With the Philadelphia 76ers' season limping to a close, they will have big decisions to make this summer involving two of their top three players. Joel Embiid is expected to have major offseason surgery that could potentially affect his availability for next season. Considering his age at 31 and the severity of his potential surgery, the Sixers have no idea what type of player he could be going forward.
Then there is Paul George, who signed a 5-year, $214 million deal last summer and has four years remaining on his contract. However, he wildly underperformed, averaging 16.2 points per game, down 6.4 points from the season prior with the LA Clippers.
With him being nearly 35 years old and being ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury, it's fair to wonder whether he will be anywhere near the same player he was for the Clippers with the Sixers. Then there is Bradley Beal and the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns are struggling to make even the play-in tournament, and all signs point to them cleaning house this summer. That could include them firing coach Mike Budenholzer and trading Kevin Durant. They may also look to trade Beal, but his contract contains a no-trade clause, making him far more difficult to deal with and would require him to sign off on any move.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns could potentially help each other out.
CBS' Sam Quinn recently floated the idea of the Sixers trading George for Beal. That would be ironic considering that both are considered to be on bad contracts. After all, bad contracts normally only get traded for bad contracts.
The only thing I've kind of wondered about would be Paul George for Bradley Beal.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) March 18, 2025
Philly shaves a year of bad money. Phoenix escapes the no-trade clause and gets someone with a skill set that makes a bit more sense for them.
Hard to do in-season. Plausible over the summer. https://t.co/86nCmS4seL
The Suns and Sixers could arrive at a point where they decide that a George-for-Beal trade may actually make sense. While George has an extra year left on his contract, it's possible that his struggles this season are injury-related and that he could return back to the level he played at when healthy as a member of the Clippers.
That is still a good player, and even if he weren't necessarily worth paying $50 million plus. George is in his mid-30s, and there's no guarantee that he can get back to his All-Star level, but he has already aged better than most star wings.
Should the Sixers and Suns consider a Paul George for Bradley Beal swap?
Beal is at least still a capable player, and he is on a contract that expires a year sooner than George. To consider that trade, the Sixers would have to believe that George is washed and can't live up to his contract.
For the Suns to do the deal, they would have to be convinced that George can bounce back and play reasonably well over most of the remainder of it. The two teams could haggle picks, but a straight-up swap makes some sense. However, that is dependent on what both teams want to do.
The Sixers may rebuild depending on what their draft pick ends up being and what happens with Embiid. The Suns may try to either do a teardown or retool. But if the Sixers and Suns goals align, then a George-for-Beal swap could work.