The Los Angeles Clippers made a big move by adding James Harden to their roster while letting go of Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington last November. Their star, Paul George, pointed out in “Podcast P with Paul George” how the veteran’s trade impacted the franchise, despite them having a good start to the season.
PG-13 felt they had a strong start, with a healthy squad that worked well even with Russell Westbrook’s inclusion. The team believed in themselves and focused on the possibilities of a better future.
“Then we traded to get James, and it’s not James’ fault why we struggled, but the lost part of that was we lost RoCo, we lost Nico. Those were our glue guys. They were our defenders… It had nothing to do with grabbing James. It was more so losing those guys. KJ Martin as well…,” added George.
According to the 9-time All-Star, losing Batum and Covington cost the franchise a big deal. George said, “They would go get rebounds, they would block shots, they would rotate, they were defensive guys, so you could plug those guys around me, Kawhi, Russ, they did a lot of the dirty work.” With them gone, Kawhi Leonard and George have to fill in their void along with contributing on the offensive end.
When the Clippers acquired Harden, they believed he would show the same skills he had been showing for years, but with him in the team, they lost 6 initial games.
Besides discussing last year’s trades, the 34-year-old threw light on his future in the league.
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Paul George Opens Up About His Future With Clippers
Paul George will soon enter unrestricted free agency if he doesn’t strike a good deal. The veteran spoke about his plans, which don’t include winning the championship trophy like everyone else.
Unfolding his thoughts for the future with the Clips, George stated in his podcast, “For sure contributing to winning basketball. I mean at this point… It’s not even about… Like people are saying, ‘chasing a championship.’ Like, it’s not that. But it’s playing the right style of basketball is what I’m chasing.”
George averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals this season while appearing in his ninth All-Star game. He has been linked to a move to the Orlando Magic, or the Philadelphia 76ers are looking for. So, to know his decision, one must wait till the last day of the month.
