NBA Trade Rumors: LA Clippers Tried Shopping Paul George Unsuccessfully Before Giving Him The Extension

In one of the most surprising news of the week, the LA Clippers gave Paul George a huge extension. Despite having an underwhelming season, the Clippers are putting their faith in him. Or were they?

The Ringer’s Paolo Uggetti recently revealed that the Clippers tried to trade George unsuccessfully. But eventually, they gave up and gave him a massive extension of $190 million for four years.

Uggetti wrote, “According to a front office source, there was chatter around the league that the Clippers did their due diligence in seeing what they could get on the market for George before deciding that the extension was the best option.

“One front office staffer said that, despite the ugly numbers on the back end of George’s deal, the market for George around the league would have likely gotten him that same contract elsewhere. George is a number two that you have to pay number-one-level money.”

Will this contract extension hurt the LA Clippers in the future?

With this extension, George will make over $45 million, even when he is 35 years old. He is 30 currently and is dealing with a lot of injuries already. So there is a chance he goes on to miss many more games in the upcoming seasons too.

Former coach Doc Rivers also spoke about the chemistry issues the team faced, and how George not being liked by the Clippers bench was at the heart of it. Factoring all of this, it looks like the Clippers might have been too ambitious with the extension.

But George has proved his quality before. He was an electric player with the Pacers and also had an MVP caliber season at the Thunder. While he was the main option in those two teams, he now plays behind Kawhi Leonard. There is no question about the talent, but his ability to show up in the big moments, his accountability, and his team chemistry are what the fans are worried about.

The 2019-20 season was their best chance at the title, since teams are getting stronger now. But George and the Clippers will be aiming to beat the odds and keep fighting for the title in the coming years.

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