Los Angeles Clippers

The Philadelphia 76ers made the biggest splash in free agency this summer, signing Paul George to a four-year, $211.5 million max contract.

And his former head coach with the Los Angeles Clippers, Ty Lue, was sorry to see him go.

"You lose an important piece to the team like PG, it's hard to replace," Lue told ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "I'm disappointed that we weren't able to get the deal done, disappointed he didn't come back. It's tough for the organization. We got to see how we move forward from here. I talked to him many times, trying to see what his mindset was, what we need to do different, how we can help his process along. It's unfortunate that he left."

The Clippers didn't rest on their laurels in the wake of losing George, re-signing James Harden to a two-year, $70 million deal while adding Derrick Jones Jr. and Nic Batum in free agency, among other moves.

But losing George will hurt in a major way. The nine-time All-Star was second on the team in scoring last season, posting 22.6 points per game, while adding 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals. Two-way star wings with George's versatility are rare, and the Clippers are undoubtedly a worse team without him.

Kawhi Leonard had a typically straightforward reaction to Paul George's decision to leave the Los Angeles Clippers for the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason.

While on national team duty with the United States, Leonard told reporters Tuesday the outcome was "no surprise." He said everyone was aware that George could opt out of his contract, and the two remained in contact throughout the process.

Kawhi Leonard to @NotoriousOHM on life without Paul George: “I mean, we knew what it was before the season. We knew what it was going to come down to. We talked the whole way through, so it’s no surprise.” pic.twitter.com/ds2EWAtH4b

— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) July 9, 2024

George was candid on his podcast when discussing everything that led up to his deal with the Sixers. He also said he reached out to Leonard to tell him he was leaving the Clippers.

“I owed Kawhi that conversation ... it was tough to leave him.”

PG got Kawhi’s support on his free agency decision 🤝 @coinbase pic.twitter.com/FY2z1XR0lN

— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) July 8, 2024

Leonard has always been a man of few words, so he was unlikely to divulge much whenever he publicly addressed George's departure.

Clippers head coach Ty Lue struck a different tone.

"You lose an important piece to the team like PG, it's hard to replace," he said to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "I'm disappointed that we weren't able to get the deal done, disappointed he didn't come back. It's tough for the organization. We got to see how we move forward from here."

Leonard is under contract with Los Angeles for the next three seasons, and the sky isn't totally falling for the organization with James Harden returning.

Outwardly, Kawhi is presenting a business-as-usual facade. Internally, he may not be thrilled that the Clippers' championship window appears to be slamming shut for the foreseeable future.

Paul George revealed the details of his contract offer from the Los Angeles Clippers before his decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.

George explained that Los Angeles offered him a two-year deal worth $60 million and wouldn't match the contract that fellow Clippers star Kawhi Leonard received during the latest episode of Podcast P, presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment.

PG details how contract negotiations with the Clippers affected his decision to leave LA. pic.twitter.com/PU3Z5gZ94z

— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) July 8, 2024

Just to put it out there, I never wanted to leave LA. Initially, I was not trying to leave LA. LA is home, this is where I wanted to finish at, and I wanted to work as hard as possible to win one in LA. That was the goal, to be here and be committed to LA. As it played out though, the first initial deal was I thought kind of disrespectful, right and again, in all of this, no hard feelings, no love lost..it's a business like you said. So the first initial deal was like two years, 60. So I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Two years, 60? That's crazy! I'm not signing that. Now we're getting into the negotiating– No, I'm not taking that deal and so they saying this, that we want you and Kawhi here long term, we want y'all to be here, all of this stuff right. Mind you this was before the season started…maybe October-ish when negotiations first started. As we kept going, it was like they would go up inches, inches, inches to where it was like 44-45 [million/year]…but this was a couple months in between before we got it to 40 something. So I'm still like, nah, I'm not doing that. Then I hear wind of what they're going to give Kawhi so I'm like, just give me what Kawhi got. Y'all view us the same. We came here together, we want to finish this shit together. I'll take what Kawhi got, I was cool with that and we were still taking less. Kawhi took less, so if Kawhi takes less, I'm not going to, it's not about me being paid more than him. I'm going to take what he got. They didn't want to do that...Let me get to the end of this year and we'll discuss this again. We'll pick up conversations again.... Season ends, I finish healthy. 74 games played and had one of my most efficient seasons. So now we going int negotiations and they bring it to 3 years, 150 [million]. Basically what they wanted to give Kawhi. So a part of me was still like, alright cool. It sucks that it had to get to this point, that we couldn't get this figured out a lot sooner but now we're at the end of the year and it's 3 years, 150 and I'm like alright, we're in the ballpark. Now we can have a conversation. Still it still wasn't about the money because when I went back to have the negotiation at the end of the year, I presented the 3 [years], 150, no trade…I'm taking less, but at least I know I'm here. They didn't want to do no trade. They didn't want to do that so then I'm like, all right, well then it only makes sense for me to do four years, 212 [million]. At least pay me my money. If y'all going to trade me, ya'll going to trade me, but at least now I'm not in a situation where I could have got more, had I just gone a free agency, then just take this deal where y'all could ship me. They didn't want to do that, so now I was like I'm open to entertaining what's out there. I thought I played, played well enough for them to be like, 'you know what? He's a part of our future.' I thought I did that. I thought I earned that. Granted, we didn't win while I was there, but luck has a lot to do with that. We couldn't remain healthy as a unit, but I thought I did enough to earn that. They didn't want to do it. So it was just a stalemate. We came to a stale[mate] and ultimately it was like, alright, that ship has sailed…I love Steve [Ballmer], I love Lawrence [Frank], but at that point it didn't even feel right to come back with that type of energy and be comfortable playing back in LA…Steve is a good dude. I love Steve as an owner, one of the best owners that I played for, but it's a business I won't take nobody's word if they can't put it in writing, right?

Leonard signed a three-year extension worth $153 million with the organization in the middle of the 2023-24 season. George ended up receiving a four-year, $212 million contract from Philadelphia as a free agent that included a player option for the final season.

The nine-time All-Star revealed that the Clippers offered him a three-year, $150 million contract at the end of the season. When George countered by asking for a no-trade clause in the deal, Los Angeles declined. He then requested a four-year contract worth $212 million without the no-trade agreement, although the Clippers weren't interested.

George and Leonard both joined the organization during the 2019 offseason. The two were immediately hailed as one of the league's top duos, with the former coming off a top-three MVP finish and the latter coming off a championship victory with the Toronto Raptors.

While both players succeeded individually, they struggled with injuries and the Clippers made just one appearance in the Western Conference Finals during their shared tenure. The team also suffered first-round playoff defeats in each of the past two seasons.

George is still coming off an impressive 2023-24 campaign and should help the 76ers as they attempt to compete in the East. In 74 starts, he averaged 22.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from behind the arc.

As for the Clippers, they reached an agreement to bring back one of Leonard's other star teammates in the offseason. On June 30, they re-signed James Harden to a two-year contract worth $70 million.

Paul George says fellow Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard supported his decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.

"I owed Kawhi that conversation," George said Monday on Podcast P, presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment. "I called him up and was just like, man, listen, I think I'm going to go elsewhere. Conversations with the Clippers didn't go how I wanted to. I kind of broke down how I told you guys how it all played out and we had that conversation and I was like, man, I got to do what's best.

"He understood, like, 'Go get your bag like P, go get your bag. I can't even be mad at you.'"

“I owed Kawhi that conversation ... it was tough to leave him.”

PG got Kawhi’s support on his free agency decision 🤝 @coinbase pic.twitter.com/FY2z1XR0lN

— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) July 8, 2024

George continued: "I look at Kawhi as one of my best friends in this league. Somebody that I f--k with. Our families love each other. So, it was tough to leave him just with how much I enjoyed being out there with him.

"That was one of a big decision too that weighed a lot on me was just, damn, I'm leaving my boy. But I had to have that conversation with him. We talked and he gave me his blessings of like, man, just go do what's best for you."

