credits: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports It didn’t take long for Paul George to find a new home and he’s headed back to the Eastern Conference.
After reports surfaced Sunday evening that George would not return to the Los Angeles ClippersHe promised the Philadelphia 76ers at their late-night meeting that he would join them.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowskiit’s a four-year contract that pays George $212 million and makes the Sixers a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference.
The Sixers pulled out all the stops in this meeting. Legend Julius Erving was in attendance, alongside owner Josh Harris, Daryl Morey and Elton Brand.
George will now join the duo Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. When healthy, they will be one of the most formidable big threes in the NBA and should be a force to be reckoned with heading into the playoffs.
Extension negotiations to keep George in Los Angeles collapsed Sunday. The Clippers even released a statementwhich rarely happens, explaining why they couldn’t keep George in town.
“We talked a lot about pairing Paul and Kawhi (Leonard), and in exchange we got five seasons of competition. Even though we didn’t reach our ultimate goal, we appreciate the chances we had with Paul,” can we read in the press release.
“Coming into this offseason, our roster consisted of three great players aged 33 and over, two of whom could become free agents. We wanted to retain them on contracts that would allow us, under the constraints of the new CBA, to continue building the team.
“We negotiated for months with Paul and his representative for a contract that would make sense for both parties, and we were far apart. The gap was significant. We understand and respect Paul’s decision to look elsewhere for his next contract We explored a join-and-swap scenario, but that would have left us in a similar position under the new CBA, with very little asset value to justify the restrictions.
Apart from LeBron James, who is expected to return to the Los Angeles Lakers this summerGeorge was the most important unrestricted free agent available. And now he’s already given his word to Philadelphia and is out of the game.
The 34-year-old is a nine-time NBA All-Star. He has been injury-prone at this late stage of his career and for much of his time with the Clippers. George played 48, 54, 31 and 56 games in his first four seasons with the team.
While the 76ers expect an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals after this big signing, the Clippers only have Kawhi Leonard left. They signed Derrick Jones Jr. late Sunday night, but the void left by George will be felt.
