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Paul George Explains Decision To Leave Clippers

July 8th, 2024 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Paul George said in a his latest podcast (Twitter video link) that he “never wanted to leave L.A.,” but he was frustrated by negotiations with the Clippers, including an initial offer that he viewed as “kinda disrespectful.”

Wearing his new Sixers jersey, George explained that his preference was to re-sign with the Clippers and try to help them win their first-ever title. He emphasized that there are “no hard feelings” toward the organization, but said the first offer he received when contract talks started in October was $60MM over two years, which he called “crazy.”

“As we kept going, they would go up inches, inches, inches, to where it was like 44, 45,” George said, “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. Y’all view us the same. We came here together. … I’ll take what Kawhi got.’ I was cool with that.”

George noted that Leonard accepted less than the max when he agreed to a three-year, $152.4MM extension in January, adding that he was willing to do the same to keep the core of the team together. George’s negotiations remained unproductive until he halted talks around the All-Star break because he didn’t want the new contract to be a distraction for the rest of the season.

“Season ends, I finish healthy, 74 games played and had one of my most efficient seasons,” George said. “So now we go into negotiations, now they bring it to three years, $150MM. It sucks that we had to get to this point, that we couldn’t get this figured out a lot sooner. I’m like all right, now we’re in the ballpark. Now we can have a conversation here.”

George said he was willing to accept that offer as long as the Clippers included a no-trade clause to make sure he got to stay in Southern California. When the team refused, he increased his asking price to four years at $212MM.

“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 than take this deal and y’all can just ship me wherever (you) want. Now I’m on this deal that I didn’t want. They didn’t want to do that.”

George said that’s when he became open to exploring offers from other teams. That led him to schedule free agency meetings with the Sixers and Magic and ultimately accept a four-year max offer from Philadelphia.

“Through negotiations, they weren’t budging, they weren’t going to budge,” George said of Clippers management. “I wasn’t going to budge. I thought I played well enough for them to, you know, be like ‘He’s a part of our future.’ I thought I did that. I thought I earned that. Granted we didn’t win while I was there, but luck has a lot to do with that. We couldn’t remain healthy as a unit. But I thought I did enough to earn that.

“… I love (Clippers owner Steve Ballmer). I love (team president Lawrence Frank), but at that point it didn’t even feel right to come back with that type of energy and be comfortable playing back in L.A.”

Sixers Notes: Embiid, George, McCain, Depth

July 7th, 2024 at 8:36am CST by Arthur Hill

A few weeks after working together on ESPN’s coverage of the NBA Finals, Joel Embiid and Paul George are Sixers teammates, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid dropped a not-so-subtle hint during that broadcast, saying that Philadelphia needed to upgrade its roster and glancing at George, who was involved in extension negotiations with the Clippers at the time that ultimately collapsed and resulted in his free agency.

Speaking to reporters Saturday after Team USA’s first practice to prepare for the Summer Olympics, Embiid talked about what a difference it will make to have another All-Star joining him and Tyrese Maxey in Philadelphia.

“My focus is on helping [my teammates] as much as possible,” Embiid said. “Making the game easy for them, so I don’t have to do a lot, like in the past years. It was exciting [getting George]. Obviously, that’s a great job that [the front office] did. But we’ve still got to go on the court and try to win.”

Embiid has been one of the league’s most dominant players over the last two years, winning MVP honors in 2023 and possibly heading for a repeat before being sidelined with a torn meniscus in January. However, he has also frequently broken down in the playoffs and should benefit from not having to carry the team as much during the regular season.

The addition of George, along with Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond, has the Sixers looking like legitimate title contenders, but Embiid cautioned that everything might not click right away.

“Obviously, everybody always has the mindset [of] winning a championship, and that’s the goal,” he said. “But you’ve also got to understand it’s going to take a while for everybody to be on the same page. Hopefully it doesn’t take us a while and we just [have it] from the beginning, but that’s kind of rare.”

There’s more on the Sixers:

First-round pick Jared McCain plans to turn to Maxey as a mentor as he adjusts to the NBA game, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey notes that both players fell out of the lottery even though they were coming off productive seasons at traditional college powers. “Whether it’s the work ethic, how is transition was from college to the NBA, I’m going to try to learn everything I can from (Maxey),” McCain said. “He’s an All-Star now. Everything I can, I’m going to try and figure it out and learn from him.”
While the Sixers have been very active in adding players in free agency, they also lost several veterans and currently only have nine players on standard contracts, including Ricky Council‘s non-guaranteed salary for 2024/25. David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer takes a look at how the team might fill out the rest of its roster.
In case you missed it, the Sixers have officially signed former Heat wing Caleb Martin to a four-year contract. They also waived big man Paul Reed, who was on a non-guaranteed deal, to create cap room for Martin’s addition.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Paul George Signs Four-Year Max Contract With Sixers

July 6th, 2024 at 10:52pm CST by Tristan Tucker

JULY 6: The Sixers have made it official with George, announcing in a press release that he has officially signed with the franchise.

