With Kawhi Leonard’s contract extension squared away, the most logical thing for the Clippers to do now would be to secure Paul George’s contract, but it may not be easy.
It seems as though LAC and PG-13 have different ideas on what a contract extension may look like, NBA insider Brian Windhorst reports.
“Now, they can’t sign [James] Harden to an extension during the season,” Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective. “That’s not permitted by his style of contract. So that’s not a surprise nothing’s happened there. But it’s now been three months, give or take, and there’s been no agreement on Paul George and the word in the NBA is that they’re apart. It’s not like, let’s have a big problem. They’re apart.”
For over a month now, there have been rumors that the 76ers will do everything in their power to lure George to Philly and create a Big Three with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
But Windhorst thinks that George will end up staying with the Clippers.
“I think the league believes that Paul George wants to remain a Clipper, and there would be concern in the league about recruiting Paul George — especially if you had to give away players to open up space. …My informed speculation is that, eventually, Paul will agree to a deal with the Clippers. It may not be for the full max, but it may be for more than what the Clippers have been offering.”
The Sixers’ interest certainly works in George’s favor leverage-wise.
But having four seasoned All-Star veterans on the one team – George, Kawhi, Harden and Russell Westbrook could still be a winning formula.
“All four of us are at sort of the same place in our career, we’re seeing things the same way,” George told NBC Sports about the Clippers core. “We’ve made money, we’ve gotten the accolades and awards, now we’re focused on one thing, the same thing.
“We all just want to win.”
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