Paul George and the Sixers need each other

Once in a while, a potential free agent and a team flush with cap space match up at just the right time.

This summer will offer one of those serendipitous opportunities. Whether they realize it or not, Paul George and the Philadelphia 76ers need each other.

The first step requires George to reach free agency and genuinely test the market. The Clippers appear ready to play with fire by allowing that to happen.

George is coming off his healthiest season in five years - and a productive one at that - so the 34-year-old should seek his last big payday instead of settling for his $48.8-million player option. The Clippers should want all the star power they can get next to Kawhi Leonard as they make their highly anticipated move to the brand-new Intuit Dome. Even if George and James Harden walk in free agency, the team won't have max-level cap space to replace them.

Despite that convergence of factors, George isn't guaranteed to receive a maximum contract from his hometown club. Reports suggest every Clippers extension offer has been worth less than the max.

The Clippers could offer slightly less than the max while still matching the biggest deal any rival offers since they own his Bird rights and can give him larger yearly raises. But a prideful superstar might see that as disrespectful.

Enter the Sixers, who reportedly are prepared to offer George a max contract.

Another year ended in familiar fashion for Philadelphia - Joel Embiid limped through the playoffs and the team's conference finals drought reached 23 seasons - but there's more hope than despair for the Sixers.

Tyrese Maxey gives the Sixers a proven costar whose game meshes perfectly with Embiid's, and team president Daryl Morey has a ton of flexibility to shape their supporting cast.

With more than $60 million in potential cap space, Philadelphia can sign a max free agent before re-signing Maxey (and a free agent with a smaller cap hold like Kelly Oubre Jr.) and still have some wiggle room to fill out the rest of its roster. With some draft capital to dangle in trade talks, the idea of a potential reunion with Jimmy Butler is tantalizing. But why surrender assets for players like Butler or Brandon Ingram when that trade capital can be saved by signing a free agent like George?

It's no secret that filling out a team topped by three max-level stars is more difficult than ever, given the constraints of the new collective bargaining agreement's second apron. But thanks, in part, to Maxey's youth and an otherwise clean cap sheet, the Sixers can round out their roster without approaching the second luxury-tax apron (for now).

Not all star trios are created equal. A big three of Embiid, Maxey, and George would be more well-rounded than any recent superteam, complementing each other's skill sets in ways a trio like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal fails to. More balance and less overlap would mean fewer holes to fill in constructing the team around them.

George is still capable of being a top-two option on a contending team. Even in his 14th season this year, George became the eighth player in league history to average 22 or more points while shooting at least 50% inside the arc, 40% from deep, and 90% from the free-throw line. Easing into a new role as a tertiary scorer would allow the nine-time All-Star to age gracefully and harness the power of his shooting. George would also provide insurance for a Sixers team that's seen too many playoff runs derailed by fatigue or an Embiid injury.

George could ease the offensive burden on Embiid and Maxey and would force opponents to think twice before sending too many bodies their way. He would be under less pressure as an individual creator come the postseason.

Scaling down his offensive workload would also allow George to continue exerting maximum effort defensively, where the veteran forward remains elite on the perimeter and wing. He and Embiid would provide tremendous cover for Maxey's improving - but still shoddy - point-of-attack defense.

Imagine such a complete player and proven star - one overqualified for his new role - replacing Tobias Harris. That's the stuff dreams are made of. As the summer inches closer, it feels like completely lucid thinking.

George, like Embiid's Sixers, has his own postseason demons to vanquish. Perhaps each party's path to a deep playoff run can finally be found in a mutually beneficial partnership that's too tempting (and reasonable) to pass up.

Joseph Casciaro is theScore's senior content producer.