Paul George ended his five-year partnership with Kawhi Leonard when he chose to join the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency. Such splits often lead to some bad blood between parties, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here. George revealed on Podcast P with Paul George, that the two men had a conversation and that his former co-star supported his decision.
“I owed Kawhi that conversation,” George said. “I called him up and was just like, ‘Man, listen, I think I’mma go elsewhere.’ Conversations with the Clippers didn’t go how I wanted to. I kind of broke down how I told you guys how it all played out and we had that conversation and I was like, ‘Man, I got to do what’s best.’
“He understood, he like, ‘Go get your bag. I can’t even be mad at you.’ And I look at Kawhi as one of my best friends in this league,” George continued. “Somebody that I f*** with. Our families love each other. It was tough to leave him just with how much I enjoyed being out there with him.
“That was a big decision too that weighed a lot on me,” George added. “It was just, damn, I’m leaving my boy. But I had to have that conversation with him. We talked and he gave me his blessings of like, ‘Man, just go do what’s best for you.”
“I owed Kawhi that conversation … it was tough to leave him.”
PG got Kawhi’s support on his free agency decision 🤝 @coinbase pic.twitter.com/FY2z1XR0lN
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) July 8, 2024
Leonard had also stated he didn’t have a problem with George’s exit from the Clippers. These two have handled the situation as you’d want two grown men to.
During this episode, George revealed his negotiations with the Los Angeles Clippers were going nowhere. The 34-year-old had to do what’s best for him and that meant going to a team where he would get paid and contend for a championship. The 76ers were that team, as they gave George a four-year, $212 million deal and put him alongside their star duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
Expectations are now sky-high in Philadelphia and it will be interesting to see if George succeeds at getting his new team over the line. The nine-time All-Star undoubtedly failed miserably in that regard with the Clippers.
The George-Leonard era in LA promised much but ultimately proved to be a disappointment. Both stars struggled with injuries at various points and never got close to taking the team to the Promised Land.
Leonard, who signed a three-year, $153 million extension with the Clippers earlier this year, will now attempt to do so with James Harden as his lone co-star. I don’t think the six-time All-Star will succeed in that quest, though.
Paul George Claims He And Kawhi Leonard Nearly Teamed Up On The Raptors
Leonard and George shook up the basketball world when they joined the Clippers in 2019, but it appears they could have teamed up elsewhere. During this episode, George claimed that the Toronto Raptors were the other team they had in mind.
“I was close to going to Toronto,” George said. “We were deciding to go to Toronto or the Clippers, ultimately the Clippers put … a better trade package together that sent me to LA.
But I was close, he was going to re-sign to Toronto and we were going to go to Toronto.”
Leonard, of course, had just led the Raptors to the NBA championship in 2019, and they desperately wanted to keep him. They reportedly had to land George to get him to stay, though, and the front office wasn’t willing to put together the kind of package the Clippers were, to acquire him from the Oklahoma City Thunder. So, off went Leonard to Los Angeles to play for the Clippers.
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