This story was originally published by Dead Spin
It did not take long for Paul George to find a new home, and he’s heading back to the Eastern Conference.
After reports surfaced on Sunday night that George would not be returning to the Los Angeles Clippers, he gave the Philadelphia 76ers a commitment during their late-night meeting that he’d be joining them.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, it’s a four-year contract that compensates George for $212 million and turns the Sixers into a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference.
The Sixers pulled out all the stops in this meeting. Legend Julius Erving was in attendance, along with owner Josh Harris, Daryl Morey and Elton Brand.
George will now join the duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. When healthy, this is one of the most formidable big threes in the NBA and should be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.
Extension talks to keep George in Los Angeles crumbled apart on Sunday. The Clippers even released a statement, which rarely ever happens, explaining why they could not keep George in town.
“We traded a lot to pair Paul and Kawhi (Leonard), and in exchange, we had five seasons of contention. Even though we fell short of our ultimate objective, we appreciate the chances we had with Paul,” the statement read.
“Heading into this offseason, our roster was constructed (with) three great players 33 and over, two of whom could become free agents. We wanted to retain them on contracts that would allow us, under the constraints of the new CBA, to continue building the team.
“We negotiated for months with Paul and his representative on a contract that would make sense for both sides, and we were left far apart. The gap was significant. We understand and respect Paul’s decision to look elsewhere for his next contract. We explored an opt-in and trade scenario, but it would have left us in a similar position under the new CBA, with very little asset value to justify the restrictions.”
Outside of LeBron James, who is widely expected to return to the Los Angeles Lakers this summer, George was the biggest unrestricted free agent available. And now he’s already given Philadelphia his word of commitment and is off the board.Â
The 34-year-old is a nine-time NBA All-Star. He has been injury-prone in this later stage of his career and in much of his time with the Clippers. George played 48, 54, 31, and 56 games in his first four seasons with the team.
While the 76ers will be expecting an appearance in the appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals after this big signing, the Clippers are left with nothing but Kawhi Leonard. They signed Derrick Jones Jr. late Sunday night, but the void left by George will be felt.
