To say that Paul George’s time with the Los Angeles Clippers has been underwhelming is an understatement. And now that his extension is up, the team’s front office is having a hard time getting the All-Star to sign up, especially after their season ended recently.
At the start of the season, there was hope that a core of George, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook can go deep in the playoffs. For a time, everything went according to plan and the Clippers looked like true contenders.
Fast forward to the postseason itself and the Clippers found themselves with fourth-seed and the Dallas Mavericks as their opponents in the first round. In those six games, George was the second-best player on his team behind Harden with averages of 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per contest. In contrast, the Beard notched 21.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 8.0 assists during the series.
Ultimately, the Luka Doncic-led Mavs came out as the better team and eliminated the Clippers. The thing is, George is up for a contract extension and the team’s front office is having a hard time to get the All-Star forward to commit to a new deal.
Los Angeles Clippers and Paul George Unable To Agree On All-Star’s Contract Extension
In the five years George has played as a Clipper, his pairing with Leonard has failed expectations due to injuries and a subpar roster for most of his time there. The front office, on the other hand, intend to keep him and run back the current core, as seen in a post Run It Back shared on X:
“This Clippers team fully intends to keep this group together, they want to bring back Paul George as a free agent or give him an extension, but they have not been able to reach an agreement with Paul George.”@ShamsCharania updates on the #Clippers
📺: https://t.co/oxMs3CAEGu pic.twitter.com/SF5el2o1PN
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 6, 2024
George’s hesitation to ink another deal is understandable given how Leonard has been mostly unavailable during the postseason. Other teams, such as the Philadelphia 76ers, can offer him a max contract and a bigger role as compared to his situation in Los Angeles right now.
It remains to be seen what will happen to George in the coming months and whether he’ll stay a Clipper or not. What’s certain, though, is there’ll be no lack of suitors that will pursue the All-Star forward when free agency starts soon.
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