Paul George wanted to stay with Clippers for Kawhi Leonard: ‘I’m loyal to him’

Melissa Rohlin

FOX Sports NBA Writer

Paul George never intended to leave the LA Clippers.

He was playing 60 miles from where he was raised in Palmdale by his mother and father, who often attended his games. His wife and three children were settled, making friends and calling LA home.

And he had another big tie to the city: Kawhi Leonard.

“I had it in my mind this whole time — Kawhi brought me here, Kawhi was the guy who wanted me to play here, I’m stuck, I’m glued to him,” George told FOX Sports on Wednesday after his Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Clippers, 110-98, in his first game against his former team. “That was my mindset. That was my mentality. I wanted to ride this thing out.”

Leonard recruited George to the Clippers in 2019, while he was starring for the Oklahoma City Thunder. They both had roots in Southern California, were only one year apart in age and had similarly clawed their way to becoming superstars after not being heavily recruited in high school or playing for flashy colleges. (Leonard went to San Diego State, George to Fresno State.)

For George, it was incredibly enticing to team up with Leonard, who was a two-time champion and considered one of the top two-way players in the league. So, even though he was thriving in Oklahoma City, George asked to be traded to the Clippers, where he spent the last five seasons until contract negotiations soured last summer. In July, Geroge signed a four-year, $212 million max contract as a free agent with Philadelphia.

It’s no secret that “what ifs” always haunted the duo of Leonard and George, who were plagued with injuries. But George still believed in their potential. In fact, George said he wouldn’t have even blinked an eye at Leonard being out indefinitely this season because of inflammation in his right knee.

“If Kawhi is out right now, cool, take your time,” George told FOX Sports. “Still, my point of view was, I’m here for the long run. I’m here for the long run with you. That was how I was looking at the whole negotiation. That was the guy who wanted me here. I’m going to ride it out. I’m loyal to him.”

But negotiations with the Clippers didn’t go as planned.

George would’ve initially signed a three-year, $150 million extension when Leonard signed a deal for those terms in January. But the Clippers balked and talks stalled. As free agency approached, George wanted the aforementioned deal to include a no trade clause or a four-year max extension, but the Clippers were unwilling to accept those terms.

“The process definitely was a gut punch just because I feel like I’ve done everything they asked whether it was injuries that I was trying to play through, being available,” George told FOX Sports. “I know that’s my job, but there was stuff I was trying to push through, just to be here for the guys, show up for the team. When I was healthy, I did my job as a player.”

George tried to carry the load whenever Leonard was sidelined, which was often, considering he had missed 179 of a possible 435 games with the Clippers.

During his time with the team, George went from being mocked with the nickname “Pandemic P” after the Clippers collapsed in the second round of the 2020 playoffs to being considered the hero of the 2021 postseason, leading the Clippers to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. During that run, Leonard suffered an ACL tear in Game 4 in the second round against Utah. In Game 5 on the road, George responded by famously finishing with 37 points and 16 rebounds to lead them to a win. He averaged 26.9 points and 9.6 rebounds over that postseason.

“We had some great years together,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said of George, calling Game 5 his favorite memory of the superstar. “If we lost that game, I don’t think we would’ve advanced.”

The last three seasons, the Clippers haven’t gotten past the first round of the playoffs, with both Leonard and George sustaining key injuries. But last season, George had the most efficient shooting of his career (47.1% from the field and 41.3% from beyond the arc), and, once again, tried to shoulder the load in the postseason while Leonard only played two games because of injury. (The Clippers fell in six games to the Dallas Mavericks, who went on to reach the Western Conference Finals.)

George acknowledged he was taken aback by the negotiations with the Clippers, especially initially.

“Obviously, there was a lot of moving pieces,” George told FOX Sports. “There were injuries that were involved and a lot that kind of relied on my shoulders that I tried to still step up and be here for the group. It definitely was a little gut punch. Just the initial offer was the worst part about it all.”

But for George, there are no hard feelings.

He called Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank “awesome” during his tenure with the team. He added that there “ain’t no bad blood” between him and the Clippers’ stars, pointing out that he kept Leonard, James Harden and the now-departed Russell Westbrook constantly informed of his thinking last season.

As for some Clippers fans booing him during starting lineups Wednesday? He called that “stupid,” pointing out that he poured his heart out for the team and it wasn’t as though he demanded a trade. And he didn’t flinch when asked about fans holding a sign that read “PG THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK,” which seemingly was in response to George saying on his podcast that playing for the Clippers was like being on the “B team” because Lakers fans told him he should’ve joined the 17-time champions.

“Oh, well, I’m sure they’re all probably subscribers,” George said of his detractors. “So it’s a win-win.”

George is now focused on the future, even though things haven’t gone as expected with the 76ers, who have skidded to a 1-6 start.

After acquiring George, the 76ers were instantly considered title contenders. George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey have the potential to be the best “Big 3” in the league, with George giving them a dynamic wing who’s a great two-way player.

But fans will have to wait to see what they could become.

George missed the first five games of the season after suffering a bone bruise in his left knee during the preseason. Embiid has yet to play a game because of left knee management and a three-game suspension for shoving a reporter, though he’s expected to make his season debut Tuesday. And Tyrese Maxey is expected to be sidelined several weeks because of a right hamstring injury.

But George is willing to be patient.

Despite thinking he was going to be by Leonard’s side for the long haul, he has now become excited about his new partnership with Embiid.

Over the summer, they had many talks, and they believe in their potential more than anyone.

“We definitely had the conversations of we have a real shot at winning — and winning for multiple years,” George told FOX Sports. “Tyrese is a young guy and he’s going to continue to get better. I think I’m in a great spot where I can still stretch out and play for a good while and be productive. Joel is in his prime. We really have a great roster.”

So now, George is readying himself for a new chapter.

Once again he has sky-high hopes, and with this new team, he’s hoping they don’t go unrealized.

“We definitely had initial conversations, like, we can really win this year,” he said.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

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