Paul George’s Father Wanted Him to Leave Clippers for Lakers This Offseason

The nine-time All-Star instead departed the Western Conference altogether in free agency.

Nov 1, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Anthony Davis (3) looks at the scoreboard with LA Clippers forward Paul George (13) during the second quarter at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports / jonathan hui-usa today sports

This summer, nine-time All-Star combo forward Paul George — a Palmdale native — departed the L.A. Clippers, his home for the past five seasons, in exchange for a max deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.

But his father, for one, wanted him to be the third future Hall of Famer on the 2024-25 Los Angeles Lakers.

During an appearance on George's show "Podcast P With Paul George," Paul George Sr. explained why he wanted his 6-foot-8 superstar son to sign with his other hometown team.

"I was looking at [the Lakers] and said, okay, we're gonna do next door then," Paul George Sr. said. "But they already spent too much money. I thought we're gonna still come down in the tunnel, just gonna be wearing a different color."

That claim isn't necessarily accurate. The Lakers could have found a way to acquire George in a sign-and-trade deal had they so chosen, though they would have had to sacrifice a lot of their depth to do it.

"I felt like they stabbed us in the back because I thought Paul did a whole lot for the team, as far the fanbase, the fans was there. He was there. I think he gave them 110% and what he was asking, it wasn't a whole lot. But they saw something different."

After surprisingly protracted negotiations throughout the 2023-24 season, the younger George ultimately balked when the Clippers refused to include a no-trade clause in their proposed three-year, $150 million free agent contract offer. That amount already represented a slight discount below the maximum possible money George could have earned over that timespan, which would have been worth anywhere between $160-170 million.

Read More: NBA Free Agency: Paul George Felt Insulted by Clippers in Contract Negotiations

When the Clippers refused to budge on the proposed terms of that deal, George ultimately jumped shipped, leaving for the Philadelphia 76ers on a four-year, $211.6 million maximum deal. He joins 2023-24 holdover Philadelphia All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey on one of the chief Eastern Conference threats to the supremacy of the reigning champion Boston Celtics. Sixers team president Daryl Morey had an even more active free agency summer than usual. In addition to George, Morey also signed forward Caleb Martin, former Lakers center Andre Drummond, shooting guard Eric Gordon (who also played on the Houston Rockets during Morey's tenure there), forward KJ Martin, point guard Reggie Jackson, and Team France Olympics standout Guerschon Yabusele. Morey also brought back forward Kelly Oubre Jr. and guard Kyle Lowry.

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