Paul George joined the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019, intending to retire on the franchise while living in his home state. That move hasn't gone according to plan, as George left the Clippers this summer to join the Philadelphia 76ers after contract extension talks went wrong. George's father, Paul George Sr., believes the Clippers stabbed him in the back by not offering him enough to keep him in LA.
“I felt like they stabbed us in the back because I thought Paul did a whole lot for the team... I think he gave them 110%, and what he was asking wasn't a whole lot. But they saw something different. I didn't want him to take anything. His whole thing, he does stand up for what he believes in. He felt that was a bunch of bull. I wasn't going to sugarcoat it either."
George Sr. also revealed he wanted his son to join the Lakers but they had no salary room to accommodate him.
"You love being at home but sometimes, home can slow you down. He put in work for it and I felt like he should have gotten paid for it. We didn't stutter about it. They come at you like this? Oh, you gotta go. I was looking at going next door [to the Lakers], but they already spent too much money.”
The Clippers were expected to win the title when they paired George and Kawhi Leonard up. However, the team blew their shot at the 2020 title by blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets and making excuses for the next five years . George in particular had a disastrously bad series, marked with his side-of-the-backboard shot in Game 7 that gave him the nickname 'Wayoff P.'
He stormed back the next season to undo the mistakes from 2020, leading the Clippers to the Western Conference Finals, the furthest they've ever gotten in franchise history. Unfortunately, injuries ruined this run with Kawhi Leonard tearing his ACL in Round 2, with the outmatched Clippers losing in six games to the Phoenix Suns.
Kawhi missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season, with George also being unavailable for large stretches of the season. The Clippers would fail to make the Playoffs this season, conveying their 2022 first-round pick to the Thunder from the PG trade in 2019, who turned out to be franchise cornerstone Jalen Williams.
The 2022-23 season was another season ruined by injuries, as George would get sidelined in the final month of the regular season, not playing a single game in the Clippers' first-round loss to the Suns where Leonard would also get injured.
George averaged 23.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists over 263 games in five seasons. While he had some phenomenal moments, the trade the Clippers made to acquire him will be remembered as one of the worst deals in league history. George led to the Clippers losing both Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , along with a Draft pick for two more seasons.
The 76ers will hope they get a more consistent version of George alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey as they push for a title in the East.
Related: Paul George Refuses To Answer If He Or Joel Embiid Will Take The Final Shot On The 76ers
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