Sources: 76ers are frontrunners to sign Paul George
After Paul George informed the Clippers he would be leaving free agency, the 76ers have a strong chance of landing him.
By Ohm Youngmisuk
Jul 01, 2024 12:00 AM
The Philadelphia 76ers are strong front-runners to land Paul George on a free agent deal, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday, after George informed the Clippers he will be signing with another team.
Aaron Mintz, George’s CAA agent, spoke with Los Angeles Clippers President Lawrence Frank Sunday night. There was no movement in the deal. In a subsequent statement, the Clippers said that George decided to move forward.
Wojnarowski reported that sources said that a Sixers contingent will meet George in California on Sunday evening.
The Clippers released a statement saying that Paul had informed them he was signing a new contract with a different team. “Paul is an exceptional talent and a two-way player of the highest caliber. We are grateful for the five-year period we had with him. In that time, he played in three All-Star Games and made the most 3-pointers ever recorded by the franchise. He also helped the team reach a new level. Anyone associated with the Clippers will never forget his performances in Games 5 & 6 against Utah in 2020.
We traded a great deal to pair Paul with Kawhi (Leonard) and we got five seasons of competition in return. We appreciate the opportunities we had to work with Paul, even though we didn’t achieve our ultimate goal.
George’s decision comes after what The Clippers called a “significant gap” in contract negotiations. George could have signed a contract extension for up to four-years and $221 million at any time during the season.
George believed he’d get his own extension shortly after the Clippers and Leonard had agreed on a three-year extension worth $150 million in January. The two sides were “far away.”
George can sign a contract for four years, worth $212 million with teams who have a cap.
Sources told ESPN that the Clippers, who had agreed to a $70 million, two-year deal with free-agent point guard James Harden as per ESPN, also explored a possible trade in which George would have been required to exercise his player option of $48.8 millions before Saturday’s deadline.
The organization has taken a cautious approach to the roster building process, given that the new collective agreement is so punishing for teams like the Clippers who pay taxes.
The Clippers stated in a statement that “our roster heading into this offseason was constructed with] three great players over 33, of which two could become free agents.” We wanted to keep them on contracts which would allow us to build the team under the new CBA constraints.
“We spent months negotiating with Paul and his agent on a contract which would be fair for both parties, but we ended up being far apart. The difference was huge. We respect and understand Paul’s choice to search elsewhere for his next job. We looked at an opt-in/trade scenario, but that would have left us with a similar situation under the new CBA. There was very little value in the assets to justify the restrictions.”
The Leonard-George era has come to an end with George’s departure. Leonard signed with the Clippers as a free-agent in the summer of 2019. LA then made a blockbuster deal to get George.
The Clippers were forced to give up a lot to get the All-Star Wing. They sent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Galinari as well as unprotected first-round 2022, 2020, 2026 picks and first-round right swaps for 2023 and 2025. Also, they sent unprotected first-round 2021 and 2023 picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder via the Miami Heat.
The Leonard-George pair brought high expectations for the NBA Finals, but injuries prevented them from making it. In the five years prior to 2021, The Clippers only made it to one Western Conference Finals.
The Clippers will enter free agency without George and with the midlevel exception of $12.9 million dollars, as well as a biannual exemption of $4.7 million.
It will be difficult for the Clippers, however, to replace George. A nine-time All Star, George averaged 22.6 point, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assist last season, while also shooting career-highs of 47.1% on the field, 41.3% at 3-point range, and 90.7% at the free-throw line.
The Clippers have said that they will now explore options to stay a playoff-caliber team with Leonard Harden and the new Intuit dome in Inglewood.
The team stated, “We will miss Paul.” “At same time, we are excited about the opportunities that we now have, including more flexibility under the CBA. Kawhi is a NBA all-star and we think [Ty] Lue, the best coach in this league. We’ll field a competitive team in the upcoming season and, moving forward, we will use our organizational advantage to bring top talent into Intuit Dome.”