Paul George revealed his facet of the negotiation story throughout a latest episode of his podcast, detailing why he left the Los Angeles Clippers for the Philadelphia 76ers. George stated the Clippers initially supplied him simply $60 million over two years final fall.
“I’m like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” George stated on his podcast, “Podcast P.” “Two years, 60? That’s loopy! I’m not signing that.”
George tabled extension talks in February, a number of weeks after Kawhi Leonard signed a three-year, $153 million extension with the Clippers. George was curious about a just like Leonard, however the Clippers supplied him much less.
“‘We got here right here collectively, we wish to end this s— collectively. I’ll take what Kawhi obtained, I used to be cool with that and we have been nonetheless taking much less. Kawhi took much less, so if Kawhi takes much less, I’m not going,” he stated.
“It’s not about me being paid greater than him. I’m going to take what he obtained.’ They didn’t wish to do this … Let me get to the tip of this 12 months and we’ll talk about this once more.”
George stated the Clippers additionally declined to incorporate a no-trade clause, which led him to request a fourth season {that a} rival workforce might additionally supply in free company. The Clippers might have paid as much as $221 million on a four-year contract, however he was prepared to remain for a similar quantity he might make on the open market.
“They didn’t wish to do no commerce,” George stated. “I’m like, all proper, properly then it solely is smart for me to do 4 years, $212 million. At the very least pay me my cash. If y’all going to commerce me, y’all going to commerce me. However at the very least now I’m not in a scenario the place I might have gotten extra, had I simply gone to free company, then simply take this deal the place y’all might ship me. … They didn’t wish to do this, so now I used to be like, I’m open to entertaining what’s on the market.”
George additionally thought a situation with the Golden State Warriors was shut.
“That was an actual factor that was near being completed,” George stated of a doable commerce to Golden State. “It was very intriguing and it was nonetheless a chance to remain near dwelling, keep on the West Coast, and it was a win-win. I believe Steph is a unicorn, one in all one participant, and Joel’s a unicorn… So it was form of like a very good scenario to be in the course of, however finally the deal didn’t undergo. I believe the Clippers didn’t need a sure commerce deal that the Warriors have been prepared to present … however it was shut. It’d been dope, man.”
George finally most well-liked to stay with the Clippers and it was their negotiations that led to his exit.
“Simply to place it on the market, I by no means wished to go away LA initially,” George stated. “I used to be not attempting to go away LA. LA is dwelling. That is the place I wished to complete at. I wished to work as onerous as doable to win one in LA, that was the purpose … the primary preliminary deal was, I believed, form of disrespectful.”