George will now leave the Clippers after five seasons and a franchise-record 820 three-pointers in Los Angeles, while Leonard is set to remain with the team through 2027 after signing an extension in January.

George went on to provide details of the contract negotiations with the Clippers:

Just to put it out there, I never wanted to leave LA. Initially, I was not trying to leave LA. LA is home, this is where I wanted to finish at, and I wanted to work as hard as possible to win one in LA. That was the goal, to be here and be committed to LA. As it played out though, the first initial deal was I thought kind of disrespectful, right and again, in all of this, no hard feelings, no love lost..it's a business like you said. So the first initial deal was like two years, 60. So I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Two years, 60? That's crazy! I'm not signing that. Now we're getting into the negotiating– No, I'm not taking that deal and so they saying this, that we want you and Kawhi here long term, we want y'all to be here, all of this stuff right. Mind you this was before the season started…maybe October-ish when negotiations first started. As we kept going, it was like they would go up inches, inches, inches to where it was like 44-45 [million/year]…but this was a couple months in between before we got it to 40 something. So I'm still like, nah, I'm not doing that. Then I hear wind of what they're going to give Kawhi so I'm like, just give me what Kawhi got. Y'all view us the same. We came here together, we want to finish this shit together. I'll take what Kawhi got, I was cool with that and we were still taking less. Kawhi took less, so if Kawhi takes less, I'm not going to, it's not about me being paid more than him. I'm going to take what he got. They didn't want to do that...Let me get to the end of this year and we'll discuss this again. We'll pick up conversations again.... Season ends, I finish healthy. 74 games played and had one of my most efficient seasons. So now we going into negotiations and they bring it to 3 years, 150 [million]. Basically what they wanted to give Kawhi. So a part of me was still like, alright cool. It sucks that it had to get to this point, that we couldn't get this figured out a lot sooner but now we're at the end of the year and it's 3 years, 150 and I'm like alright, we're in the ballpark. Now we can have a conversation. Still it still wasn't about the money because when I went back to have the negotiation at the end of the year, I presented the 3 [years], 150, no trade…I'm taking less, but at least I know I'm here. They didn't want to do no trade. They didn't want to do that so then I'm like, all right, well then it only makes sense for me to do four years, 212 [million]. At least pay me my money. If y'all going to trade me, y'all going to trade me, but at least now I'm not in a situation where I could have got more, had I just gone a free agency, then just take this deal where y'all could ship me. They didn't want to do that, so now I was like I'm open to entertaining what's out there. I thought I played, played well enough for them to be like, 'you know what? He's a part of our future.' I thought I did that. I thought I earned that. Granted, we didn't win while I was there, but luck has a lot to do with that. We couldn't remain healthy as a unit, but I thought I did enough to earn that. They didn't want to do it. So it was just a stalemate. We came to a stale[mate] and ultimately it was like, alright, that ship has sailed…I love Steve [Ballmer], I love Lawrence [Frank], but at that point it didn't even feel right to come back with that type of energy and be comfortable playing back in LA…Steve is a good dude. I love Steve as an owner, one of the best owners that I played for, but it's a business. I won't take nobody's word if they can't put it in writing, right?

Leonard's three-year extension will play him approximately $149.5 million (h/t Clippers reporter Justin Russo).

At the time of signing, the Clippers star was eligible for a four-year extension worth an estimated $223 million.

Leonard said in January that he took a deal below the maximum in part because he was hoping it would leave enough room for the Clippers to re-sign George and James Harden.

"With the conversation that I have with them about it, I think for the most part everybody is coming back," Leonard told reporters in January. "So with me signing an extension, I think it gives us a chance to sign both of those players."

Leonard originally recruited George to the Clippers, which led to George requesting his trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

This time around, Leonard's bid only worked to keep Harden, who recently re-signed with the Clippers on a two-year, $70 million deal.

The Clippers also used the extra room offered by Leonard's deal to offer George a new contract, but could not agree on an accompanying trade clause, according to George.

George said the team would only offer him the three years and $150 million it gave to Leonard without conceding on a no-trade clause.

He said he then asked for the maximum of four years and $212 million, which the Clippers turned down.

