Paul George saw his Los Angeles Clippers fall to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of their NBA Playoff series Tuesday night.
The nine-time All-Star forward and Southern California native scored 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting as Dallas tied the series at one.
Since pretty much the start of the 2023-24 season, the focus in Los Angeles has been on George and his future with the team.
The 33-year-old wing has a player option worth $48.79 million for next season. It’s an option he’s presumably going to decline in hopes of landing one more long-term contract in his futue Hall of Fame career.
This has led to some speculation that George’s time with the Clippers might be coming to an end after five seasons. At least one big Eastern Conference team has come up as a potential landing spot in NBA free agency. Though, George leaving the Clippers still seems highly unlikely.
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Los Angeles Clippers likely to re-sign Paul George in NBA free agency
According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, “multiple NBA sources expect George to re-sign with the LA Clippers.”
This seems to make sense for both sides. Los Angeles signed fellow forward Kawhi Leonard to a three-year, $149 million contract extension back in January. The team’s brass wants to keep this duo together as they move to a new arena in Inglewood.
- Paul George stats (2023-24): 22.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.5 APG, 47% shooting
Despite having dealt with some injury issues during his run with the Clippers, George is still playing at a high level when he’s on the court. It makes sense to retain him.
With all of that said, what we see moving forward in the NBA Playoffs could dictate things. More struggles in the postseason from the Leonard and George-led Clippers could force their brass to change up its thinking.