Now is not time for Sixers to trade Paul George, who has drawn attention from Hawks, Warriors

Is it time for the 76ers to give up on the Paul George experiment?

There was plenty of excitement surrounding the franchise that harbored NBA championship aspirations after signing the free agent George to a four-year, $211.5 million deal in July. There was a belief that George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey could form the NBA’s best big three.

But so far, the trio has been the league’s big incomplete, playing a total of only 10 games together. And sources tell The Inquirer that the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors have expressed interest in acquiring George ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline.

This comes as George’s first season in Philly has been a disappointment.

» READ MORE: Guerschon Yabusele is an enticing Sixers asset as the NBA trade deadline nears. Is he heading out?

His scoring average (17.1 points) and three-point percentage (36.5%) are the fourth- and fifth-lowest, respectively, of his career. And George’s numbers are worse — 14.1 points and 30.1% on three-pointers — in his 13 games playing alongside Embiid.

Never mind that his injuries and lack of continuity have impacted his play. The perception is that the 34-year-old was a bad signing for the Sixers.

George is making $49.2 million this season. He’ll make $51.6 million and $54.1 million over the next two seasons. And at age 37, George will have a player option for $56.5 million for the 2027-28 season.

That’s something to consider for a Sixers squad nearly $11 million over this season’s luxury tax largely because of their three maximum-salary players in George, Maxey, and Embiid.

From a cost-cutting standpoint, the team would benefit from parting ways with the nine-time All-Star. The Sixers are among multiple teams the Warriors reached out to in their pursuit to acquire an All-Star-caliber player to pair with future Hall of Famer Stephen Curry. Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, a former Warrior, appears to be a preferred target.

But Golden State’s interest in George makes a lot of sense.

The Warriors came close to acquiring him from the Los Angeles Clippers via a sign-and-trade before the free-agency period began.

Even though sources said the Sixers are gagging at the interest, the belief around the league is he’ll only get moved for a home-run deal.

» READ MORE: How much change is needed for a surging Sixers team before the trade deadline? It’s complicated.

The team has reason to keep the trio together.

The Sixers are 6-1 when George, Embiid, and Maxey play an entire game. The squad is 7-3 in games they all started. In one of the seven games in which all three completed, Philly defeated the defending NBA champion Celtics, 118-114, on Christmas Day in Boston.

Sunday’s loss to the Eastern Conference’s second-place Celtics marked the 15th straight game Embiid has missed, and he has sat out 35 overall this season. George, who was also sidelined, has missed six of the last 10 games and 18 total because of injuries.

But all of the Sixers’ other sidelined players — aside from Jared McCain, who is out for the season — participated in practice Monday. The group included Andre Drummond, Caleb Martin, KJ Martin, and Eric Gordon.

Despite being undermanned, the Sixers (19-29) posted consecutive victories over the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings before dropping back-to-back games against the Denver Nuggets and Celtics (35-15).

The Sixers are 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, one game behind the 10th-place Bulls (21-29) with 34 regular-season games remaining. Teams seeded Nos. 7 through No. 10 in both conferences will compete for the final two postseason berths in the Play-In Tournament.

The Sixers aren’t above making a deal before the trade deadline. They’ll probably look to work the fringes with moves that won’t set them back this season. But don’t expect them to give up on George just yet — unless they’re offered something they’d be foolish to refuse.