George swaps Marca? What is this predicted deal?

The Philadelphia 76ers had hope of winning the championship before the start of the season last season, but were eventually disrupted by a series of ruthless injuries, but this did not mean a complete failure, and there was still a turning point behind it.

Originally, the 76ers held a first-round pick protected by the top six picks. If they fell in the seventh pick or later, they would be given to the Thunder. As a result, due to injuries, the 76ers fell out of the previous record and finally won the second pick in the 2025 NBA draft lottery.

According to current public opinion, the Mavericks and Spurs are expected to choose Duke forward Cooper Flagg and Rutgers defender Dylan Harper in the top two picks, so the suspense of this draft is likely to start from the third pick of the 76ers. For the most part, forward Ace Bailey from Rutgers has been the hottest pick in the third pick.

But as the pre-draft process advances, popular rookies such as Baylor guard VJ Edgecomm, Duke wing Con Knuppel, University of Texas defender Terry Johnson, Duke center Carman Maluah may all be considered in Philadelphia.

However, there is no guarantee that the 76ers will really use this sign. Considering that Embiid, Paul George and Maxi are still in the contract period, the team still urgently needs to win at the moment. Therefore, they are likely to consider trading this sign out in exchange for experienced and effective players.

Previously, many players became the trading targets of the 76ers, but considering Embiid's health is unknown, if the 76ers trade with the chips of the team players plus the third pick, this is definitely a risk bet. But even so, they can still find some reasonable trading partners, especially if they are willing to put the fifth pick in their hands on the negotiation shelves, there are still many trading opportunities.

Trading assumption: Package Paul George and the draft pick for Markkanen?

For the Jazz, the result of this lottery draw was definitely not satisfactory. They originally had the worst record in the league, and the worst position of the lottery was the fifth pick, and they really fell to fifth. Before the lottery draw, the Jazz were the team that most eager to draw the No. 1 pick. They have entered the fourth year of reconstruction after giving up Gobert and Mitchell, but they have not found a core star who can really be suitable for building the team.

But if the Jazz can get the third pick in the trade and get the chance to freely select rookies after Flag and Harper, it will undoubtedly be much better than the fifth pick. But the question is, are they willing to trade Markanen for George in order to move upwards two picks?

From the perspective of some extreme fans, you may start to shake your head just by hearing this statement. George is seven years older than Markkanen, and has only averaged 16.2 points in the past season, a new low in the past decade, and has only 43% of the field goal percentage. Of course, a large part of this is related to injuries.

George signed a four-year maximum salary contract with the 76ers last summer, with a salary of 51.7 million next season, 54.1 million in 2026-27, and 56.6 million in 2027-28. But in comparison, Markkanen's salary in the next few years is not much cheaper than him. He signed a four-year, $196 million contract extension last summer, with a starting salary of 46.4 million, and a maximum annual salary will reach 53.5 million in the 2028-29 season.

From the perspective of player performance, like George, Markkanen's performance last season also declined. But in this, the Jazz also needs to bear a lot of responsibility for the destruction of the matter regardless of his recklessness. He averaged 25.6 points and 8.6 rebounds two years ago, shooting 49.9%, winning the fastest-progressive player and the only All-Star in his career. But after this season, his data reached 19 points and 5.9 rebounds, and his shooting percentage dropped to 42.3%.

If the outside world has a reservation about Markkanen's contract, then if there is a chance to use the trade to grab the third pick, the Jazz may be willing to bet on his value after his healthy comeback next season. In addition, George's contract has only two years of protection + one year of player option, while Markkanin has a full four-year contract. If the deal has a chance to make a decision, the Jazz can also release salary space one year in advance.

From the perspective of the 76ers, such a transaction structure is also attractive. Markanin's annual salary next year is 5.3 million less than George, while the third-ranked rookie will have an annual salary of about 11.1 million and the fifth-ranked rookie will have a total salary of 7.3 million. This will have the opportunity to help the 76ers keep Grimes, and at the same time give them room to use the 5.7 million middle-class special case. Whether it is used to sign Abussele or strengthen other free agents, it is a favorable operation.

And if the 76ers do not think there is too much difference between the third and fifth rankings, then this transaction is worth considering just by referring to salary and finance. Replacing George with the younger Markkanen can also serve as insurance for Embiid's subsequent hidden dangers. At that time, the 76ers can regroup around Maxi, Markanen, Grimes (assuming the contract renewal was successful), McCain and the fifth pick.

However, this framework may not be easy to implement at the moment. For Anji, he will most likely not give up Markkanin just to improve two rankings. However, based on the recent content revealed by the US media, reporter Brett Siegel reported:

"At present, Philadelphia is generally believed that it will not choose Ace Bailey in the third pick. They only have two choices left, either choose Edgecom or trade this draft pick."

So, it seems that there are not many opportunities, but Philadelphia still has trading opportunities, and the Jazz's Markanen may be a direction worth their attempt.