Not long after Paul George’s free agency meeting with the Los Angeles Clippers concluded, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the nine-time All-Star was “unlikely to return” to LA for 2024-25.
While this report still provided little hope that George would have a change of heart, the Clippers have taken it a step further by confirming that the 34-year-old is on his way out.
Los Angeles Clippers Confirms Paul George’s Exit
Shortly after Woj published his report, the Clippers organization issued an official statement detailing how their contract negotiations with George fell apart. According to the statement, they “negotiated for months,” but ultimately, “the gap was significant.”
Clippers’ statement on Paul George parting ways following a significant gap in contract talks, exploring an opt-in and trade scenario and excitement about new opportunities and greater flexibility under new CBA to field a “highly competitive team” moving forward: pic.twitter.com/Uajbail3Hk
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) July 1, 2024
The statement, of course, heaped praise on George and everything he contributed to the organization over the past five seasons. There’s no denying, though, that there seems to be a hint of bitterness from the Clippers here as they highlighted their effort to do everything in their power to keep him in LA, only for George to turn down multiple offers.
This officially ends George’s tenure with the Clippers, which ended with back-to-back first-round exits.
LA just signed James Harden to a massive contract extension, and they will now use the funds freed up by George’s exit to add even more depth around Kawhi Leonard.
It’s going to be a busy next few days for LA for sure.
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