The Philadelphia 76ers enter the 2025 NBA Draft with the third overall pick, but they haven’t decided what to do with it.
Initially, the Philadelphia 76ers’ plan was to draft Rutgers’ Ace Bailey. However, it seems unlikely that the 76ers will go that route as Bailey cancels pre-draft training with his team.
They choose someone like VJ Edgecombe, a scenario that Paul George fully supports, no. Three general picks are easy to use.
But what if the 76ers shock the world and disband the Joel Embiid and George duo after a season? The NBA insider Chris Mannicks has the same one.
To be as honest as possible, the 2024-25 NBA season was horrifying for the 76ers as it missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
As a result, rumors that the 76ers could break the George Enbydo duo continue to gain traction.
With the 2025 NBA Draft now rounding the corner, Mannix reveals he’s heard about the future of the 76ers’ $404 million pairing.
“I don’t know what Philadelphia is going to do here. They just sit on that draft pick and take it, or are they trying to package it?
“Does Paul George play? I’ve heard some of them over the last 24 hours. I’m considering doing something in exchange for Paul George,” Mannix told the Bil Simmons podcast.
Either way, the 76ers have two great options heading for draft night. This year’s draft class has talented players, but history suggests that the 76ers need to trade their picks.
As the dynamic duo of George and Embiid formed, expectations were to bring the 76ers to glory in the summer of 2025.
Well, in reality, the George Enbydo duo played only 18 games together as they had a season in which both stars were injured. As a result, the 76ers finished with a terrible 24-58 record.
| statistics | Paul George | Joel Embiid |
| point | 16.2 ppg | 23.8 ppg |
| rebound | 5.3 RPG | 8.2 RPG |
| assist | 4.3 APG | 4.5 APG |
| The game has been played | 41 | 19 |
Their season’s statistics clearly show that Embiid and George have suffered awfully poor performance. Plus, the duo is not younger.
With George already 35 years old and Embiid turning 32 next season, the duo’s 76ers championship window could be shorter than they initially imagined.
So, is it the hardest thing to finish this experiment? no.