76ers president continues his tradition of poaching stars from Los Angeles

Paul George is the latest superstar that Philadelphia 76ers team president Daryl Morey has been able to bring out of the limelight of Los Angeles to relocate east.

Both Dwight Howard and Chris Paul were pickups from the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, respectively, during Morey's days as general manager of the Houston Rockets.

Following his sixth season in Houston, Morey was able to convince Howard to bolt Los Angeles after just one season and team up with James Harden. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year made his last All-Star team during the 2013-14 campaign with the Rockets, but the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year.

Howard spent three seasons with Houston before joining the Atlanta Hawks.

After Harden finished as the MVP runner-up during the 2016-17 campaign without Howard, Morey pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade with the Clippers on June 28, 2017.

The Rockets sent away Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Lou Williams, Kyle Wiltjer, $661k cash and a 2018 first-round pick in exchange for CP3.

Paul and Harden led Houston to the 2018 Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in seven games. The Warriors eliminated the Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals in 2019 and Paul was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a deal for Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook only played one season with the Rockets, and Morey stepped down from his position with the organization in October 2020. Morey was then named the Sixers' president of basketball operations on Nov. 2, 2020.