Paul George’s contract talks with Clippers had ‘significant’ gap in NBA free agency

The Clippers and Paul George were never close to an agreement, Los Angeles said in a statement it released Sunday night.

After word leaked that George was headed elsewhere , the Clippers released a long statement about what transpired.

“We traded a lot to pair Paul and Kawhi [Leonard] ]and in exchange we had five seasons of contention,” the statement read in part. “Even though we fell short of our ultimate objective, we appreciate the chances we had.”

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Also in the statement, the Clippers said “the [negotiating] gap was significant.”

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They said they wanted to retain both George and James Harden on contracts that would continue to allow them to build a contender.

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The 76ers are believed to be the heavy favorite to land George, according to ESPN.

Harden reportedly agreed to a two-year deal worth $70 million.

The Clippers could have offered the 34-year-old George as much as a four-year, $221 million maximum contract, but they were reportedly reluctant to give him a fourth year.

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