Bad weather caused a two-hour flight delay for Sixers owner Josh Harris and franchise legend Julius Erving as they headed to Los Angeles to meet with Paul George on Sunday, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. But they found a pleasant surprise when they arrived, as their No. 1 free agent target showed up wearing a T-shirt featuring another Sixers icon, Allen Iverson.
George’s other options were mostly exhausted by that point, so the late-night meeting was more or less a formality. The Clippers weren’t willing to give him the four-year contract he wanted, and the Magic, who were the other team George agreed to meet with, had already reached an agreement with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that limited their remaining cap space.
George happily accepted the four-year max offer, giving Sixers brass the player they had been hoping to acquire since James Harden demanded a trade last summer. Sources tell Shelburne that when Clippers executive Lawrence Frank originally called to ask about Harden, Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey asked for George in return. Frank wasn’t willing to consider it because L.A. was trying to compete for a title, but the team’s concerns about a long-term stay in the second apron eventually made George available in free agency.
Shelburne hears that after Kawhi Leonard agreed to a three-year, $150MM extension in January — after being eligible for four years at $221MM — there was pressure on George to accept a similar deal. At age 34, George was hoping to maximize what could be his final NBA contract, so he began to consider other options.
Sources tell Shelburne that the Clippers’ offers to George were for less guaranteed money than what Leonard received. She adds that George was aware that other teams were willing to give him a four-year max contract and he was disappointed by the Clippers’ resistance.
Shelburne confirms a weekend report that the Warriors made a serious effort to trade for George on Saturday as the deadline for picking up his $48.8MM option approached. Chris Paul‘s agreement to push back the guarantee date on his $30MM salary for next season was done in case Golden State needed to include all or part of that money in a deal with L.A.
Shelburne’s sources say there were talks at both the ownership and executive levels as the Warriors made numerous offers consisting of expiring contracts, young players and a 2027 first-round pick that would have been unprotected. The Clippers asked for Jonathan Kuminga to be included, but Shelburne hears that Golden State was unwilling to part with the talented young forward because they feared George’s interest in joining the Warriors would dip if they gave up too much to acquire him.
The trade ultimately died because of the Clippers’ reluctance to take back contracts that would push them into the second apron unless the talent level justified it.
Sixers roster is better than the one who lost to NYK in rd1 but it’s still facts the sixers will go only as far as Embiid takes them.
“We cant trade Kuminga for George because George doesn’t want to play without Kuminga” haha wow
The aggregation of a Ramona Shelburne report should not be titled “A Closer Look” but rather “What various agents called and told Ramona Shelburne knowing she is an engagement farmer who can be used for leverage and perception building”
Ramona and Windhorst remind me of Drew Carey and Mimi.
I might watch a little if ESPN ever decides to start a “reality show” consisting of agents sitting at round tables, fabricating gossip and storylines to pass along to ESPN reporters and that guy, Sham Charlatan. ESPN and its reporters would need to have a sense of humor, of course. I mean….it’d probably strengthen the viewership during a typically slow news cycle of the year. And maybe there could be a disclaimer/notice at the beginning of each episode: “Some of what you read and hear is made up; some of it is not. It is up to you to decide what you want to believe as being factual.”
I dunno. I’ve always liked her reporting and along with the site, they’re just giving us the series of events to get a better understanding. No issues here. I think this was good work all around.
Sign Fultz ………
Oh snap I forgot about him until now
A closer look how George wound up with Philly.
“Philly was desperate.”
The end.
Also, it seems..
“Every other team decided they didn’t want him at his asking price.”
Funny how Harden forced a trade early last season because Morey wouldn’t give him a max contract. This year Harden signed for far under a max contract and the Sixers stole George ( and any chance the Clippers had) leaving Harden with less $ and even less chance of winning anything.
Also if the Clippers crash in the next few years the Sixers are owed draft picks from them that could be lucrative.