Paul George's tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an end after the nine-time All-Star reportedly agreed to a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, George and the Sixers came to terms on a four-year, $212 million maximum contract in the early-morning hours of Monday. Wojnarowski also reported the deal "includes a player option on the final season in 2027-28."
Yossi Gozlan @YossiGozlanPaul George's year-by-year cap hits on his four year, $211.6 million maximum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.<br><br>The Sixers project with $10 million in remaining cap space, but they could get creative with sign-and-trades to take back more than that. <a href="https://t.co/y3HI58amCG">pic.twitter.com/y3HI58amCG</a>
It was clear early on in free agency that George would be changing teams, as the Clippers issued a statement on Sunday saying that the star would be leaving:
Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHMClippers' statement on Paul George parting ways following a significant gap in contract talks, exploring an opt-in and trade scenario and excitement about new opportunities and greater flexibility under new CBA to field a "highly competitive team" moving forward: <a href="https://t.co/Uajbail3Hk">pic.twitter.com/Uajbail3Hk</a>
George's future became one of the biggest storylines of the offseason when he opted out of his $48.8 million deal for 2024-25 with the Clippers to explore the free-agent market.
Wojnarowski reported George planned to meet with the Clippers, 76ers and Orlando Magic early in the free-agent process.
This deal comes as a huge surprise, if only because it's the first real indication that Clippers governor Steve Ballmer will change his operating procedure as the new tax apron rules go into effect across the NBA.
Under the previous system, Ballmer seemed to have no qualms about spending as much money as possible to build a title contender. The Clippers spent $342.5 million last season between payroll and luxury-tax payments for a team that lost in the first round of the playoffs.
The Clippers were able to re-sign Kawhi Leonard to a three-year, $149.5 million extension through the 2026-27 season in January. The deal came in under his max slot, which seemed to indicate he was leaving space for the team to keep both George and James Harden.
Leonard's deal may have turned out to be a problem in the Clippers' negotiations with George. They reportedly wanted him to accept a deal similar in years and dollars to what Leonard signed, but there were multiple teams prepared to offer him a full four-year max.
George spent the past five seasons in Los Angeles after being acquired in a July 2019 trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was pitched on joining the Clippers by Leonard, who signed with the team as a free agent around the same time.
The additions of George and Leonard were supposed to lift the Clippers to new heights. Their first season together ended in the second round of the playoffs after they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets.
Leonard suffered a torn ACL in the second round of the 2021 playoffs, but the Clippers were able to advance to the Western Conference Finals. They lost in six games to the Phoenix Suns, though George played well with 28.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
The knee injury kept Leonard out for the entire 2021-22 season, and George was limited to only 31 games due to an elbow injury. The Clippers still managed to finish eighth in the Western Conference, but they missed the playoffs with losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament.
A healthy George and Leonard for most of the 2022-23 season helped the Clippers secure the No. 5 seed in the playoffs, but their hopes were dashed almost immediately in the postseason.
George suffered a sprained right knee in a March 21 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder that kept him out for the rest of the season. Leonard tore the meniscus in his right knee in Game 2 against the Phoenix Suns and missed the rest of the series.
The Suns eliminated the Clippers in five games. Leonard missed the final four games in the first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks this season due to a knee injury.
They will always be one of the biggest "what if" scenarios in NBA history because it seemed impossible to keep both of them healthy for any significant period of time.
After spending months being rumored as the top potential landing spot for George if he were to leave Los Angeles, 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey hit the home run he needed this offseason.
The Sixers were already one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, with a top-tier duo in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey when both of them are healthy. It was apparent they needed one more star player to become a championship contender.
Morey has built a career on acquiring superstars. He set himself up to land a big one after trading James Harden to the Houston Rockets last year.
That deal set the Sixers up to have at least $55.7 million in cap space this summer. Morey was always poised to make a big move to maximize the window with Embiid still in his prime and Maxey emerging as an All-Star in his fourth season.
George's arrival, combined with a healthy Embiid and Maxey, gives the Sixers a trio that should be able to compete with the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference hierarchy.
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