Paul George wanted the Clippers to honor his name and give him a contract extension.
During a Monday appearance on the “Podcast P with Paul George” show, the 76ers recruit spoke about what happened between him and the Clippers during the contract extension negotiation process before he signed with the 76ers over the weekend.
George called the Clippers’ initial offer in October – two years and $60 million – “kind of disrespectful.”
After saying he holds no grudge against the Clippers, George explained, “No, I’m not signing that.”
George further explained that the offer continued to gradually increase, eventually reaching the range of $40-45 million per year, but that George still felt it was too low.
Around that time, George started hearing about Kawhi Leonard receiving a three-year, $153 million contract extension from the Clippers and felt he would accept the same deal because the team had said they “viewed us the same way.”
“We came here together. We want to finish this shit together. Kawhi takes what he gets, no problem,” George said. “I’m fine with that and we’re still taking less. … I [Leonard] I was planning on having less, but I don’t want more. [Leonard].”
George said the conversation took place before the NBA All-Star break and that he decided to put it aside to avoid it affecting his mood in the locker room.
The Clippers continued negotiations with George after the season ended, offering him a three-year, $150 deal, which George said he would accept but wanted a no-trade clause.
Los Angeles was hesitant, which prompted George to seek the maximum offer of $212 million over four years.
When that was rejected, he took the opportunity to hear from other teams.
“In the negotiations, they wouldn’t budge,” George said. “They wouldn’t budge. I wasn’t going to budge. I thought I’d played well enough to make them think, ‘He’s part of our future.’ That’s what I thought, and I thought that’s what I earned. … At that point, I didn’t even feel like it was right to come back with that kind of energy and feel comfortable playing in L.A..”
George ultimately signed a four-year, $212 million max contract with the 76ers after averaging 22.6 points per game and shooting 47.1 percent from the field with the Clippers in 2023-24.
