The Philadelphia 76ers are the sturdy front-runners to land Paul George on a free agent deal, sources advised ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday, after George knowledgeable the Clippers that he shall be signing with one other group.
George’s agent, Aaron Mintz of CAA, had a dialog with LA Clippers president Lawrence Frank on Sunday evening that resulted in no new motion on a deal. The Clippers then stated in an announcement that George has determined to maneuver on.
A Sixers contingent is about to satisfy with George in California later Sunday evening, sources advised Wojnarowski.
“Paul has knowledgeable us that he’s signing his subsequent contract with one other group,” the Clippers stated in an announcement. “Paul is an incredible expertise and an elite two-way participant. We really feel lucky for the 5 years we spent with him. Over that span, he went to a few All Star Video games, made essentially the most 3-pointers in franchise historical past and helped lead the group to a spot it had by no means been. His performances in Video games 5 and 6 towards Utah in 2021 will not be forgotten by anybody related to the Clippers.
“We traded so much to pair Paul and Kawhi [Leonard], and in trade, we had 5 seasons of rivalry. Though we fell in need of our final goal, we respect the possibilities we had with Paul.”
George’s resolution to maneuver on comes after what the Clippers described as a “vital” hole in contract negotiations. George was eligible to signal an extension of as much as 4 years and $221 million through the season.
After the Clippers and Leonard agreed to a three-year, $150 million extension in January, George was optimistic that he would have his personal extension quickly as nicely. However the two sides have been far aside.
George is eligible to signal a four-year, $212 million contact with groups which have cap house.
The Clippers — who’ve agreed to a two-year, $70 million take care of free agent level guard James Harden, sources advised ESPN — stated they explored a commerce that will have required George to decide in to his $48.8 million participant possibility previous to Saturday’s deadline.
However the group has taken a measured method to roster development with the brand new collective bargaining settlement being so punitive for taxpaying groups such because the Clippers.
“Heading into this offseason, our roster was constructed [with] three nice gamers 33 and over, two of whom may grow to be free brokers,” the Clippers stated within the assertion. “We needed to retain them on contracts that will permit us, underneath the constraints of the brand new CBA, to proceed constructing the group.
“We negotiated for months with Paul and his consultant on a contract that will make sense for each side, and we have been left far aside. The hole was vital. We perceive and respect Paul’s resolution to look elsewhere for his subsequent contract. We explored an opt-in and commerce state of affairs, however it might have left us in the same place underneath the brand new CBA, with little or no asset worth to justify the restrictions.”
George’s departure brings the Leonard-George period to a disappointing finish. In the course of the summer season of 2019, the Clippers celebrated maybe their largest second ever when Leonard selected to signal with the group as a free agent after which LA struck a blockbuster commerce to land George.
The Clippers needed to give up a large haul to amass the All-Star wing, sending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, unprotected 2022, 2024, 2026 first-round picks, first-round rights swaps in 2023 and 2025 and unprotected 2021 and guarded 2023 first-round picks through Miami to Oklahoma Metropolis.
The Leonard and George duo introduced immense title expectations, however persistent accidents stored the pair from reaching the NBA Finals. The Clippers have one Western Convention finals look in 2021 to indicate for the previous 5 years. The previous two postseasons have ended first-round exits. George was injured and didn’t play and Leonard was harm after two video games in a five-game loss to Phoenix in 2023. This previous postseason, Leonard missed the final three video games of a six-game loss to Dallas within the first spherical.
With out George, the Clippers are continuing into free company armed with a $12.9 million midlevel exception and a $4.7 million biannual exception obtainable.
However it is going to be extraordinarily tough for the Clippers to switch George, a nine-time All-Star who averaged 22.6 factors, 5.2 rebounds and three.5 assists final season whereas taking pictures profession highs of 47.1% from the sphere, 41.3% from 3-point vary and 90.7% from the free throw line. The Clippers say they now have flexibility underneath the brand new CBA and can discover alternatives to stay a playoff group with Leonard and Harden as they transfer into the brand new Intuit Dome.
“We’ll miss Paul,” the group stated. “On the similar time, we’re excited by the alternatives we have now been afforded, together with better flexibility underneath the brand new CBA. Kawhi is an all-NBA participant and we imagine [Ty] Lue is one of the best coach within the league. We’ll discipline a extremely aggressive group this season, and transferring ahead, use our organizational benefits to convey high expertise to Intuit Dome.”