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Los Angeles Clippers All-Star Paul George is reportedly expected to test free agency after failing to reach a long-term extension with the Clippers during the season.
“So he’s been under contract negotiations with the Clippers for months. No deal, and I think he is likely headed for free agency,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Get Up. “The question really is this: Will they give him a max contract? I don’t think that they want to. They didn’t give Kawhi a max contract. And there’s a couple of teams out there, namely the 76ers, who have max cap space that would be interested. I suspect, at the end of the day, if the Clippers actually believe they would lose Paul George, if they don’t give him max, I think they pay up.”
George and James Harden are both set for free agency this offseason after being unable to reach a long-term deal with the Clippers.
Neither player seemed ready to commit to staying with the Clippers after their first-round exit from the playoffs.
“I’m not even focused on that yet,” George told reporters. “I got a lot to kind of digest myself, so I haven’t even got to that yet. Look forward to kind of going back, just letting everything kind of decompress, talk to my family, be around family support and then address the next step. … Yeah, it’s just not where I’m there. I’m not there yet.”
“I don’t even know,” Harden said. “You are asking a lot of questions that I don’t have the answer to or haven’t even thought about.”
The Clippers signed Kawhi Leonard to a three-year, $153 million extension in January, at which point most assumed George’s new deal would come soon after. Instead, months have passed without a deal.
The impasse may come down to the Clippers’ willingness—or lack thereof—to offer George a max contract. Leonard’s deal came in below his max, both in terms of years and money, and the Clippers may be hesitant to give George a deal that exceeds his teammate’s.
That’s arguably a fair stance to take, but George won’t lack for options on the open market. The Philadelphia 76ers are set to have max cap space this summer and have George at the top of their wish list, Windhorst said last week. The Sixers would offer a chance to play with a pair of younger, healthier All-Stars in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
It’s fair to wonder if George would be willing to exit his hometown for what may be a better chance to win a championship. The Clippers have spent a half-decade trying to build around George and Leonard with little playoff success to speak of, thanks in large part to injuries to both superstars.
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