76ers alum's play this season makes Paul George addition look even worse

The Paul George era with the Philadelphia 76ers has been nothing short of disastrous. In an injury-plagued season, George has not looked like the same player he was before the Sixers signed him.

In 28 games, George has averaged 17 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists while shooting 42.3% and 35.5% from three. Those are far from the numbers the Sixers thought he would give them when he signed a max contract. And it only gets worse.

NBACentral pointed out on Jan. 22 (before the Detroit Pistons played the Atlanta Hawks) that George’s numbers are more or less similar to Sixers alum Tobias Harris. While some of George’s numbers are better than Harris', they are only slightly better, while Harris’ shooting percentages are noticeably better.

That’s not a good look because the Sixers added George believing he would be an unquestionable upgrade over Harris. Harris is also being paid substantially less than George this season while simultaneously playing for the better team record-wise.

Stats like this serve as more evidence for why George gets floated in trade ideas. If he’s this bad now, there’s no telling how bad he will be for the next two (likely three) seasons.

Signing George might end up being a worse decision than signing Harris

Signing Harris is considered one of the most disastrous decisions the Sixers made because he was given a five-year contract worth $180 million. The Sixers paid him to be a superstar, and he never made an All-Star team. The one solace is that the Sixers at least were among the best NBA teams with Harris. That hasn’t been the case with George.

Philadelphia pays George more than Harris, and they’ve been worse than last year. Joel Embiid’s absence plays a factor, but George’s All-Star talent was supposed to compensate for when Embiid wouldn’t play.

The Sixers were willing to take a calculated risk by signing George in his mid-30s. Harris playing around the same level as George speaks volumes about how much this risk has backfired for Philadelphia.

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