“We are thrilled to welcome Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers. Paul is an elite wing on both ends of the floor who fits perfectly with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey,” president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement. “His dedication, hard work, and impressive career to date have him well on his way to the Hall of Fame. We are excited about the impact he will have as we strive to bring another championship to Philadelphia.”

JULY 1: The Sixers are signing star free agent forward Paul George to a four-year, maximum-salary contract worth nearly $212MM, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The fourth year of the deal will be a player option.

George will return to the Eastern Conference for the first time since being traded from the Pacers to the Thunder in 2017, joining a Sixers team led by former MVP Joel Embiid and reigning Most Improved Player Tyrese Maxey.

According to Wojnarowski, George and his agent, Aaron Mintz of CAA met with a contingent of Sixers officials – including team owner Josh Harris, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, executive VP of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie (a former Pacers executive and a friend of George), and GM Elton Brand, along with franchise legend Julius Erving – and committed to Philadelphia.

The Sixers, Clippers, and Magic entered Sunday expected to be in the running for George, but all the momentum seemed to be in Philadelphia’s favor, with the Clippers formally bowing out of the running and Orlando committing a significant chunk of its cap room to another player (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope).

The Clippers released a statement earlier Sunday announcing the Los Angeles native would be departing his hometown team to sign with another club, explaining that the two sides were “far apart” in negotiations and citing the challenges of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The Clippers originally acquired George in the summer of 2019 in a trade that sent out Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and several first-round picks and swaps to the Thunder. The Clippers brought in George and Kawhi Leonard, who was fresh off winning a title with the Raptors.

George earned three All-Star nods in his five seasons with the Clippers, averaging 23.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per contest across 263 games with the franchise. While the Clippers never wound up winning a title with George on the team, he did help lead the franchise to its first-ever Western Conference Finals appearance in 2020/21.

The Clippers signed Leonard to a three-year, $152MM contract extension during the season, but they couldn’t agree to a deal with George as the season wound to a close. As explained earlier Sunday, the Clippers are being cautious about handing out contracts longer than three years given the restrictions the second apron imposes.

Since the Clippers didn’t feel comfortable giving George more money or years than they gave Leonard, the star forward declined his open to reach the open market. Now, he’s going to be a Sixer, and the Clippers will continue turn to other targets in free agency. They’ve already reached contract agreements with Derrick Jones Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. in addition to striking a deal to bring back James Harden.

George holds career averages of 20.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 867 career NBA games. At 34 years old, George is cashing in one last huge multiyear payday, teaming up with Embiid and Maxey in the hopes of raising the Sixers’ standing within the Eastern Conference hierarchy.

Besides agreeing to terms with George, Philadelphia has also reached deals with Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre, and Eric Gordon during the early part of free agency.

As our breakdown of maximum salaries for 2024/25 shows, George will earn $49,205,800 in the first year of his max deal, with 5% annual raises after that, for a total of $211,584,940 across the next four years. It’s a massive investment in a player who has an injury history (he appeared in more than 56 games in a regular season just once in his time in L.A.) and who will turn 38 before the contract expires.

Free Agent Rumors: DeRozan, Westbrook, Fournier, Saric

July 6th, 2024 at 10:38am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Spurs have emerged as a potential third-team facilitator as the Kings continue to pursue free agent forward DeMar DeRozan via sign-and-trade, NBA insider Marc Stein reports (Twitter link). Previous reports have indicated that Chicago is willing to facilitate a sign-and-trade but is insistent on a third team being involved so as to not take back much, if any, salary.

On the #thisleague UNCUT podcast (Twitter link), Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report stated that the Kings, Heat and Clippers are teams exploring avenues to acquire DeRozan via a three-team sign-and-trade. Haynes also mentions San Antonio as a landing spot for unwanted salary alongside Detroit.

We have more free agent rumors:

Russell Westbrook may be more likely to go to the Nuggets through free agency rather than by way of trade, DNVR Sports’ Harrison Wind opines (Twitter link). The Clippers could either buy out Westbrook or send him to another team that would buy him out, clearing the path for him to sign with Denver. For what it’s worth, finding a trade that makes sense for both sides appears difficult.
As was reported earlier this year, Stein indicates in his latest Substack post that free agent swingman Evan Fournier‘s preference is to remain in the NBA rather than to accept a EuroLeague deal. According to Stein, Fournier is expected to receive some NBA interest as free agency winds on.
Greek club Panathinaikos is reportedly interested in adding free agent forward Dario Saric, according to Sportando. The 30-year-old forward averaged 8.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 37.6% from deep as a reserve for the Warriors last season. It would be a little surprising to see Saric make the jump to Europe so soon after free agency begins given his productive season last year and the chance for more NBA interest to trickle in.

