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Paul George, Clippers dispute started over ‘disrespectful’ contract offer

Posted on by angelo
Paul George, Clippers dispute started over ‘disrespectful’ contract offer

Paul George wanted the Clippers to give his name — and their contract extension — some respect.

During his “Podcast P with Paul George” show that aired Monday, the 76ers’ newest member spoke about what happened between him and the Clippers during the negotiation process for an extension before signing with the 76ers this weekend.

George called the Clippers’ first offer, made last October ($60 million over two years), “a little disrespectful.”

“I’m like, no, I’m not signing that,” George said, after saying he had no hard feelings toward the Clippers.

He then explained that the offers continued to increase and eventually reached the $40 million to $45 million per year range, which George still considered too low.

That’s when he started hearing about the Clippers’ three-year, $153 million extension for Kawhi Leonard, and George felt he would just take the same deal since he said the team “sees us the same way.”

“We came here together. We want to finish this shit together. I’ll take what Kawhi has, no problem,” George said. “I was okay with that and we always took less. … I figured if (Leonard) was going to take less, I wouldn’t say I wanted more than (Leonard).”


Paul George spoke about his departure from the Clippers on his podcast.
Paul George spoke about his departure from the Clippers on his podcast. P Show Podcast

George said the conversation took place before the NBA All-Star break and he decided to put it aside to avoid the discussions affecting his mood in the locker room.

The Clippers returned to George at the end of the season to continue negotiations, and presented him with a three-year, $150 offer, which George said he was willing to accept but wanted a no-trade clause.


Paul George joined Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers this summer.
Paul George joined Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers this summer. AP

When Los Angeles balked, George said, he asked for the full four-year, $212 million maximum offer.

When that was denied, it opened the door for him to listen to other teams.

“During the negotiations, they wouldn’t budge,” George said. “They wouldn’t budge. I wasn’t going to budge. I thought I played well enough that they were like, ‘He’s in our future.’ I thought I did that, I thought I earned that. … At that point, I didn’t even feel good about coming back with that type of energy and feeling comfortable playing in Los Angeles.”

George ultimately signed a four-year, $212 million contract with the 76ers after scoring 22.6 points per game and shooting 47.1 percent from the field for the Clippers in 2023-24.