Paul George declining player option with Clippers, will become unrestricted free agent: Sources

By Shams Charania, Law Murray and Alex Andrejev

Paul George is opting out of his player option with the LA Clippers, team and league sources confirmed Saturday.

By turning down his $48.8 million option for the final year of his deal, George will become an unrestricted free agent for the first time since 2018. Teams can begin negotiating with free agents from other teams after 6 p.m. Sunday and officially sign free agents to contracts on July 6.

George had been extension eligible with LA for a year. His previous contract was a four-year extension signed in December 2020, after the bubble and right before training camp. After that 2020-21 season, Kawhi Leonard signed a four-year deal that lined up with George’s; both players had player options for the 2024-25 season, the first of the Intuit Dome era.

Team source confirms to @TheAthletic that LA Clippers All-Star Paul George will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time since 2018. ESPN first

Source close to George is not optimistic that he wants to return to the Clippers. He is a legitimate walk threat. Stay tuned. https://t.co/Ay0vYLGFZe

— Law Murray 🛝 (@LawMurrayTheNU) June 29, 2024

When Leonard signed a three-year extension in January, he said he did it with George and point guard James Harden in mind, leaving enough for both to sign new deals for the 2024-25 season. Harden joined the Clippers via trade from the Philadelphia 76ers in November and eventually took over the starting point guard role from Russell Westbrook later that month.

Earlier Saturday, Westbrook opted in for the final year of his contract, though it remains to be seen whether or not he is still in LA’s plans.

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George wound up tabling extension talks in mid-February to focus on the rest of the season, and he hedged all questions about the future of the Clippers by referring to his possible status as a free agent.

“Yeah, if it works that way, absolutely,” George said about being in LA with Leonard and Harden following last month’s elimination in Dallas.

George’s free-agent status makes him the top free agent on the market. He just turned 34 years old last month and his ability to get to the free-throw line (3.9 attempts per game) and rebound (5.2) were his lowest since his truncated 2014-15 season when he only played six games after recovering from a compound fracture in his right leg.

But George shot career bests from the field (47.1 percent), from 3 (41.3), and the free throw line (90.7) while averaging 22.6 points, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.3 3s per game. He can play on and off the ball offensively while holding up defensively as a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward.

George is prepared to use all of his leverage. He decided not to opt in to the final year of his deal like Harden did last year and like Chris Paul did in 2017. Such an arrangement could have helped facilitate a trade to the Golden State Warriors. But now, George is prepared to visit the open market.

The Clippers remain involved, and they prepared since the end of their season for George to possibly be a free agent.

“He can sign his extension up to July 1, and he can also test free agency,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said last month of George’s options. “We’re hopeful that we can still bring him back.”

The cap space teams that will represent competition are minimal. The leading contender are the 76ers, who ironically took a step back last season after trading Harden to LA. The drawbacks of Philadelphia include location (George has been happy to be playing at home and has preferred being on the West Coast due to family and business) and climate (George has described how much better it is on his body in the winter when he is not in a cold-weather city).

But the 76ers have 2023 MVP center Joel Embiid and the 2024 Most Improved Player in point guard Tyrese Maxey.

The other cap room teams are likely long shots. The Orlando Magic are a young playoff team with size, good climate and a style of play that would have the ball in George’s hands often. But the location is not ideal and there is no indication George would prefer them over Philadelphia or returning to the Clippers.

The Detroit Pistons could sign George outright, but they are the worst team in the league and do not even have a coach.

Other teams that could clear out space include George’s previous team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the top seed in the West. If they can clear out about $18 million, they could sign George outright. More teams that could clear out reasonable space to sign George are long shots: the Charlotte Hornets (need to clear $18 million), the Utah Jazz (need to clear $10 million) and the San Antonio Spurs (need to clear $25 million).

The Clippers could offer George a four-year deal for up to $221 million. The other teams in the league can only go up to four years and $212 million.

But LA is not looking to offer the extra year. The Clippers could offer a no-trade clause as well, but the Washington Wizards’ experience with Bradley Beal and a no-trade clause would seem to prohibit such a negotiation tactic for LA.

In other Clippers news, the team declined to offer a qualifying offer to two-way contract center Moussa Diabaté while declining a team option for center Kai Jones, making them unrestricted free agents. LA is hopeful Jones will still be with the Clippers after signing with the team on the last weekend of the regular season, while Diabaté gets flexibility, even though LA is open to Diabaté returning as well.

One more item of housekeeping on option day

Per team source, the LA Clippers declined team option on center Kai Jones, but team is hopeful that Jones will be with the team.

Jones, a 2021 first round pick, was signed on the final weekend of the 2023-24 regular season.

— Law Murray 🛝 (@LawMurrayTheNU) June 29, 2024

George controls the offseason now. He is a legitimate threat to leave the Clippers, as a source close to George says “hate that it have to come to this, but that’s the NBA.” While that doesn’t close the door on LA, it does present the possible end of an era that began in 2019 when Leonard and George arrived to the franchise together, only to win three playoff series and only reach the Western Conference Finals once.

George ranked third in The Athletic’s John Hollinger’s latest NBA free agency rankings, with Hollinger describing George as “the most interesting free agent to watch this summer.”

The 34-year-old forward is considered one of the NBA’s best two-way players, with the ability to play on or off the ball and guard multiple positions.

A 14-year NBA veteran, George is a nine-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA selection. He was acquired by the Clippers in a blockbuster deal that sent the Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps.

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(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)