Kawhi Leonard knew the dynamics of Paul George’s contract negotiations with the Los Angeles Clippers, so he wasn’t taken by surprise when George decided to leave in free agency, he told reporters in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
“We knew what it was before the season,” Leonard said. “We knew what it was going to come down to, so we talked the whole way through. It’s no surprise.”
Asked about the burden he’d have to carry without George, he said, “How much will be on me to lead the team? The same like it was last year. It don’t change.”
Leonard, who officially withdrew from Team USA on Wednesday, joined the Clippers with George in 2019, the former signing as a free agent and the latter arriving in a blockbuster trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. After Leonard signed a three-year extension worth approximately $150 million in January, he told reporters that he expected George and James Harden to stay, too.
While Harden signed a two-year, $70 million contract this offseason, George and the team could not come to an agreement. According to George, who this week broke down the talks on his podcast, the Clippers would not offer him during the season the same deal that Leonard signed, and when they did offer it to him after the season ended, George asked for a no-trade clause, which the Clippers would not include. George said he would have stayed with the Clippers had they either agreed to the no-trade clause or offered him the same four-year, $212 million deal he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.
George also said on the podcast that, before the start of the 2023-24 season, Los Angeles’ initial offer was for two years and $60 million. (Presumably, this would have required George to pick up his $48.8 million player option for 2024-25, meaning it would have effectively been a three-year, $108.8 million deal. This doesn’t sound quite as insulting as it does the way he put it, but it’s still low for a player of his stature.)
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, an assistant coach with Team USA, told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk in Las Vegas that he’d been in touch with George throughout the process and it would be “hard to replace” him.
“I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to get the deal done, disappointed he didn’t come back,” Lue told ESPN. “It’s tough for the organization. We got to see how we move forward from here.
“I talked to him many times, trying to see what his mindset was, what we need to do different, how we can help his process along. It’s unfortunate that he left.”
Next season, there will be a hole in the Clippers’ starting lineup where a nine-time All-Star used to be, but their front office has been busy. In addition to re-signing Harden this offseason, they have signed forward Nicolas Batum, forward Derrick Jones Jr. and center Mo Bamba. They have also reportedly agreed to sign guards Kris Dunn and Kevin Porter Jr. and re-sign center Kai Jones.
