The Los Angeles Clippers met with Paul George’s agent, Aaron Mintz, and that conversation resulted in both sides standing firm on their respective positions. Both sides now expect George to likely leave the Clippers in free agency.
The Clippers have maintained a three-year offer to George while he seeks a four-year contract. Kawhi Leonard signed a three-year, $152 million extension with the Clippers in January, which is similar to the type of contract they offered George. The Clippers will begin pursuing other targets with their $12.9 million non-taxpayer midlevel and $4.7 million biannual exception.
The Philadelphia 76ers are now the strong frontrunners to sign George. George will meet with the Sixers in California on Sunday evening.
George joined the Clippers in 2019 in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder involving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, four unprotected picks and two pick swaps. George has been an All-Star in three of the past four seasons. In 23-24, George played in 74 games and averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 41.3 percent on three-pointers.
George is represented by Aaron Mintz.
The Clippers released the following statement soon after reports of their meeting with George leaked:
“Paul has informed us that he is signing his next contract with another team. Paul is a tremendous talent and an elite two-way player. We feel fortunate for the five years we spent with him. Over that span, he went to three All Star Games, made the most 3-pointers in franchise history and helped lead the team to a place it had never been. His performances in Games 5 and 6 against Utah in 2021 won’t be forgotten by anyone associated with the Clippers.
“We traded a lot to pair Paul and Kawhi, and in exchange, we had five seasons of contention. Even though we fell short of our ultimate objective, we appreciate the chances we had with Paul.
“Heading into this offseason, our roster was constructed three great players 33 and over, two of whom could become free agents. We wanted to retain them on contracts that would allow us, under the constraints of the new CBA, to continue building the team.
“We negotiated for months with Paul and his representative on a contract that would make sense for both sides, and we were left far apart. The gap was significant. We understand and respect Paul’s decision to look elsewhere for his next contract. We explored an opt-in and trade scenario, but it would have left us in a similar position under the new CBA, with very little asset value to justify the restrictions.
“We will miss Paul. At the same time, we’re excited by the opportunities we’ve now been afforded, including greater flexibility under the new CBA. Kawhi is an all-NBA player and we believe T Lue is the best coach in the league. We will field a highly competitive team this season, and moving forward, use our organizational advantages to bring top talent to Intuit Dome.”
Go to Source
Author:
June 30, 2024 | 9:31 pm
