The Warriors appear to have been close to a Paul George trade with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Before George Reportedly declined his $48.7 million contract option With LA on Saturday essentially eliminating any chance Golden State had of acquiring him, the Warriors reportedly believed they were close to acquiring the nine-time NBA All-Star, The Athletic reported. Tim Kawakami reported in his latest columnciting sources.
“(George’s decision to opt out) came after very serious negotiations between the Warriors, George and the Clippers leading up to the Saturday afternoon deadline for George’s contract decision and after the Warriors believed, multiple times, that they were close to securing the contract. “34-year-old forward, according to team sources,” Kawakami wrote.
“The Warriors had agreed to give George a four-year max extension upon his arrival. They believed they had proposed several variations of a trade that the Clippers could and would accept.”
Kawakami also reported that George gave “strong indications” that he wanted to join the Warriors, and Golden State veterans Steph Curry and Draymond Green were “100 percent” on board with the move, but financial concerns “weighed heavily” on the Clippers’ side.
The Warriors, according to Kawakami, offered multiple trade packages that they believed the Clippers would accept, including a combination of, among others, Andrew Wiggins, Chris Paul, Jonathan Kuminga or Moses Moody and a future first-round pick.
Kawakami added that the Warriors probably wouldn’t have included Wiggins and Kuminga together in any offer.
George is now an unrestricted free agent and will reportedly hold meetings with a handful of interested teams, including the Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic, in the coming days.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they will no longer be in the mix.
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