Paul George shared in his podcast that he never wanted to leave L.A., but negotiations with the Clippers frustrated him.
Wearing his new Sixers jersey, George said he wanted to stay with the Clippers and help them win a title. He mentioned there were no hard feelings, but the initial offer of $60M over two years was “crazy.”
“As we kept going, they would go up inches, inches, inches,” George explained. “But this was like a couple months in between before we got it to 40-something. I’m still like, ‘Nah, I’m not doing that.’ Then I hear wind of what they’re going to give Kawhi (Leonard). So I’m like, ‘Just give me what Kawhi got…I’ll take what Kawhi got.’ I was cool with that.”
George noted Leonard took less than the max when he signed a three-year extension for $152.4M in January. George was willing to do the same to keep the team together but stopped talks around the All-Star break to avoid distractions.
“Season ends, I finish healthy, 74 games played and had one of my most efficient seasons,” George said. “So now we go into negotiations…they bring it to three years, $150M. It sucks that we had to get to this point.”
Negotiation Breakdown:
George agreed on $150M for three years if it included a no-trade clause so he could stay in Southern California. When the team refused, he asked for four years at $212M instead.
“If y’all going to trade me, y’all going to trade me,” he said. “But at least now I’m not in a situation where I could have got more had I just gone to free agency.”
Fans might think it’s sad how things turned out between George and the Clippers.
When talks stalled completely, George considered other teams’ offers and eventually accepted a four-year max deal from Philadelphia after meeting with both Sixers and Magic.
“Through negotiations…they weren’t budging,” George remarked about Clippers management. “I thought I played well enough for them…to be like ‘He’s a part of our future.’”
“I love (Clippers owner Steve Ballmer). I love (team president Lawrence Frank), but at that point…it didn’t even feel right.”
What do you think about Paul George’s decision?
