Veteran small forward Paul George is leaving the Los Angeles Clippers, his now-former team announced Sunday night, with all signs pointing to the nine-time NBA all-star perhaps returning to the Eastern Conference and joining the Philadelphia 76ers.
George could command more than $200 million over four years if his next contract is for max value.
“Paul has informed us that he is signing his next contract with another team,” the Clippers said in a news release Sunday night.
The team added, “We negotiated for months with Paul and his representative on a contract that would make sense for both sides, and we were left far apart. The gap was significant. We understand and respect Paul’s decision to look elsewhere for his next contract.”
George had a $48.8 million option for this coming season but did not exercise it, instead entering free agency—which opened Sunday night. It was believed there was a chance that George and the Clippers could have still gotten something done, but the team made clear that those hopes are gone.
“We will miss Paul,” the Clippers said.
At 34, George is still elite. He averaged 22.6 points per game this past season, the ninth consecutive season in which he has averaged at least 20 points per game.
Meanwhile, veteran guard James Harden is staying with the Clippers on a two-year contract that includes a player option, a person with knowledge of that decision told The Associated Press earlier Sunday.
Harden’s deal—which could be worth up to $70 million if he opts into 2025–26—was agreed upon in principle before free agency technically started, said the person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because neither Harden nor the Clippers had announced the agreement.
Harden, a 10-time NBA all-star, averaged 16.6 points and 8.5 assists last season for the Clippers, who will move into their new Intuit Dome home in Inglewood, Calif., when this coming season starts.
Elsewhere, veteran guard Chris Paul is going to team up with rookie of the year Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio on a one-year deal, a person with knowledge of that agreement said.
Paul was waived earlier Sunday by the Golden State Warriors, who would have had to pay him $30 million for the coming season. ESPN reported the Spurs will pay Paul about $11 million. The 39-year-old Paul averaged 9.2 points and 6.8 assists in 58 games with the Warriors last season.
Even more jarring for the Warriors, and their fans, the team also will apparently be losing veteran guard Klay Thompson, who teamed with Stephen Curry to form the “Splash Brothers” during Golden State’s championship era that produced NBA titles in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022.
Unable to reach terms of a contract extension with the Warriors, Thompson was reportedly talking to the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks, with the Clippers and 76ers perhaps also in the picture.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, meanwhile, is going to bring his championship experience to the Orlando Magic, a team that made a big jump this past season and now is trying to become an even stronger contender in the East.
Caldwell-Pope—a two-time champion guard—was finalizing a three-year, $66 million deal with the Magic, a person with knowledge of the decision said. The person spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because the deal cannot be finalized until the league’s offseason moratorium is lifted on July 6.
It’s a big get for the rising Magic, who won 47 games—their most in 13 years—and got back to the playoffs this past season. Caldwell-Pope was part of title-winning teams with the Lakers in 2020 and the Denver Nuggets in 2023. He averaged 10.1 points for the Nuggets this past season while shooting nearly 41 percent from 3-point range.
In other news Sunday:
— Former UCLA forward/center Kevin Love was completing a new two-year contract with the Miami Heat worth about $8 million, a person with knowledge of that deal told AP, the move coming one day after he did not opt into what would have been a $4 million contract for this coming season. Love had said repeatedly last season that he has no intentions of leaving Miami.
— Center Andre Drummond agreed to a two-year contract worth about $10 million (the second year as an option) to join the 76ers, a team that he appeared in 49 games with during the 2021–22 season. Drummond spent the past two seasons in Chicago—he averaged 8.4 points and 9.0 rebounds this past season in only 17 minutes per game—and would be valuable insurance alongside Joel Embiid in Philadelphia’s big-man rotation.
— Forward Obi Toppin is being rewarded nicely for his strong first season with Indiana. A person with knowledge of the agreement said he and the Pacers were finalizing a four-year deal worth nearly $60 million. Toppin averaged a career-best 10.3 points last season, his first with Indiana after three years in New York.
— The NBA set the salary cap at $140.588 million for the 2024–25 season, down slightly—about $400,000 or so—from what teams had been told to expect. The tax level was set at $170.814 million. The first apron level will be $178.132 million, with the second apron level at $188.931 million. The non-taxpayer mid-level is $12.822 million. The taxpayer mid-level is $5.168 million, and the room mid-level is $7.983 million.
