Paul George Suspension: The good and the bad for the Sixers moving forward

I was expecting to hear news from the Sixer’s front office about making moves as the trade deadline approaches. Instead, I woke up on Saturday morning to see that Paul George was suspended for 25 games after violating the league’s anti-drug policy.

Paul George suspended 25 games after violating the NBA Anti-Drug Program

Make no mistake, that’s a massive blow to the Sixers, who continue to fight for playoff seeding and build momentum down the stretch.

Paul George Suspended 25 Games

The following was released by the NBA: pic.twitter.com/hveY31Fzpg

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 31, 2026

I really don’t understand how Paul George didn’t see this coming…

When he drops 31 points, including nine threes against the Milwaukee Bucks at this point in his career, it was pretty obvious that The Association was going to take notice, right?

Either way, George then released a statement, immediately deflecting blame, saying it was improper medication used to help work through mental health issues. Make of it what you will, but given the polarizing issue of mental health these days, I don’t think it’s out of the question to wonder if that’s really what happened.

“Over the past few years, I’ve discussed the importance of mental health, and in the course of recently seeking treatment for an issue of my own, I made the mistake of taking an improper medication,” said George in a statement to ESPN.

Regardless, the Sixers need to move forward. I know there’s a lot of fans out there that are already viewing Paul George’s suspension as a season killer, but I can confidently say that’s the wrong path to take in this situation.

Joel Embiid hangs 40 on the Pelicans, Sixers win 124-114 in South Philly

In fact, there are two main takeaways from the situation that I believe could actually help the Sixers down the stretch.

First, he would have sat out a large amount of those games anyway. It’s no secret that Paul George is on a strict injury management schedule, and all things considered, he never comes off as the most motivated guy on the team to actually be out there playing ball either.

At the same time, he is the team’s third leading scorer, so look towards VJ Edgecomb, Quentin Grimes, and Jared McCain to get an increase in playing time.

This will be beneficial in the long-run, despite the uncertainty of where Grimes will end up after this season. McCain is gradually returning to the form he was in pre-injury, and George’s absence can expedite the process.

It’s also good to get Edgecomb more looks as well. I’m hoping his absence means more production out of our bench players, as they’ll get more minutes. The more bench production this team receives equals a better shot at a playoff run.

Second, there are things in life that we cannot understand, for example, where the universe came from, how gravity really works, and the NBA salary cap.

The main takeaway here: The suspension is beneficial for the Sixers financially. I will give my best effort to explain why in layman’s terms. Paul George loses roughly 11.7 millions dollars from the suspension. Therefore, the Sixers receive half that amount in luxury tax credit, 5.8 million.

They were originally 7 million dollars over the luxury tax line, and by subtracting the credit, they are now 1.3 million dollars above it. The teams that exceed the line are heavily fined in the name of “keeping an even playing field,” but in reality the NBA loves fining everyone.

The Sixers are now able to dump contracts of Eric Gordon or Andre Drummond to duck the cap. Before they would’ve dumped players like Kelly Oubre or Grimes. Explaining the cap’s rules further would be boring, and honestly, you’d end up even more confused.

One of this team’s downfalls is their lack of mid-size contracts, because apparently we can only give individuals a max contract or less than ten million. This is very limiting in what they can do in terms of trade deals.

Obviously there are downsides to the suspension.

Being out for an extended period means the Sixers are now halted in building more chemistry among the whole team. He also stands at 6’8 meaning the Sixers will become an even smaller team.

This is brutal for them defensively, as they lack length. It also hurts their already horrific rebounding abilities. Issues become even more glaring because the bench has proven to be lackluster for long stretches this season.

Perfect Example: When George and Joel Embiid didn’t play and Tyrese Maxey had an off game against the Charlotte Hornets—no one on the team stepped up and they got absolutely crushed.

It’s interesting to see what the Sixers will do with their roster in the coming days. Maxey and Edgecomb are off limits, and no teams would want to take on George or Embiid’s contracts.

They have some draft capital they can work with as well, but I’d hate to see them give it up. I was originally going to propose Giannis to the Sixers’ trade, but I fear they don’t have the assets that Golden State has and it’s almost guaranteed Milwaukee would want either of the Sixers’ off limit players along with picks.

I do truly believe this team will be perfectly fine despite the suspension. Anyway, I’m looking forward to hearing Podcast P’s return to the mic, and at least we don’t have to look at the injured list to see his “left knee management” bullshit every other game.

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