Joel Embiid seemingly couldn't wait to confirm Paul George signing - "I wanna troll so bad"
Star wing Paul George reportedly agreed to a free-agency deal with the Philadelphia 76ers early Monday morning. Ahead of the news, Sixers superstar center Joel Embiid seemingly hinted at the signing on social media.
Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, George will sign a four-year, $212 million contract with Philly, with a player option for the 2027-28 NBA season.
The news came after The Athletic's Shams Charania reported on Sunday that George informed the LA Clippers that he "decided to sign with another team." The Clippers failed to meet his demand for a four-year max deal leading up to his departure after five seasons with the organization.
According to Charania, after George decided to leave LA, the Sixers were considered his "leading suitors."
In between Charania's report and George to Philly becoming official, Embiid took to X/Twitter to express his desire to troll.
"I wanna troll so bad, but there’s literally no sports on right now," Embiid said.
Thus, it appears the 2023 MVP may have been itching for the Paul George news to drop. However, given the timing of Wojnarowski's report, it looks like NBA fans will have to wait a little while to hear Embiid officially weigh in on the move.
Also Read: "Stay Healthy Challenge Impossible": Fans react to Paul George signing 4-year $212 million max deal with 76ers
Joel Embiid could face unprecedented expectations following Paul George signing with Sixers
Paul George teaming up with Joel Embiid and star guard Tyrese Maxey gives the Sixers arguably the league's top Big 3. It also makes them possibly the premier Eastern Conference threat to knock off the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics next season.
Philly hasn't made an East finals appearance since 2001. Meanwhile, Embiid has spent his entire career with the franchise since being drafted No. 3 in 2014. So, George's arrival will likely lead to unprecedented expectations for the seven-time All-Star to end the city's conference finals drought.
George will also look to make his first NBA Finals run next season. The nine-time All-Star has three conference finals berths under his belt but has yet to make it to the postseason's final round through 14 seasons.
Over 74 games this past season, George averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.3 3-pointers per game, shooting 47.1%.
As for the Sixers, they are coming off a seventh-place (47-35) East finish and a six-game Round 1 playoff loss to the New York Knicks.
Also Read: Top 5 Replacements for Clippers after Paul George opts out feat. DeMar DeRozan