NBA free agency: Paul George jilts Clippers, joins 76ers on max contract
![NBA free agency: Paul George jilts Clippers, joins 76ers on max contract](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/dbca9f838a2413f80cda979f084f556bd5396d2d/0_463_3926_2356/master/3926.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=709b3f7bea3b79a74554db144a90afe1)
- Nine-time All-Star to team up with Joel Embiid
- George declined a player option to stay with the Clippers
Paul George and the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a four-year, $212m free-agent contract, a person with knowledge of the deal said on Monday.
A nine-time All-Star, George intends to sign the contract shortly after the league’s moratorium on signings is lifted 6 July, said the person, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal cannot be announced by NBA rule until that time.
With George joining 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid and All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers will boast one of the most formidable trios in the league.
George picked Philadelphia after he spurned the Los Angeles Clippers and declined a player option in his contract for $48.7m in 2024-2025, ending a five-year stretch with the team where he averaged at least 21.5 points each season.
George has averaged 20.8 points over a 14-year career spent with Indiana, Oklahoma City and the Clippers.
“Paul has informed us that he is signing his next contract with another team,” the Clippers said in a statement on Sunday night.
The team added: “We negotiated for months with Paul and his representative on a contract that would make sense for both sides, and we were left far apart. The gap was significant. We understand and respect Paul’s decision to look elsewhere for his next contract.”
He looked all the way across to Philadelphia.
The 34-year-old George joins a Sixers team that has been a perennial underachiever, even as Embiid has blossomed into one of the top players in the NBA. They have not won an NBA title since 1983 or even advanced out of the second round of the Eastern Conference since 2001.
Embiid fueled rumors George was heading to Philadelphia during a TV appearance together during the NBA Finals.
“Hopefully this offseason, we find a way to get better, and you know,” Embiid said, pausing to side-eye George, “add some pieces.”
The 76ers have failed to find the right pieces to build around Embiid, failing with Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, James Harden and the list goes on. Team president Daryl Morey had prepared for this opportunity for years, building a roster with essentially all expired contracts at the end of this past season. Embiid and Maxey, expected to sign a five-year, $205m contract this summer, are the lone key holdovers on a team chasing NBA champion Boston, New York and Indiana.
George is a six-time member of the All-NBA Team. He’s a four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team and was the league’s most improved player in 2013. He was a finalist for both NBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, when he led the league with 2.21 steals per contest.
Much like Embiid, George’s injury history should give the 76ers reason for concern. George played 76 games last season, the first time he played more than 56 since 2018-19.
Still, with few available options, and plenty of cap space, the 76ers had little choice but to chase an aging – yet, still elite – star such as George.
“We’re planning on being the best team in the East next season,” Morey said during the NBA draft.
George at least keeps them in the mix in the East.
Date: | |
Tag: | NBA |
Filter
-
CBS Sports - Sports
Lakers, Clippers fail in NBA free agency as the L.A. teams fall into traps of mediocrity
It has not been a particularly good week for either NBA team in Los AngelesNBA -
The Guardian - World
NBA free agency: LeBron James reportedly extends Lakers stay with $104m deal
39-year-old expected to re-up on a two year contractLakers drafted LeBron’s son, Bronny James, last weekLeBron James is making it official: He’s coming back for a record-tying 22nd season in the NBA, one where the league’s all-time scoring leader ...NBA -
CBS Sports - Sports
2024 NBA free agency tracker: DeMar DeRozan remains available after big names agree to new deals
NBA free agency got started in earnest on Sunday nightNBA -
ESPN - Sports
Sources: NBA prospect Pate, 18, joins Capitanes
Dink Pate, who became the youngest known pro basketball player in U.S. history last year at age 17, is joining the G League's Mexico City Capitanes, sources told ESPN.NBA -
CBS Sports - Sports
Why LeBron James' max contract is latest indictment of Lakers' front office in a summer full of them
Rob Pelinka and the Lakers continue to struggle to build around LeBron James and Anthony Davis -
CBS Sports - Sports
Kemba Walker retires after 12 NBA seasons, four All-Star appearances and joins Hornets coaching staff
Walker spent last season overseas with AS MonacoNBA -
CBS Sports - Sports
Free Agency Update 2.0: Big names like Jayson Tatum, and Tyrese Maxey are staying put
Also, Bam Adebayo is poised to continue providing Miami with high-quality production -
CBS Sports - Sports
Giants scout makes error in evaluation on Christian Wilkins when team evaluated signing him in free agency
Wilkins was one of the best interior pass rushers on third down -
CBS Sports - Sports
Giants considered signing D'Andre Swift in free agency, thought it would be 'hard to get him out of Philly'
The Giants considered Swift as a possibility to replace Saquon Barkley -
CBS Sports - Sports
DeMar DeRozan free agency: Why six-time All-Star is in limbo, just like the last time he was on the market
DeRozan reportedly won't sign for the MLE, and sign-and-trades are complicated
More from The Guardian
-
The Guardian - World
Biden meets governors to shore up support hours after telling campaign staff: ‘no one is pushing me out’ – live
Several governors attending the meeting have publicly supported president; Biden and Harris make surprise appearance at campaign call. Biden says ‘I’m not leaving’ amid ongoing turmoilWho could replace Joe Biden? Here are six possibilitiesHouse ...Joe Biden -
The Guardian - World
Hurricane Beryl draws close to Jamaica after leaving ‘Armageddon-like’ trail in Grenada
Residents urged to shelter and those in flood-prone areas to prepare to evacuate after at least seven deaths in region. Why Hurricane Beryl foretells a scary storm seasonHurricane Beryl has drawn close to Jamaica after leaving an “Armageddon-like” ... -
The Guardian - World
Britain will not rejoin EU in my lifetime, says Starmer
Labour leader also says he cannot foresee circumstances where UK would re-enter single market or customs union. Keir Starmer has insisted the UK will not rejoin either the EU, the single market or the customs union within his lifetime, in his ...European Union -
The Guardian - World
About 90% of people in Gaza displaced since war began, says UN agency
Many have moved more than once, with estimated 1.9m Palestinians relocating since Israel’s invasion, says OCHA. About 90% of the population of the Gaza Strip have been displaced at least once since the war between Israel and Hamas began, according ... -
The Guardian - World
Gretchen Whitmer wants to meet far-right plotters who tried to kill her, book reveals
Exclusive: Michigan governor and potential Biden replacement writes in memoir True Gretch of desire for ‘face-to-face’ talks. Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan widely spoken of as a possible Democratic candidate for president should Joe ...