George Hill hasn’t played a game of basketball for two months, but that hasn’t stopped contenders from calling the Oklahoma City Thunder about the veteran guard.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarwoski, the Philadelphia 76ers have expressed interest in the 13-year NBA veteran.
From the phrasing of Wojnarowski’s tweets, Hill sounds like a backup plan for Philadelphia. The Sixers’ primary interest sounds like it lies in Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, whose level of availability has been uncertain leading up to the trade deadline.
Philadelphia also has interest in Raptors wing Norman Powell and New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, according to Wojnarowski.
Beyond Lowry, Sixers have shown interest in other guards available in the marketplace — including Powell, Lonzo Ball and George Hill, sources said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 24, 2021
Out of those four players, the price tag for Hill would be the cheapest.
While the Sixers have had some solid play from young backup guards, Hill provides leadership experience they don’t have. He has only missed the postseason once in his career. Additionally, they can never go wrong with more outside shooting — last year, Hill led the league by shooting 46% from deep.
Philadelphia isn’t the only team who has inquired about his cost. The Los Angeles Clippers also have interest, Wojnarowski reported earlier this month.
Beyond those two teams, there are several contenders who could use help at the guard position.
Hill, averaging 11.8 points and 3.1 assists while shooting 38.6% from 3, could provide on-court help both in the box score and leadership facets.
The movement of Oklahoma City players is unclear, but Wojnarowski has also reported that teams have called the organization about three players in addition to Hill.
The Thunder have already made two trades this month: They sent Hamidou Diallo to the Detroit Pistons for Svi Mykhailiuk and a 2027 second-round draft pick, and they traded Trevor Ariza to the Miami Heat for Meyers Leonard and a 2027 second-round draft pick.
The trade deadline is on Thursday at 2 p.m., giving Oklahoma City a limited amount of time to make any final moves.
