Sixers Predicted to Cut Ties with Paul George in this Trade Idea

The Philadelphia 76ers are in one of the weirdest spots of any NBA team heading into next season. They have a team with two aging stars with injury histories, and then a few solid young players worth building around. They aren’t going to be good enough to contend for a title, but also not bad enough for a full rebuild.

Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report recently came out with “Trade Packages and Landing Spots for Top 10 NBA Trade Assets” and one Sixers trade idea was quite interesting.

“Philadelphia 76ers receive: Lauri Markkanen

Utah Jazz receive: Paul George, a 2028 first-round pick (via LAC), a 2028 second-round pick (via GSW), and a 2030 second-round pick (via WAS)

Back in April, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said his aim for the 2025-26 season was to field "a younger, more dynamic group." Now, this was in relation to still building around George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey, but would Morey consider swapping out George for a younger, arguably more dynamic—at this stage—Markkanen?

He probably should. If you're betting on a bounce-back, it's probably safer to wager on the 28-year-old 7-footer instead of the 35-year-old swingman, right?

Markkanen's size and movement as a shooter might be even better fits with Philly's stars than George's on-and-off-ball utility. If nothing else, Markkanen is a more natural and comfortable 4, which could be massive when Philly needs to carve out major minutes at the 1-through-3 spots for Maxey, Jared McCain, VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr. and a hopefully re-signed Quentin Grimes.”

This is an ideal trade for the Sixers. Swapping out Paul George for Lauri Markkanen not only makes the team better in the present but also in the future. Sure, giving up some draft picks isn’t ideal, but Markkanen is a fringe star who is still young. 

Markkanen could fit perfectly alongside Maxey, and who knows, if Embiid somehow gets his injuries under control he would be the ideal power forward to play next to him.