Paul George has played his last game with the Clippers.
George agreed to this Four years, $212 million ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the deal, which was struck late Sunday night with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Clippers released a statement Sunday evening saying George had informed the team that he was going to sign a contract with another franchise.
The 76ers expressed interest in re-signing the nine-time All-Star small forward on the first day of free agency.
George, 34, became an unrestricted free agent on Saturday when he declined a $48.8 million option for the final year of his contract. He was seeking a four-year, $221 million deal with the Clippers, who declined to go beyond three years.
In the statement, the Clippers called George a “tremendous talent and an outstanding two-way player” for the team over the past five years but acknowledged they could not accept his signing.
“We spent months negotiating with Paul and his representatives on a contract that made sense for both parties, and we came up way short. The gap was too big. We understand and respect Paul’s decision to look elsewhere for his next contract. We explored an opt-in and trade scenario, but that would have left us in a similar position under the new CBA, with much lower asset value to justify the restrictions.”
“We feel fortunate to have had five years with him. … We put a lot of effort into building a duo of Paul and Kawhi (Leonard), and in return, we had contention for five seasons. Even though we fell short of our ultimate goal, we appreciate the opportunities we had with Paul.”
“We will miss Paul. At the same time, we are excited by the opportunities we now have, including greater flexibility under the new CBA. Kawhi is an All-NBA player, and we believe (Tyronn) Lue is the best coach in the league. We will field a highly competitive team this season, and moving forward, will use our organizational advantages to bring top talent to the Intuit Dome.”
George averaged 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 263 regular-season games over his five seasons with the Clippers. After missing most of the 2014-15 season following a gruesome leg injury, George has reestablished himself as one of the top two-way perimeter players in the league, averaging 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season.
George’s departure would put the Clippers roughly $17.6 million under the luxury tax.
To fill the spot vacated by George, Derrick Jones Jr. has agreed to a three-year, $30 million contract to join the Clippers, according to The Athletic.
Jones, a 6-foot-6-inch small forward, averaged 8.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in his only season for the Dallas Mavericks. He played two seasons with the Chicago Bulls before signing with the Mavericks as a free agent.
George left, but James Harden stayed put.
It wasn’t the big contract Harden had asked for from his previous team, but it was enough to convince him to stay. Harden reportedly agreed to a two-year, $70 million deal to return to the Clippers on Sunday. The second year carries a player option.
Athletic’s Shams Charania was the first to report the signing,
Last year, Harden demanded a max contract from the Philadelphia 76ers, but the team declined, leading to a confrontation between the future Hall of Fame point guard and Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey. Unable to find a way out of this volatile situation, the Sixers traded Harden to the Clippers, where, after a shaky start, he was able to fit in with stars like George and Leonard.
Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said Thursday that the team wants to retain the 34-year-old Harden.
“We hope he has a great experience while he’s here,” Frank said. “He’s been great in the offseason as well — coming in, working out, coming in for two days, putting in extra work. So, we want James to stay a Clipper and hopefully he decides to do the same.”
Once Harden found his footing and the team adjusted to his playmaking ability, the Clippers went 31-8 last season, taking the league by storm. He averaged 16.6 points, 8.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 72 games as the Clippers finished fourth in the Western Conference.
In the playoffs, Harden posted 21.1 points, 8.0 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game in the Clippers’ first-round loss to the Dallas Mavericks. With Leonard on the bench due to knee inflammation, Harden scored 33 points in Game 4.
In other moves, the Clippers are trying to trade Russell Westbrook, who opted out of his $4 million contract on Saturday, with the Denver Nuggets being the early favorite to get the point guard. Both sides have reportedly expressed interest.
In addition, the Clippers signed Kevin Porter Jr. to a two-year minimum contract. Porter Jr., who was with the Houston Rockets at the time, entered a plea deal in 2023 after being accused of domestic violence with his girlfriend.
