The Golden State Warriors allegedly made a serious push to grab star wing Paul George before he joined the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency. However, according to Warriors veteran forward Draymond Green, the LA Clippers weren’t serious about trading him to Golden State.
According to several rumors, the Warriors were one of George’s main suitors before free agency. The nine-time All-Star had until this past Saturday to either activate or reject his $48.8 million player option for the next campaign. As per the report on Tuesday by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, the team made a “spirited effort” to acquire him before his decision.
George finally declined his player option and signed a four-year, $212 million maximum contract with the Sixers early Monday. As a result, the franchise lost nothing when he left Los Angeles. On his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show,” Green criticized the Clippers for needlessly impeding their trade negotiations with the Warriors a day later.
Green said, “Paul George was gonna come to the Warriors, and we wanted Paul George to come to the Warriors. For us to get Paul George, it would have taken a sign-and-trade, and the Clippers didn’t really want to play ball. [They] didn’t really want to help him get to where he wanted to go. So, in turn, they get nothing back.”
Acquiring George would have given Golden State a legitimate No. 2 scoring option in addition to their all-star point guard, Steph Curry. Additionally, after finishing in 10th place (46-36) in the previous season, it probably would have helped the team get back into the Western Conference playoff race.
Draymond Green Also Addressed the Clippers’ Decision Not to Send Paul George to the Warriors
It’s possible that Draymond Green disagreed with LA’s decision to end trade negotiations with Golden State for Paul George. However, the four-time NBA champion admitted that he partially understood the team’s decision to forego a trade with a division opponent.
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Green said (at 32:25), “I kind of understand it. I suppose you don’t want him in the same division as you ’cause you may know how that looks if he comes with us.”
The Clippers lost their second-leading scorer (22.6 points per game) for nothing, even though they did not contribute to the Warriors’ strength. They, therefore, seem set to regress the following season after finishing fourth (51-31) in the West.
