Peace out, P.
It’s officially, officially official now – now that Paul George’s tell-all Podcast P episode dropped with all the juicy details Monday about the demise of the Clippers’ 213 Era, the unfulfilling and unlucky pairing of Southern California stars Kawhi Leonard (No. 2) and George (No. 13).
To hear the new Philadelphia 76ers wing tell it, the sides started far enough apart last October that by the time they got within shouting distance this offseason, he didn’t feel like yelling across the remaining divide.
Neither did the Clippers, judging from the offers he said they made, starting with two years for $60 million. “That’s crazy,” George recalled thinking from his perch in the rich and rarefied air occupied by the NBA’s stars.
PG details how contract negotiations with the Clippers affected his decision to leave LA. pic.twitter.com/PU3Z5gZ94z
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) July 8, 2024
He went on to ask for three years for $150 million – similar to the contract Leonard signed in January – but also he wanted a no-trade clause. Those are rare in the transaction-happy NBA, but it’s an understandable request when you look at it from a player’s perspective: “They’re like we want you here long term … we want you to be a Clipper your whole career. So I’m like, ‘Cool, cool.’ Give me three years, $150 (million), no-trade then … then I’m taking less, but at least I know I’m here.”
The Clippers didn’t bite, so George said he threw out four years and $220 million as a counter: “If y’all gonna trade me, then y’all gonna trade me. But at least now I’m not in a situation where I could have got more had I just gone to free agency.”
And so they let him go.
After they brought him aboard to play with Leonard in a trade that sent out Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a boatload of first-round draft picks and picks swaps, they let him go for nothing but the optionality, flexibility, possibility.
Because they…
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