The advantage of having your own podcast is that you can control your communication and deliver your version of the facts, and Paul George explained why he chose to leave the Clippers for the Sixers. Joel Embiid's new teammate confirms, in passing, that he had been very close to joining the Warriors.
“Two years for $60 million? I’m here thinking that’s crazy, and I’m not going to sign that!” All-Star starting guard/winger. He reveals that this is the offer made by the Clippers last fall. In January, Kawhi Leonard extended for $152 million over three years and Paul George then demanded an equivalent deal.
Complicated negotiations
” We came here together, and we wanted to end this story together.” he continues. “I took what Kawhi got, and I was fine with that and we always took less than the maximum. Kawhi took less, so if Kawhi takes less, I'm not leaving. It wasn't about me getting paid more than him. I took what he got. They didn't want to… Let's finish the season and we'll talk about it.”
Paul George assures that the Clippers have only increased their offer little by little, until reaching $150 million over three years. It is equivalent to what Kawhi Leonard got but given the difficulty of getting the same offer as “The Klaw”, signed for months, “PG” wants a no-transfer clause.
New refusal from the Los Angeles management, and Paul George then feels that he can be the adjustment variable within the club. Under these conditions, he finally asks for the maximum possible.
“I figured it made sense for me to take four years, $212 million. At least give me my money. If you want to trade me, you can trade me. But at least I'm not in a situation where I could have gotten more in free agency… So I could take the deal and they could trade me. They didn't want to do it, and from there I figured I was open to testing the market.”
A “disrespectful” offer
If the Clippers had wanted to trade him, Paul George confirms that the Warriors track was hot.
“It was a real thing that was about to happen. It was an opportunity to stay close to home, stay on the West Coast, and it was a win-win situation. I think Steph is a unicorn, a unique player, and Joel is a unicorn… So it was a good situation to deal with, but the deal didn’t happen. I think the Clippers didn’t want a certain trade that the Warriors were willing to make… but it was close. It would have been great.”
And Paul George recalls that at first, he did not want to leave the Clippers. He wants to insist on that.
“I never wanted to leave LA in the first place and I wasn’t trying to leave LA. LA is my home. This is where I wanted to end up. I wanted to give it my all to win in LA, that was my goal… The first initial offer was, in my opinion, a little disrespectful.”
| Paul George | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2010-11 | IND | 61 | 21 | 45.3 | 29.7 | 76.2 | 0.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 7.8 |
| 2011-12 | IND | 66 | 30 | 44.0 | 38.5 | 80.2 | 0.9 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 12.1 |
| 2012-13 | IND | 79 | 38 | 41.9 | 36.2 | 80.7 | 1.1 | 6.5 | 7.6 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 17.4 |
| 2013-14 | IND | 80 | 36 | 42.4 | 36.4 | 86.4 | 0.8 | 6.0 | 6.8 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 21.7 |
| 2014-15 | IND | 6 | 15 | 36.7 | 40.9 | 72.7 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 8.8 |
| 2015-16 | IND | 81 | 35 | 41.8 | 37.2 | 86.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 4.1 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 23.1 |
| 2016-17 | IND | 75 | 36 | 46.2 | 39.4 | 89.8 | 0.8 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 23.7 |
| 2017-18 | OKAY | 79 | 37 | 43.0 | 40.1 | 82.2 | 0.9 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 22.0 |
| 2018-19 | OKAY | 77 | 37 | 43.8 | 38.6 | 83.9 | 1.4 | 6.8 | 8.2 | 4.1 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 28.0 |
| 2019-20 | LAKE | 48 | 30 | 43.9 | 41.2 | 87.6 | 0.5 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 21.5 |
| 2020-21 | LAKE | 54 | 34 | 46.7 | 41.1 | 86.8 | 0.8 | 5.8 | 6.7 | 5.2 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 23.3 |
| 2021-22 | LAKE | 31 | 35 | 42.1 | 35.4 | 85.8 | 0.4 | 6.5 | 6.9 | 5.7 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 4.1 | 0.4 | 24.3 |
| 2022-23 | LAKE | 56 | 35 | 45.7 | 37.1 | 87.1 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 5.1 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 23.8 |
| 2023-24 | LAKE | 74 | 34 | 47.1 | 41.3 | 90.7 | 0.5 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 22.6 |
| Total | 867 | 34 | 44.0 | 38.5 | 85.4 | 0.8 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 20.8 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
