Getty Image / Brian Rothmuller
The Philadelphia 76ers needed to make a big splash this offseason after falling in the first round to the New York Knicks. They did that by acquiring the top free agent available, former Clippers forward Paul George.
But, according to Paul George, he almost ended up a Golden State Warrior, a move that would’ve shaken up the Western Conference and could’ve helped Steph Curry win his 5th championship.
George, an 11-time All-Star, is still one of the best two-way players in the league at 34 years old. Last year, he averaged 22.6 points and 5.2 rebounds on 47/41/91 shooting splits while still providing elite wing defense. Obviously, that’s a very valuable player. The Clippers, who are likely out of their contention window, didn’t want to pay Paul George and risk going into the punishing second apron that is dissuading teams from spending.
Their loss was the Sixers’ gain, as they signed him to a 4-year, $212 million contract when free agency opened last week.
But, according to Paul George, he almost ended up on the Warriors. He’s what he had to say on his podcast, Podcast P.
That was a real thing that was close to being done. That deal was close to being done from what I was being told on the situation, they was expressing just how much they wanted me there, how I could have fit in perfectly with Draymond, Steph Klay probably would’ve stayed. (Brandin)Podziemski, (Jonathan] Kuminga, (Andrew) Wiggins. They didn’t know how or what package was going to be there to trade for me. (Kevon) Looney was going to be there, and so it was very intriguing, and it was still an opportunity to stay close to home, stay on the West Coast, and it was a win-win. I think Steph is a unicorn, one of one player, and Joel’s a unicorn, so it was kind of like a good situation to be in the middle of, but ultimately the deal didn’t go through. I think Clippers didn’t want a certain trade deal that Warriors were willing to give and yeah, it just didn’t happen but it was close. It’d been dope, man. I was looking forward to it, if it happened.
Unfortunately for Warriors fans, that didn’t happen. Now, Paul George will team up with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, plus a revamped group of role players as the Sixers look to win their first championship since 1983.