The Clippers’ season-ending loss to the Mavericks in Friday’s Game 6 will only spark additional speculation about the future of their core.
Paul George, who controls his free agency destiny with a player option for 2024-25, will be at the center of it.
And the 76ers — a franchise that ESPN’s Bobby Marks projected will have $60 million available to dish out this offseason — could emerge as a contender to sign the 34-year-old star, according to the network.
“What they are gonna be able to do here is sign a player up to a max contract and then sign [Tyrese] Maxey,” NBA reporter Brian Windhorst said during a segment of “Get Up” on Friday. “They can do both. The player at the top of their list is Paul George. His contract extension discussions with the Clippers have not led to an agreement. The Clippers are fighting for their playoff life tonight in Dallas. They have not wanted to offer the max contract. They got Kawhi [Leonard] to accept an extension less than the max. That has been the standard.
“I think that Philly is gonna come out with a max offer to Paul George. The Clippers are gonna have to decide max or not, and Paul George is gonna have to decide do I want to stay here or not.”
In January, they inked Leonard to a three-year, $152 million extension that was followed by comments suggesting George and Harden — acquired by the Clippers in late October — would likewise return.
“With the conversation that I have with them about it, I think for the most part everybody is coming back,” Leonard said after signing his extension, according to CBS Sports. “So, with me signing the extension, I think it gives us a chance to sign [George and Harden].”
But George didn’t provide many hints about his plans during the immediate aftermath of their loss Friday.
He’d “absolutely” be open to staying with the Clippers long-term “if it works that way.”
He still needed to talk with his family.
“I’m not even focused on that yet,” George told reporters, according to ESPN. “I got a lot to kind of digest myself, so I haven’t even got to that yet.”
Windhorst added that president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and the 76ers could pursue someone such as the Heat’s Jimmy Butler or the Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram via trade.
Still, George, who has been an All-Star with the Pacers, Thunder and Clippers across his career, would add a jolt to a 76ers lineup — alongside Maxey and Joel Embiid — that was just eliminated by the Knicks in their first-round playoff series.
Maxey, who starred in the playoffs and averaged 29.8 points across the six games with the Knicks, will become a restricted free agent and likely generate a massive contract from the 76ers.
Embiid won the NBA MVP award last year and followed that up with an injury-filled season where he averaged a career-high 34.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.
George collected 22.6 points per game for the Clippers during the regular season and 19.5 in the playoffs.
News Summary:
- Clippers’ Paul George doesn’t give many hints on his future
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