RealGM Basketball Wiretap

22 February 2025

• Paul George Says He's Playing Through Pain To Remain Available This Season

  Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George admitted that he's playing through an injury to finish this season. It was recently reported that George is receiving painkilling injections on a regular basis to be able to play.

  "I'm hanging in there," George said after the Sixers home loss to the Boston Celtics. "I'm just trying to give this team everything I have.

  "The report is true. I'm taking some sorts of medicines to kind of, I guess, play through pain. But yeah, I'm going to try to give everything I got."

  George has missed 19 games this season due to a series of injuries. He's dealt with knee injuries, an ankle injury and a strained groin, and is now playing through a damaged tendon in his left pinky finger.

• Joel Embiid Says He Won't Get Back To Being Himself Until Knee Problem Is Corrected

  Joel Embiid was candid about his status following the Philadelphia 76ers blowout home loss to the Boston Celtics. Embiid said he won't get back to being himself until he has further surgery to "fix the problem" with his ailing left knee.

  "The way I was playing a year ago is not the way I'm playing right now," Embiid said after the loss to Boston. "It sucks.... I probably need to fix the problem, and then I'll be back at that level. But it's hard to have trust when you're not yourself."

  Embiid said the time off before and during the All-Star break helped "a little bit", but that he's "still managing it" with his knee. The former MVP said that he plans to keep playing, because he thinks he can still have a positive impact for the Sixers.

  "I'm not as dominant as I was a couple of months ago, but that doesn't mean I still can't have a lot of impact on the game," Embiid said. "Just me being out there, I think, helps a lot. My presence, my ability to attract double-teams, get guys more shots.

  "It's just tough because you know you can do so much more. But there's no excuses. It's just the way it is. You just have to find ways to figure it out and get better."

• David Roddy, Sixers Agree To Two-Way Contract

  The Philadelphia 76ers and forward David Roddy agreed to a two-way contract. Roddy recently completed a 10 Day contract with the Sixers, and now will remain with the team for the rest of the season.

  Roddy played in one game and logged 13 minutes while on his 10 Day deal with Philadelphia. The 76ers are in the midst of filling out their roster following their trade deadline moves. In the coming days, the team will also sign veteran guard Lonnie Walker IV to a standard deal and rookie forward Alex Reese to a two-way contract.

  Roddy started the season with the Atlanta Hawks, before being waived to clear roster space for Atlanta's trade deadline acquisitions. Roddy has also played for the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns in his three-year NBA career.

• Alex Reese, Sixers Agree To Two-Way Deal

  The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to sign Alex Reese to a Two-Way NBA contract.

  Reese appeared in one game with the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this season. Reese was waived by the Thunder shortly after the start of the season.

  In 21 games in the G League, Reese has averaged 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks in 25.9 minutes.

• Lonnie Walker IV, Sixers Agree To Two-Year, $3M Deal

  Lonnie Walker IV has agreed to a two-year, $3 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. Walker was previously expected to remain with Zalgiris for the remainder of the season with his NBA-out expiring. The Sixers had the prorated veteran minimum exception to offer Walker as he fills their final roster spot.

  Walker spent preseason with the Boston Celtics and was one of their final cuts.

  Last season with the Brooklyn Nets, Walker averaged 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 17.4 minutes over 58 games.

  In 33 games this season with Zalgiris, Walker is averaging 13.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 20.6 minutes.

• Sixers Explored Signing Ben Simmons After Buyout

  Ben Simmons signed with the Los Angeles Clippers following his buyout agreement with the Brooklyn Nets. Simmons also received interest from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets.

  Jake Fischer reports that the Philadelphia 76ers also had some level of interest in signing Simmons. The Sixers traded Simmons at the 2022 trade deadline for James Harden. Simmons had a prolonged holdout in hopes of a trade from the Sixers that season following a disappointing second round series against the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 playoffs.

  In 33 games with the Nets this season, Simmons averaged 6.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 25.0 minutes. Simmons has appeared in one game with the Clippers, scoring 12 points to go with eight rebounds, six assists and three steals in 27 minutes.

  "I think Philadelphia sniffed around on Ben Simmons," said Fischer on his NBA Insider Notebook. "I really do."

• Jared Butler, Sixers Agree To Two-Year NBA Contract

  The Philadelphia 76ers have converted Jared Butler from a Two-Way contract to a standard two-year NBA contract.

  Butler has averaged 10.0 points and 4.7 assists over three games since joining the Sixers via trade last week.

  In 32 games with the Washington Wizards this season, Butler averaged 6.9 points and 2.6 assists in 11.3 minutes.

• Celtics-Knicks From Saturday Averages 2.42M Viewers

  Last Saturday's game between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks averaged 2.42 million viewers on ABC.

  That figure is down 6% from last season's Suns-Warriors matchup.

  Sunday's game between the Sixers and Bucks averaged 1.58 million viewers, down 26% from last year's Celtics-Heat game. That matchup was also the final broadcast of Hubie Brown's career.

• Jahlil Okafor, Pacers Sign 10-Day Contract

  The Indiana Pacers have signed center Jahlil Okafor to a 10-day contract. Okafor last played in the NBA during the 20-21 season when he appeared in 27 games with the Detroit Pistons.

  In 15 games this season in the G League with Indiana, Okafor has averaged 18.6 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

  Okafor was the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft out of Duke by the Philadelphia 76ers.

• Joel Embiid Believed To Be Currently On Untradeable Contract

  Joel Embiid has had an injury plagued 24-25 season and expects to undergo surgery on his knee this offseason. Because the Sixers signed Embiid to a three-year, $193 million extension before the season, he has gone from perennial MVP candidate to being on one of the riskiest contracts in the NBA.

  "Yes, absolutely," said Brian Windhorst when asked if the Sixers have a Joel Embiid problem. "Because, I know that people would like this to be a cut and dry issue, you either need surgery or you don't. That's not necessarily clear here. He has seen a number of specialists. There isn't a clear path on how to resolve this issue. He's still playing obviously. They've got him playing. If they thought he needed knee surgery, trust me, the Sixers would have dealt with it. He's playing right now.

  "And he signed this $193 million contract extension. He's under contract now for five more years for $300 million. They have to get this right. And right now, they have no option. They have to figure this out."

  If the Sixers even wanted to move on from Embiid, they likely would be able to trade him. The New York Knicks were one of the teams long connected to a trade for Embiid, but they cycled through their tradeable assets last year for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.

  "He's not tradeable right now," added Windhorst. "That contract makes his value not realistic. And just on Friday, Daryl Morey coming out of the trade deadline still reaffirm 'We think he's a top-five player. We don't regret signing Paul George.'

  "The future going forward is around Joel Embiid, so he's double, triple, quadruple down on it. And he really has to because that contract makes it impossible. They have to figure out a way to get him right. Trust me, they're trying. They are seeking all kinds of Alternatives trying to make it happen."