Clippers Sign Cam Christie To Four-Year Deal

July 5th, 2024 at 4:08pm CST by Rory Maher

4:08pm: Christie has officially signed with the Clippers, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

10:34am: The Clippers plan to sign second-rounder Cam Christie to a four-year, $7.9MM contract, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The 46th overall pick of June’s draft, Christie was one of the youngest players selected, as he won’t turn 19 until later this month. He averaged 11.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 39.1% from three-point range in his lone college season at Minnesota (33 games, 30.1 minutes per contest).

The Clips will be using the second-round pick exception to sign the 6’5″ guard, with the fourth year being a team option. Based on the reported terms, Christie will almost certainly receive a rookie minimum — a four-year, minimum-salary deal for a rookie would work out to $7,895,796.

Christie is the younger brother of guard Max Christie, who agreed to a four-year, $32MM deal to return to the Lakers.

Stein’s Latest: Ingram, Bridges, Cavs, Mavs, Westbrook

July 4th, 2024 at 3:45pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans have “intensified” their efforts to trade Brandon Ingram in the past few days, league sources tell Marc Stein (Substack link).

Apparently the desire for a deal is mutual, as Ingram is disappointed that New Orleans has been unwilling to offer him a lucrative long-term extension. Stein hears that Ingram’s representatives have been looking at trade options.

Aside from moving Ingram, the Pels are focused on trying to sign Trey Murphy to a rookie scale extension, Stein writes. They’re also looking for depth up front after Jonas Valanciunas agreed to a three-year deal with Washington.

According to Stein, the Kings, who have explored trading for several forwards, are one potential suitor for Ingram.

Here’s more from Stein’s latest rumor round up:

The Cavaliers have been described as a “team to watch” in a possible sign-and-trade for Hornets forward Miles Bridges, though Stein isn’t sure how serious Cleveland’s interest is. Bridges is “known to be interested” in sign-and-trade scenarios, Stein adds.
The Mavericks are “sure to re-sign” free agent forward Markieff Morris, according to Stein, who says Dallas is also looking for minimum-salary backcourt depth. Morris hinted at returning to the Mavs on Wednesday.
Sources tell Stein the Mavericks offered Derrick Jones the same three-year, $27MM contract that Naji Marshall accepted, but evidently Jones was looking to maximize his earnings, which is why he agreed to a three-year, $30MM deal with the Clippers. Stein hears the Mavs weren’t sure how much money Jones would command and were wary of a bidding war, which is why they switched their attention to Marshall, a player they like.
According to Stein, the Nuggets continue to show the “most tangible” interest in Clippers guard Russell Westbrook, who is considered likely to be on another team to open the 2024/25 season.

Free Agent Rumors: DeRozan, Kings, Spurs, Morris, Bridges, Jones

July 3rd, 2024 at 9:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Following up on a report from Marc J. Spears stating that Sacramento is a “dark horse” suitor to watch for DeMar DeRozan, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald confirms (via Twitter) that the Kings and Bulls have had discussions about a possible sign-and-trade deal involving the free agent forward.

The Spurs have also emerged as a possibility for DeRozan, Jackson adds. The 34-year-old previously spent three seasons playing for Gregg Popovich in San Antonio from 2018-21.

While Jackson (Twitter link) isn’t entirely ruling out the Heat for DeRozan, he notes that the club’s cap situation makes it impossible to give the forward the kind of contract he’s seeking, so the front office seems more likely to preserve its assets in case a better trade opportunity arises — as a first-apron team, Miami would be in a better position to acquire a player who is already under contract than a free agent like DeRozan via sign-and-trade.

Here are a few more free agent rumors and notes from around the NBA:

The Sixers have expressed interest in the possibility of a reunion with free agent forward and Philadelphia native Marcus Morris, multiple sources tell Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. However, the 76ers aren’t the only team eyeing Morris. The Pistons, Hornets, Cavaliers, Mavericks, Heat, and Timberwolves have all expressed some level of interest too, Pompey writes.
It’s unclear where Miles Bridges will end up, according to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer, who says that the Pistons‘ interest seems to have dwindled following their front office and coaching changes, while the Sixers were “never in” on the free agent forward. The Hornets and Bridges publicly expressed interest in a new deal earlier in the offseason, but they’ve had over two weeks to talk and still don’t appear to have momentum toward an agreement. “I think they end up signing and trading Bridges,” a rival executive told Boone.
The Clippers continue to have interest in bringing back Kai Jones, but the free agent big man has an ankle injury that will prevent him from suiting up for Summer League, a source tells Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Pistons are one of the only teams that still has significant cap room available and they’ll need to at least reach the minimum salary floor before the season begins. Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required) suggests a few potential free agents targets for Detroit, including Malik Beasley and Gary Trent Jr., while James L. Edwards III of The Athletic considers trade scenarios that might make sense for the club’s cap room.

