Paul George released his , and in it he offered a fascinating look at his free agency and how he ultimately with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. George detailed the nearly year-long negotiations with the Clippers, and , followed by frustration with them initially not being willing to give him the same deal as Kawhi Leonard, led him to sour on things in L.A.
and look for a full 4-year max. He thought he would end up with the Warriors, but that trade never went through and . That will be a fascinating “what if?” to look back on in a few years, but it’s apparently not the first time George has almost ended up in different spot in the summer.
According to George, the first conversation he had in the summer of 2019 about teaming up with Kawhi Leonard involved Leonard re-signing in Toronto and George being traded to the Raptors. Wait, WHAT!?! This pass the smell test? — Adam Auslund (@followAdamA) We likely will never know how close this really came, as George may have thought it was a more realistic option than it actually was, but it is fascinating to learn that was at least under consideration for a couple of reasons. For one, it means Kawhi was willing to stay but also wanted to cause a major shakeup for the roster that just won a championship in order to do so.
It also might explain why the Clippers paid such a heavy price for George, sending a boatload of picks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to OKC to facilitate the deal. If the Raptors were in play, you can bet OKC was as.