Clippers have a Paul George dilemma they need to come to terms with
The star is set for free agency, and a big decision looms.
PLAYA VISTA, Calif. — The truth is often hard to hear.
For the LA Clippers and Paul George, a five-year relationship that started off with the best of intentions has dissolved into one where the truth will possibly set both parties free.
George, a magnificent entity who’s capable of awe-inspiring performances, is no longer the player that the Clippers thought they were getting back in 2019. And the fact of the matter is that both sides would likely be better off moving on from one another this summer.
After the team’s Game 5 loss to the Dallas Mavericks last Wednesday, one in which he scored 15 points on 11 shots, George sat at the dais in front of a room full of reporters and answered a question about whether or not he still feels pressure in the playoffs. George stated that he doesn’t “feel that pressure anymore.” It was a justifiable response to the question as George is a 14-year NBA vet and has seen almost everything the postseason could throw at a player.
However, what followed was perplexing to those observing the press conference.
“I’m not out there to prove nothing to anybody,” George said. “But what I do want to do is just go and show up for my teammates, leave everything on the floor like I said, and just try to be a leader and live with the results.”
George would then score 18 points on 18 shots in the team’s Game 6 flameout. If George did have something left to prove to somebody, it didn’t showcase itself in that game. If George left everything on the floor, it wasn’t much.
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What’s been most puzzling about George during his tenure with the Clippers has been his overall mindset. George, who it should be reminded has made three All-Star teams in five years with the franchise and is averaging 23.0 points on 45.5% shooting across 263 games since being traded to Los Angeles, doesn’t view himself as a tippy-top guy. And yet wants to be compensated as such.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting the money you think you deserve. But you do have to prove it on the floor and with your words. Both have lacked at times.
In Oct. 2022, George said he was the “two” to Kawhi Leonard’s “one.” Most wouldn’t disagree with that assessment as Leonard is a two-time Finals MVP and one of the greatest postseason performers the game has ever seen.
But George would follow up later in October and say that he “enjoys doing everything” that the Clippers need him to do while relishing “being the glue guy.”
Glue guys don’t get paid with or ask for a four-year max-level contract like Paul George is still seeking, according to a source not authorized to speak publicly. The $221 million deal would put the Clippers well over the second apron and keep them there for the foreseeable future unless corresponding moves are made to limit the impact of both George’s and Leonard’s deals. Leonard signed a three-year, $153 million extension in January.
There’s also the impending discussions that will take place with James Harden this offseason as the star guard is looking for his own newly minted deal.
In March of this season, George openly questioned the identity of the team, saying that at the time did not think the Clippers had one. It was something that Tyronn Lue pushed back on, saying that maybe the team was “soft.”
Paul George focused on playoffs as extension talks with Clippers loom
The Clippers have catered to a lot of George’s demands over the years, including signing his good friend Russell Westbrook after the guard was bought out of his contract following his trade to the Utah Jazz in Feb. 2022. While the early returns with Westbrook were fine, things quickly spiraled in the first full season with the guard as he moved to the bench after the acquisition of Harden and struggled at times to embrace a smaller role, according to a source not authorized to speak publicly.
Westbrook’s struggles came to light this postseason as he finished shooting 26% from the field on 50 attempts. Dallas routinely did not defend Westbrook on the perimeter, daring the guard to beat them from distance. Westbrook couldn’t, ending the series 4-for-17 on 3s.
Another catered demand was the team eschewing re-signing backup center Isaiah Hartenstein in favor of signing guard John Wall off the scrap heap. It put the Clippers behind the 8-ball with front-court depth entering the 2022-23 season, and Hartenstein has gone on to bigger and better things in New York as the Knicks prepare for their second-round series against the Indiana Pacers.
Wall faded out of the rotation, was traded in Feb. 2023, and has yet to play in the NBA since.
After the 2020 bubble season, George went on the “All The Smoke Podcast” and indicated that former Clippers coach Doc Rivers “was trying to play me as a Ray Allen or a JJ Redick, all pindowns.” George went on to say: “I can do it, but that ain’t my game. I need some flow, I need some mixes of some pick-and-roll and post-ups. … That last season was hard.”
Current Clippers coach Tyronn Lue opted to use George more as a ball-handler, and the early returns were great. Lue credited former Clippers assistant and current Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups with George’s uptick in playmaking efficiency. George averaged a then-career-high 5.2 assists in 2020-21 before putting up 5.7 across 31 games in 2021-22.
But George didn’t want that responsibility anymore, and the front office acquiesced by acquiring first Wall and then Westbrook, two non-shooting threats at the guard spot who shrunk the floor and took away some of what made the Clippers’ offense so lethal in the early ‘213’ era.
Paul George signed his current four-year, $190 million extension on Dec. 10, 2020, and held a media availability that day where he declared that he “owes” the organization a “trophy.”
“My commitment and my job is to bring a title here,” George said.
If that commitment and job remains for George, then taking something less than the max in order to help the team navigate the harsh second apron penalties is something George should consider doing. If George wants top dollar, which is his right as he looks to secure his future with one last mega deal, then it’s probably in the best interest of both parties if George seeks that contract from elsewhere.
At his season-ending press conference on Monday, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank iterated that the team wants to “retain” George. But Frank would not go into greater detail on what that contract offer would look like from the Clippers’ perspective, even calling George “a free agent” at one point despite George having a player option that could be picked up.
Frank went on to say that both sides agreed to table contract discussions around the All-Star break as the two parties had been unable to agree on a deal.
“Everything’s been on a very, I’d say cooperative and collaborative measure,” Frank said about the discussions with George and his representation. “He can sign his extension up until July 1, and then he can also test free agency, and we’re hopeful that we can still bring him back.”
Whether or not George returns will be the top storyline for this Clippers offseason, with the financial aspect being secondary. The decision will shape everything for the franchise going forward, and it’s probably best for both sides to rip the band-aid off now.
George has given five good years to the organization, aiding the franchise in reaching a place they’ve never been before. At 34 years old and with him seeking a full four-year deal, it’s unsure how much longer the two sides should hitch their respective wagons to one another.
It might finally allow the Clippers to retool and reshape how they need to.