Paul George ‘optimistic’ he inks extension with Clippers
Shortly after Los Angeles Clippers superstar forward Kawhi Leonard signed a three-year, $152.4 million extension earlier this week, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that star wing Paul George and the organization were having similar discussions.
While no deal has been inked yet, George opened up about the possibility of remaining in Los Angeles to ESPN NBA reporter Ohm Youngmisuk.
“You secure and lock in Kawhi. Definitely leaves the door open for myself, but very, very optimistic something will get done on my behalf, as well,” George said, according to Youngmisuk. “I’m extremely excited and happy for Kawhi reaching a deal to hopefully make him a Clipper for the rest of his career.
“We’ll see my situation when we get there, but just happy they got the deal done on his end. I know he wants to stay here, myself as well. When my time comes, we’ll be ready for those conversations as well.”
George is on the books for $45.6 million this season with a $48.7 million player option for next season–the exact same structure as Leonard’s deal before he inked his new extension, per Spotrac. If an extension is signed, that player option will automatically be declined.
George will be entering his age-34 season next year, with Leonard being just one year younger. He’s averaging 23.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game, shooting 46.3 percent from the floor, 41.4 percent from 3-point range and 91.8 percent from the free-throw line this season.
He has appeared in all but two of the Clippers’ 37 games this season. Over his first four years in Los Angeles, staying on the court has been a plaguing problem for their two superstar talents due to myriad injuries. George and Leonard have played in 61.4 and 51.3 percent of his team’s games over their first four seasons with the organization, respectively.
George, Leonard and recently-acquired James Harden–as well as Russell Westbrook and Norman Powell off the bench–are huge reasons why the Clippers are winners of 16 of their last 19 games and a top-4 seed in the West. Though their most important statistic is “games played.”
George is eligible to sign a four-year extension worth north of $220 million if he wants to, or he could choose to take less (like Leonard did). Nevertheless, it appears likely that he and Leonard will be teammates for the foreseeable future; the next question becomes: How does it navigate Harden’s impending free agency since he’s not extension eligible?
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