At that point, George said "it didn't even feel right to come back with that type of energy and be comfortable playing back in LA."

George ended up getting the maximum offer from the 76ers and decided to leave Los Angeles to join Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in Philadelphia.

That decision may represent a loss for Leonard, but it sounds like the Clippers star understands George's decision to accept the maximum available contract offer as he heads into his age-34 season.

Kawhi Leonard, at least publicly, doesn't hold any ill will toward Paul George after the latter departed for the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency this offseason.

According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Leonard initially declined to answer any questions about George while speaking to reporters at Team USA's training camp on Sunday, though he "later clarified that he doesn't have a problem with George or his decision, but that he was simply trying to keep the focus on Team USA."

George, 34, signed a four-year, $211.5 million max extension with the Sixers this offseason, pairing with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to form a new big three in Philadelphia.

The Clippers reportedly were only willing to offer George a contract similar to the three-year, $149.5 million extension they gave Leonard in January, hoping to both remain below the second apron and not hamstring themselves to a massive contract well into George's late 30s if he didn't age well.

The Clippers ostensibly were hoping that George liked playing near his hometown in Southern California and would take the deal. But George had a contender willing to give him that fourth year on a max deal in the Sixers, one that arguably gives him a better shot at the title than a core group in L.A. led by the talented but oft-injured Leonard and fading point guard James Harden.

The Clippers may have also been banking on Leonard and George's relationship—the two orchestrated the move to team up on the Clippers years ago—to keep George in Los Angeles. As ESPN's Romana Shelburne reported, "Leonard and George had talked generally about signing new contracts with the team and extending their partnership. But they'd never talked specifics, sources said, like taking a year and approximately $70 million less than they were eligible to receive."

Shelburne added that the Clippers offered George less guaranteed money than Leonard in negotiations, hoping to give themselves some financial flexibility to make other moves around the roster.

That was clearly a non-starter for George. The divorce seems unlikely to lead to hard feelings between the pair, however, with Shelburne noting that "George and Leonard remained close throughout the season. At one point this week, George even called Leonard to tell him he was looking at other teams, sources said."

The duo was never able to bring a championship to the Clippers, despite huge expectations. In Philly, George will have one last shot to finally raise a banner.

Though he missed the end of the season and part of the Los Angeles Clippers' first-round playoff matchup with an injury, Kawhi Leonard said his team wasn't concerned about him competing for Team USA in the Olympics.

"Not really," Leonard said, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "They were positive about the situation. So, yeah, they wasn't too worried about it."

Leonard played 68 games during the 2023-24 season before suffering a knee injury in injury in April.

Leonard has dealt with injuries throughout his career, especially over the course of the last few seasons. He suffered injuries in each of the last three seasons that kept him out for most of the playoffs and missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season after a torn ACL.

When he was on the court his season, Leonard was productive, averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

Leonard was candid about his injuries though, calling them "just my journey," per Bontemps. Now, he'll look to put the injury behind him and focus on helping Team USA win gold.

Leonard will be competing in the Olympics for the first time this year after being named a finalist for Team USA in each of the last two Olympics. He will join a star-studded roster that features LeBron James, Steph Curry and others in Paris later this month.

The team will begin their Olympic journey on July 28 against Nikola Jokić and the Serbian national team.

Draymond Green is not happy that the Los Angeles Clippers did not agree to a sign-and-trade deal that would have sent Paul George to the Golden State Warriors.

George instead walked in free agency, where he has agreed to a four-year, $212 maximum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

"Also a little salty about that because, as you all know, Paul George was going to come to the Warriors, and we wanted Paul George to come to the Warriors," Green said Wednesday on the Draymond Green Show (31:30 mark.)

"We always talk about these organizations, what they do for their players and what not... and the Clippers didn't really want to play ball, didn't really want to help him get to where he wanted to go."

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported Wednesday that sign-and-trade talks between the Warriors and Clippers stalled when Golden State refused to include Jonathan Kuminga in a trade package.

That led George to free agency, where the Warriors did not have enough cap room to offer him the maximum deal he was seeking.

