Paul George: 'I never wanted to leave' Clippers, but first offer 'kind of disrespectful'
If it were up to the newest addition of the Philadelphia 76ers, he never would've been in position to leave the Los Angeles Clippers, the team for which he had been playing.
Speaking during an episode of his "Podcast P with Paul George" show that aired Monday, Paul George detailed the chronology of contract negotiations with the Clippers, before he opted out of his deal to become a free agent and eventually signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.
"Just to put it out there, I never wanted to leave L.A.," George, a nine-time All-Star, said during the episode. "L.A. is home. This is where I wanted to finish at, and I wanted to work as hard as possible to win one in L.A. That was the goal: to be here and be committed to L.A. As it played out, though, the first initial (offer) was, I thought, kind of disrespectful. In all of this, no hard feelings.
"So the first initial deal was like two years, 60 (million). So I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa. That's crazy. I'm like, 'Nah, I'm not signing that.'"
George, 34, added that he and his representatives first started discussing a contract in October 2023 with Los Angeles, where he had played the past five seasons. He said it took a couple of months after the first offer for the team to come up to an offer that would pay him an average of around $44 million.
It was around that time, according to George, that he learned of the offer the Clippers were going to extend to former L.A. teammate Kawhi Leonard, who signed a three-year maximum extension in January worth $152.3 million.
"Then I hear wind of what they're going to give Kawhi, so I'm like, 'Just give me what Kawhi got,'" George said. "'Y'all view us the same. We came here together. We want to finish this (expletive) together. I'll take what Kawhi got, no problem.' I was cool with that and we were still taking less.
"Kawhi took less. I was like, 'If (Kawhi) going to take less, I'm not going to say I want more than (Kawhi).' It's not about me being paid more than him. I'mma take what he got. 'Y'all give him that, give me that.' They didn't want to do that."
George said this all took place before the All-Star break in February and that the negotiations started to affect his mood, which led to his shutting down talks until the end of the season. In 74 games, George averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists and shot 47.1% from the field, 41.3% on 3-pointers and 90.7% on free throws – almost a coveted 50-40-90 shooting season.
George said the Clippers then eventually came up to an offer in the three-year, $150 million range that the team gave Leonard. But, according to George, he asked for a no-trade clause, which the team declined to offer. He said he then asked for a four-year, $212 contract without the no-trade clause. He said the team also declined to offer that.
"So now I'm open to entertaining what's out there," he said of his thinking at the time.
George's deal with Philadelphia is the four-year, $212 million maximum contract that he said he sought with Los Angeles. By the time the contract expires, George will be 37 years old.
The Clippers, for their part, said in a statement after George signed with the Sixers that they "negotiated for months with Paul and his representative on a contract that would make sense for both sides," but that both sides "were left far apart … the gap was significant."
George says trade to Warriors was 'close to being done'
George also mentioned during the episode that a trade to the Golden State Warriors was "a real thing," and nearly happened.
"That deal was close to being done from what I was being told on the situation, they was expressing just how much they wanted me there, how I could have fit in perfectly with Draymond (Green), Steph (Curry), (Brandin) Podziemski, (Jonathan) Kuminga, (Andrew) Wiggins," George said. "They didn't know how or what package was going to be there to trade for me.
"(Kevon) Looney was going to be there and so it was very intriguing and it was still an opportunity to stay close to home, stay on the West Coast, and it was a win-win. I think Steph is a unicorn, one of one player, and (Joel Embiid's) a unicorn. … So it was kind of like a good situation to be in the middle of, but ultimately the deal didn't go through. I think Clippers didn't want a certain trade deal that Warriors were willing to give and, yeah, it just didn't happen but it was close."