Free agency is still a few months away, but the NBA rumor mill is already churning. And if the Los Angeles Clippers suffer another early playoff exit, you can bet it’ll be churning something fierce for them.

Kawhi Leonard has already signed an extension, but James Harden is going to be an unrestricted free agent. And Paul George has a player option he can decline to join him.

He could also sign his own extension right now, but that just hasn’t happened yet. And we’ve reached a point where it might be fair to read into that.

“Keep an eye on Paul George,” John Hollinger wrote for The Athletic. “Presumably, if there was a max extension sitting around for him, he would have signed it by now; I think it’s fair to say a couple of cap-room teams in the East are, um, ‘monitoring’ this.”

So, if that extension doesn’t get done, the Clippers flame out in the playoffs and PG declines that option, which Eastern Conference teams might be in the market for (and capable of landing) the 33-year-old?

Let’s explore below.

We’ll start with perhaps the most obvious potential suitor first.

Joel Embiid and Paul Reed are the only two Philadelphia 76ers under contract for 2024-25, and the latter’s salary is full non-guaranteed.

In other words, Philadelphia can easily sign a veteran to a max and still have plenty of flexibility to match whatever offer sheet Tyrese Maxey signs.

And a trio of Embiid, Maxey and George would instantly be among the best in the East.

Embiid and Maxey already have one of the league’s best two-man games, and George has been one of the game’s best and most prolific floor spacers for years. Of course, he can slash too, but alongside Maxey and Embiid, he’d get enough wide-open threes to survive on little more than that.

From there, Daryl Morey would need nothing but role players to fill out the roster around the three stars. And the opportunity to chase a ring during the last couple years of Embiid’s prime could be enough to convince some high-end role players to perhaps sign for a bit less than they might elsewhere.

The Orlando Magic are in the mix for a top-four finish in the East. They have an outside shot at 50 wins. And their top four players in Dunks and Threes’ estimated wins (Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr.) are 22, 22, 21 and 24, respectively

They also have one of the league’s absolute best per-minute defenders in Jonathan Isaac, who’s only 26.

And all of those players are under contract for 2024-25.

It would be very easy (and maybe wise) to continue to slow-play this build, but Orlando could also hang onto all of the above and have enough cap space to chase a big name like George.

And he might be the perfect veteran to add to the mix.

Few superstars in the modern era are quite as malleable. Others can upend your offense with their need to dominate the ball, but George can be plenty productive without that. He’d certainly get his opportunities to attack one-on-one, but he can also be a dynamic catch-and-shoot (or catch-and-attack the closeout) option of Wagner and Banchero’s drives.

He’s not quite the perimeter defender he was at his peak, but he’s still solid on that end. And adding him to a roster that already has as much switchability and versatility as this one would have Orlando in the mix for the league’s best defense.

Elsewhere at The Athletic, Hollinger discussed potential uses of the Detroit Pistons’ cap space.

“A far more likely use of it is to trade into the space rather than simply sign a free agent,” he wrote. “Especially since the prominence of contact extensions now takes most of the marquee free agents out of the pool before summer even begins.”

Of course, that second part doesn’t apply to George. At least not yet. And while it may be a tough sell to get him to join one of the worst teams in the league, it doesn’t really hurt the Pistons to try.

And if they did somehow convince the nine-time All-Star to be the veteran presence for this rebuild, it would suddenly be a lot more interesting.

George would be the most reliable scorer Cade Cunningham has played with. Having him flank pick-and-rolls with the 2021 No. 1 overall pick and Jalen Duren in the middle of the floor would make it harder to collapse on those actions. His shooting would have a similar effect on driving lanes for Jaden Ivey.

And beyond the on-court benefits, just having someone who’s won plenty of games around a young core that hasn’t could go a long way.

Losing can become habitual in the NBA. And the longer you accept it, the harder it is to break the habit.

Getting to max cap space is trickier for the Charlotte Hornets than it is for any of the other teams detailed so far. In fact, they’d probably have to unload someone to another cap space team or turn this into a sign-and-trade with the Clippers (less likely, given what Charlotte has to trade).

However, the ability to get to $30-plus million in space is intriguing, and the Hornets are another team that could use a rebuild accelerator.

LaMelo Ball is already an All-Star, but he hasn’t been able to elevate his team to a ton of wins. If he had two wings like George and the rapidly developing Brandon Miller to distribute to, that could change quickly.

Add Mark Williams’ rim running and protection in the middle, and the Hornets would suddenly have a pretty interesting squad.

Of course, it would come with plenty of health concerns. George, Ball and Williams have all struggled to stay on the floor. But like Detroit, the Hornets could use a veteran to help them establish a new culture.