Paul George agrees to sign with 76ers in free agency, spurning Clippers

George, 34, averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season, but the Clippers’ campaign sputtered to an end with a first-round loss to the Dallas Mavericks. In the playoffs, George averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists as Leonard missed much of the series with a knee injury.

In Philadelphia, George will team up with 2023 MVP Joel Embiid and 2024 most improved player Tyrese Maxey to form an explosive core trio. Philadelphia, which traded James Harden to the Clippers last fall, allowed forward Tobias Harris to leave in free agency and diligently created the cap space necessary to land George.

This move comes with real risks: George has played at least 60 games only once in the past five seasons, and his offensive game has shifted to the perimeter as he has progressed deeper into his 30s. While he helped lead the Clippers to the 2021 Western Conference finals, he hasn’t advanced out of the first round during the past three seasons, and he missed the 2023 playoffs because of a knee injury.

Philadelphia, of course, continues to face significant pressure to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time during Embiid’s career. The 76ers lost to the New York Knicks in the first round last season after making the conference semifinals in five of the previous six seasons. In addition to George, the 76ers agreed to sign veterans Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon and re-sign Kelly Oubre Jr. on the opening day of free agency Sunday.

The Clippers had hoped to enter their sparkling new arena — Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. — with four decorated Southern California natives in Leonard, George, Harden and Russell Westbrook. Instead, they will pair Leonard, who signed a three-year, $153 million contract extension in January, and Harden, who agreed to a two-year, $70 million contract Sunday, while George departs and Westbrook moves to the trade block.

The Clippers acquired George from the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019 for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps. Gilgeous-Alexander was this year’s MVP runner-up.

“Paul has informed us that he is signing his next contract with another team,” the Clippers said in a statement Sunday. “Paul is a tremendous talent and an elite two-way player. We feel fortunate for the five years we spent with him. … We traded a lot to pair Paul and Kawhi, 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.”

Despite having the NBA’s richest owner in Steve Ballmer, the billionaire former Microsoft executive, the Clippers were unwilling to offer George a four-year contract that would have carried him through his age-37 season. Clippers executive Lawrence Frank indicated that the NBA’s new salary cap rules, which include harsh financial penalties and restrictions for the league’s highest-spending teams, could influence the team’s direction and George’s free agency decision.

“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 Clippers said. “The gap was significant.”