Paul George is now on the clock, leaving the Clippers a small window of time to decide whether to offer the nine-time All-Star what he wants – a four-year deal – or let him walk.
George has until 3 p.m. Saturday to tell the team that he is either going to opt into his contract and force a trade, test free agency or accept the Clippers’ offer of what is expected to be a three-year extension, much like Kawhi Leonard signed in January.
Whichever way George decides, the Clippers “very much” want to retain their star guard, according to Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations. The team can sign George to a four-year, $221 million extension, but the two sides have been unable to reach an agreement.
“We love Paul,” Frank said. “We very much want to retain Paul, but we also very much understand and respect the fact this is a business.
“We hope Paul’s decision is to be here. He’s been awesome. He’s been an All-Star. He’s one of the best two-way players in the league. He’s a terrific person. He’s got a great family, so we hope he’s here but also respect the fact that if he chooses to opt out, that’s his choice. He’s earned it and we’ll see how things play out.”
Last season, George averaged 22.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals.
The Golden State Warriors are one place George could land. The Bay Area team has made it known in the past few days they are interested in trading for him and have the cap space to acquire him.
The Clippers, meanwhile, are hesitant to become a tax and second-apron team and re-signing George, along with James Harden, would push them over the limit.
“When your better players are in their thirties and you’re trying to build a sustainable roster, (salaries) impact it. Like if there was no CBA, with Steve Ballmer, look, it would be carte blanche,” Frank said.
“It’s not even about the money as it is, but how are you going to build a sustainable roster, maintain your tools to have transactional flexibility?” Frank added. “And with that comes really, really hard decisions.”
The Clippers, however, are looking to keep Harden, who averaged 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 8.5 assists last season. Frank said his conversations with Harden’s agent Mike Silverman have been productive.
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“I think James has been terrific for us,” Frank said. “We hope he’s had a great experience while he’s been here, and we hope he decides to continue to be here.”
“He’s been great in terms of just even the off-season coming in, working out, coming in two-a-days, getting extra work in. So, we very much want James to remain a Clipper and hope he decides to do the same.”
Frank was optimistic they could come to terms with either or both George and Harden.
“We’re hopeful that we can find a deal with any player we negotiate with that we want both sides to feel good about and respect the fact that for each of our players they’re going to have choices,” he said. “They’ve earned it and they have to make the decisions that make the most sense for them.”