall in line. I think that’s important. I’m glad that Mike is going to be able to come give his perspective.” “I mean that old man was a busy man. That man was traveling the world, smoking cigars, running his billy up with his shoes. He deserved that.”

Clutch Points

Paul George: From your perspective, why you think that's such a common injury for the NBA now? Paul Pierce: Man, that's crazy that you said that. Me and Kevin Garnett we were just talking about this, man. We say it's a combination of the like pace, the pace is a part of it but we like man he like KG made an interesting point he was like ‘they don't practice no more’. Cuz now you conditioned to play so many games like when you practice like… let me ask you this: What year did you come in? Paul George: 2010. Paul Pierce: Okay so now you didn't played in like you could say like three eras now, so what's the difference from like think about early 2010 and 11 till now? Paul George: It is the practice and I'm the one for like I be pushing the coach like ‘Yo, we need to practice more’.

YouTube

It has been frequently reported this month that the Sixers were exploring the prospect of trading down a couple spots in the lottery if a team near Philadelphia's No. 3 overall selection was also willing to take on the Paul George's contract as part of the transaction. "Nonsense," said one league source briefed on Philly's thinking.

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