Paul George Exposes Clippers for 'Disrespectful' Negotiations

Paul George broke down what went wrong with contract negotiations with the Los Angeles Clippers on the latest episode of ‘Podcast P With Paul George’ on Monday. 

It was tough to hear for Clippers fans. George said he never wanted to leave LA, but felt disrespected by initial negotiations and ultimately decided to leave because he couldn’t get a no-trade clause.

But if you actually analyze what was said, it sounds like an awful lot of excuse-making.

George Miffed by Lack of Commitment From Clippers

To be fair to George, the starting point for these negotiations didn’t make it seem like the Clippers were all that invested in keeping him. 

A starting point of two years for $60 million got these negotiations off on the wrong foot, as George said on his podcast.

LA had to have known he could have easily gotten more years and annual money. Of course, you have to start low when negotiating, but you can’t go too low and risk offending your player.

George went on to say that he simply wanted to be paid like teammate Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard just signed a three-year extension for roughly $153 million in January, and the Clippers wound up offering George nearly the exact same deal.

So why isn’t George a Clipper?

The All-Star forward said if he was going to take less than the max, he wanted the guarantee that he would be a Clipper for the entirety of his contract.

However, it appears that the Clippers had to draw a line in the sand after several months of negotiating, and their unwillingness to add a no-trade clause was the final straw for George.

It’s hard to blame a player for taking more money (4 years, $212 million with Philly vs. 3 years $150 million with LA) for a contending team.

But it’s a bit ridiculous for George to paint it this way. He asked for Kawhi money and was offered Kawhi money, and he still left.

Own your decision PG!

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