Paul George declines option with Clippers, will test free agency

Clippers star Paul George declined his $48.7M option, along with any trade possibilities Saturday, and will enter free agency that begins Sunday.

George, who has played for the Clippers the past five seasons, will seek meetings with teams that have cap space, which includes the Clippers. His decision means an opt-in/trade scenario is now gone.

There’s still a chance George could return to the Clippers with a more team-friendly deal, much like the three-year, $158 million extension Kawhi Leonard signed in January.

George’s player option was the final year of a four-year, $176 million contract that he signed in 2020 with the Clippers. He now wants a maximum contract and the Clippers, who are shy of going over the second apron of the new CBA and wouldn’t budge to offer the four-year, $221 million deal he was seeking.

Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations, said Thursday that he wants to build a “sustainable roster” and it’s difficult when your stars are 30 years old or older. George is 34 and Kawhi Leonard turned 33 on Saturday.

“And with that comes really, really hard decisions,” Frank said.

Opting out gives George the opportunity to test free agency for the first time since 2018.

Early on, he was linked to several teams that could offer a max contract, but interest has cooled in recent weeks. And now, the most recent one, the Golden State Warriors, is off the table by his move.

The Warriors could have offered him a max contract had he opted in and forced a trade. Staying in California would allow George to stay relatively close to his family, a priority for him at this point in his career.

Along with the Clippers, other teams that will have cap space this summer are the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs. Only the Clippers, Magic and Thunder were playoff teams this past season.

But winning a championship isn’t a priority, George said recently on his “Podcast P’ show. He will be looking for the “right style of basketball” when he decides where to play.

He averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists during the regular season, but he seemed to disappear at times in the Clippers’ first round of the playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks, averaging just 19.5 points.

Russell Westbrook has picked up his player option for $4 million and is expected to return to the Clippers next season.

The nine-time All-Star point guard averaged 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists off the bench last season. Although he shot 45.4% from the field, Westbrook hit just 27.3% from three-point range, his lowest since the 2019-20 season when he was with the Houston Rockets.

The former league MVP fractured his left hand in a game against the Washington Wizards on March 2 and needed surgery, sidelining him for 12 games.

Westbrook started 11 games this past season but lost his starting role after the Clippers acquired James Harden in a late-night trade on Oct. 31. He reportedly asked to move to the bench.

In other Clippers’ moves, the team did not tender a qualifying offer to third-year wing player Brandon Boston Jr., making him an unrestricted free agent, according to ESPN.

The team, however, could work out a deal later in free agency, but that became more unlikely after the Clippers took Cam Christie with the No. 46 pick in the NBA Draft and reportedly signed Australian Trentyn Flowers, both guard/wing players.

With Westbrook picking up his player option earlier Saturday, that leaves James Harden as the lone star to announce his decision for next season.

Harden became a free agent after the NBA Finals and Frank said that the Clippers are hoping to re-sign the veteran point guard. It is believed that the former league MVP was waiting to see what George would do.

“He’s been great even in the off-season, coming in, working out, coming in for two-a-days, getting extra work in,” Frank said. “We very much want James to remain a Clipper and hope he decides to do the same.”