Source – Clippers’ Paul George opts to enter free agency

LA Clippers star Paul George is declining his $48.7 million option and will enter free agency, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday.

Sources said George plans to take free agent meetings with the LA Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic on the West Coast late Sunday night and Monday.

With George declining his player option, an opt in and trade scenario for him would no longer be possible.

The 34-year-old George is coming off a season in which he played 74 regular-season games — his most since being traded to the Clippers before the 2019-20 season.

The nine-time All-Star averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He shot career highs of 47.1% from the field, 41.3% from 3-point range, and 90.7% from the free throw line. According to Second Spectrum, George also shot 45% on catch-and-shoot 3s, which is fourth-best among 117 players who have attempted more than 200 shots.

After the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard agreed to a three-year, $153 million extension in January, George was optimistic he would soon get his own extension. George was eligible for a four-year extension and $221 million.

But the two sides were unable to reach an agreement, leading George to decide to become a free agent. George will be eligible to sign a four-year, $212 million contract with teams that have cap space. He is also eligible to sign a four-year, $221 million contract and negotiate a no-trade clause to remain with the Clippers. But according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, he can’t sign a five-year contract with the Clippers due to the over-38 rule.

“We love Paul,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said Thursday. “We want to retain Paul, but we also very much understand and respect the fact that this is a business.

“We hope Paul decides to stay here. He’s fantastic. He’s been an All-Star. He’s one of the best two-way players in the league. He’s a great guy. He’s got a great family. So we hope he’s here but also respect the fact that if he chooses to opt out, that’s his choice and we’ll see how things go.”

George wanted to play with Leonard and asked to be traded from Oklahoma City to Los Angeles during the summer of 2019 to be closer to family. He grew up in nearby Palmdale, and his parents attended as many home games as possible.

As the franchise moves into the new Intuit Dome this season, it hopes to keep Leonard and George together. In his five seasons, the Clippers won 69% of their games when both stars played. He helped the Clippers finish 51-31 last season, their best regular season during his five campaigns.

However, the Clippers only made one Western Conference Finals appearance during the Leonard–George era. Both stars have failed to stay healthy and the Clippers have lost in the first round in each of their last two postseason appearances. They were bounced in six games in the first round by Dallas in early May, when Leonard was able to play only two games due to swelling in his surgically repaired right knee.

Despite owner Steve Ballmer’s deep pockets, the Clippers have taken a cautious and measured approach toward building their future, given how restrictive the new collective bargaining agreement will be for tax-paying teams.

Frank acknowledged that the organization will have to make tough decisions in trying to keep its stars on the same three-year timeline. Point guard James Harden, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade in late October, is also a free agent.

“It’s a business and the reality of the new CBA affects teams like us,” Frank said, when asked why he wanted to keep his stars with Leonard on a three-year deadline. “When your better players are in their 30s and you’re trying to build a permanent roster, it impacts that. Like if there was no CBA with (owner) Steve Ballmer, it There would have been carte blanche. With the new CBA, it’s not even about the money, because how do you build a permanent roster, how do you maintain your equipment for flexibility in transactions and with that come really tough decisions.”

Since being drafted 10th overall by the Indiana Pacers in 2010, George, who was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017 before being transferred to the Clippers two years later, has become one of the NBA’s premier wing players, Even while recovering from an illness. He suffered a devastating foot injury during Team USA’s training camp in Las Vegas prior to the 2014 FIBA ​​World Cup.

George, the top free agent on the market this summer, is one of eight players to make at least nine All-Star teams since entering the league, joining LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Harden, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and. Anthony Davis. He is also a six-time All-NBA selection, including a first-team selection in 2019.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Om Youngmisuk contributed to this story.