Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
NBA free agency is underway, and the first major team-switching news comes from Paul George.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, George is leaving his hometown’s Los Angeles Clippers to join the Philadelphia Sixers on the East Coast. The contract is reportedly worth a whopping $212 million over four years.
BREAKING: Free agent F Paul George has agreed on a four-year, $212 million maximum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell ESPN. George committed in a meeting with Sixers officials and returns East to join Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in pursuit of an NBA title. pic.twitter.com/pkCfGu3hyp
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2024
“Paul George has agreed on a four-year, $212 million maximum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell ESPN. George committed in a meeting with Sixers officials and returns East to join Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in pursuit of an NBA title,” Woj tweeted.
Paul George’s year-by-year cap hits on his four year, $211.6 million maximum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers project with $10 million in remaining cap space, but they could get creative with sign-and-trades to take back more than that. pic.twitter.com/y3HI58amCG
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) July 1, 2024
It was pretty clear that George would be moving on from the Clippers. He’s been paired with Kawhi Leonard for five seasons, and despite being touted as a match made in heaven, the two either missed the playoffs or never made it past the first round and had one wishful Western Conference Finals appearance in 2021.
Just this past season, the Clippers’ 2024 NBA playoffs hopes were undone in a first-round loss to the Dallas Mavericks and typically injured Leonard when the postseason comes around despite being rounded out by George, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook.
The Clippers released a statement regarding Paul’s decision to leave, but instead of a glossy tribute, they were honest about the communication breakdown amid contract negotiations because he wanted too much money.
We traded a lot to pair Paul and Kawhi, and in exchange, we had five seasons of contention. Even though we fell short of our ultimate objective, we appreciate the chances we had with Paul,” the statement read in part. “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.”
Now that George is back east, he’s teaming up with a Sixers team that was knocked out in the first round. With a healthy Joel Embiid and a rising star in Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers are gearing up to face the championship-defending Boston Celtics and a newly stacked New York Knicks.
But at 34, and with his contract ending in four years, he’s an aging star set to make over $56 million at age 38, which comes with its challenges.
See how social media is reacting to the news below.
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