Clippers, Mo Bamba Finalize One-Year Deal

July 3rd, 2024 at 7:17pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 3: Bamba has officially signed with the Clippers, according to the transaction log at NBA.com.

JULY 1: The Clippers and free agent center Mohamed Bamba have reached an agreement on a one-year deal, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

It’ll be worth the veteran’s minimum, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. That’ll work out to a $2.61MM salary for Bamba and a $2.09MM cap hit for the team.

Bamba, the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, spent his first five-and-a-half seasons in Orlando before being traded to the Lakers at the 2023 deadline. After finishing that season in Los Angeles, he signed with the 76ers last summer and averaged 4.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 13.0 minutes per game across 57 appearances (17 starts) for Philadelphia. He’s a career 36.1% three-pointer shooter on 2.3 attempts per game.

Ivica Zubac is the Clippers’ starting center, but both of the team’s backups at the five – Mason Plumlee and Daniel Theis – entered free agency this weekend. While Theis remains unsigned, Plumlee has committed to join the division-rival Suns, so L.A. had been in the market for at least one big man.

Outside of the 2021/22 season, when he started 69 games in the middle for Orlando, Bamba has primarily played a modest reserve role across his six years in the NBA, with a career average of 17.2 minutes per contest.

The Clippers have been busy during the first couple days of free agency, reaching contract agreements with James Harden (two years, $70MM), Derrick Jones (three years, $30MM), Nicolas Batum (two years, $9.6MM), Kevin Porter Jr. (two years, minimum salary), and Kris Dunn (terms unknown). They’re also reportedly scouring the market for a possible Russell Westbrook trade and, of course, saw Paul George depart for Philadelphia.

L.A. Notes: Bridges, George, Tucker, Gentry, Thompson, Bronny James, Hood-Schifino

July 2nd, 2024 at 8:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have some interest in free agent forward Miles Bridges, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports. Bridges averaged 21.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season for the Hornets but his history of domestic violence allegations may have turned off some potential suitors. A sign-and trade would likely be required for the Clippers, with Norman Powell ($19.2MM) and Terance Mann ($11.5MM) among the potential trade pieces if something comes to fruition, Turner writes.

Law Murray of The Athletic confirms that the Clippers are exploring the possibility of adding Bridges, but he believes that the forward has more interest in the potential union than the team does. According to Turner, people close to Bridges view the Clippers as a fit due to the organization’s apparent willingness to give players second chances.

Los Angeles reached a deal earlier in free agency with guard Kevin Porter Jr., who also faced domestic violence allegations, and previously signed Joshua Primo, who was waived by the Spurs after he was accused of exposing himself to multiple women.

We have more on the Los Angeles teams:

An interesting side note on the failed Clippers-George negotiations, which led to his departure to Philadelphia: George, a California native, was “increasingly turned off” by the Clippers’ belief that he would stay with the team just so that his family could attend the games, according to The Athletic’s Murray.
In the same story, Murray reports that the Clippers are expected to part ways with P.J. Tucker this offseason, either by trading or waiving him. Tucker picked up his $11.54MM option for next season. Using the stretch provision to reduce his impact on the 2024/25 cap would be an option if he’s waived, Murray notes.
The Lakers are interested in adding longtime NBA coach Alvin Gentry to J.J. Redick’s staff, Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Gentry coached Anthony Davis and Redick in New Orleans.
Klay Thompson upset a member of his family by choosing to go the Mavericks instead of the Lakers, ESPN relays. Father Mychal Thompson, who played for the “Showtime Lakers” in the 1980s, wanted Klay to follow in his footsteps, he said in a SiriusXM NBA interview. “I’m really disappointed. I was hoping, as you can assess, that he would be a Laker,” Mychal said. “And it was close. It came down to the Lakers and the Mavs, but the Mavs won out. But you know me, I was hoping and praying he’d finish his career with the Lakers.”
There are many skeptics, but Redick said second-round pick Bronny James “earned” his way onto the Lakers, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Rob (Pelinka) and I did not give Bronny anything,” Redick said. “Bronny has earned this. … Bronny has earned this through hard work.” LeBron James‘ son said he’s ready for the spotlight. “For sure, amplified amount of pressure,” Bronny said. “I’ve already seen it on social media and stuff, and the internet and stuff and talking about that I might not deserve an opportunity. But I’ve been dealing with st life. So it’s nothing different, but it’s more amplified, for sure. But I’ll get through it.” Bronny will sign a standard contract.
Lakers 2023 first-rounder Jalen Hood-Schifino won’t be on the club’s Summer League roster, Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times tweets. He’s still rehabbing from back surgery.

A Closer Look At How Paul George Wound Up In Philadelphia

July 2nd, 2024 at 1:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

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.