"So in turn, (the Clippers) get nothing back, whereas you could've gotten something back for Paul George walking, they get absolutely nothing back," Green said.

Green continued: "I kind of understand it, I suppose. You don't want him in the same division as you, 'cause you may know how that looks if he comes with us."

The Warriors had envisioned adding George to create a big three alongside Green and Curry.

"Would have been nice," Green said. "Would have been really nice... I think what Paul George could have done if he did come to the Dubs would've been amazing."

Instead the 34-year-old will head to Philadelphia, where he will form a trio with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

The Sixers will now hope the addition of George will get the team past the second round for the first time in the Embiid era, while the Warriors will seek a different way to recover from missing the 2024 playoffs altogether.

The divorce between Kawhi Leonard and Paul George may have come down to communication.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported Leonard and George discussed remaining with the Clippers but "never talked specifics" regarding their contracts. Leonard inked a three-year, $149.7 million extension with the Clippers in January, leaving millions in guaranteed money on the table.

When the Clippers presented George with a similar offer, the All-Star balked, leading to months of failed contract negotiations that ultimately spurred his decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers.

While George's decision ended his five-year partnership with Leonard, the two reportedly remained on solid terms. George contacted Leonard to inform him of his decision to court interest from other teams before the start of free agency, according to Shelburne.

The Clippers, by all accounts, chose their long-term financial flexibility over retaining George. Had they offered him his four-year max, it's a virtual certainty George would have re-signed months ago and this fiasco would have been avoided.

Instead, the Clippers were steadfast in offering George only three years with less guaranteed money than they offered Leonard.

With the Sixers armed with a four-year max contract and a pair of younger co-stars in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, George's departure looks like a no-brainer in hindsight.

Nicolas Batum is on the move again.

The veteran two-way forward agreed to a two-year, $9.6 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski reported earlier on Monday that former Clippers star Paul George was signing a four-year, $212 million max contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Batum arrived in Philadelphia in November as part of the three-team trade that sent James Harden to the Clippers.

He moved in and out of the starting rotation as the 76ers dealt with injuries to forwards Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr.

He finished the season having averaged 5.5 points, 2.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds in 57 games, including 38 starts.

That included a season-high 19 points on March 31, when Batum came off the bench to help lead the Sixers to a win over the Toronto Raptors.

19 PTS | 7-8 FG | 6 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL

Batum was ballin' 🏀

pres. by  @PALottery pic.twitter.com/foJyshls0n

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 1, 2024

He went on to lead the Sixers' reserves in the postseason by averaging 6.3 points and 5.8 rebounds before Philadelphia was eliminated from the first round in six games by the New York Knicks.

Batum was a 2008 first-round draft pick by the Houston Rockets. Before arriving in Philadelphia, he played for the Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers.

While his days of serving as a prolific scorer are over, Batum can offer the TEAM a steady three-and-D presence on the perimeter with positional versatility to guard wings and smaller bigs.

Derrick Jones Jr. is headed to Los Angeles.

Jones and the Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to a three-year, $30 million contract in free agency, according to The Athletic and Stadium's Shams Charania.

The news comes after it was revealed Paul George would be exiting the franchise as a free agent this summer.

While Jones won't be a complete replacement for George, he could at least help ease the burden left by his departure. He's coming off a strong season in Dallas where he averaged 8.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and an assist per game while playing 23.5 minutes per game.

Jones was a starter for the Mavericks during their Finals run and was a solid contributor. He showed flashes of being a consistent scorer through both the regular season and the playoffs, and he'll be looking to reach the next level with the Clippers this year.

Los Angeles still has some work to do in free agency this offseason after landing Jones. The Clippers handled Kawhi Leonard's contract during the regular season, signing him to a three-year extension, and they gave James Harden a two-year, $70 million deal on Sunday.

Los Angeles is reportedly looking to find a trade for Russell Westbrook after he exercised his $4 million player option.

It's fair to assume the Clippers will need another piece to compete for a championship after last year's group fell short in the first round, so Los Angeles will likely be active in both the trade and free agent markets over the next few weeks.