It’s been nearly a year since the L.A. Clippers made the fateful decision to let former star Paul George leave in free agency. That move was initially chastised around the NBA, with the Clippers opting to save money by letting the second-best player leave for nothing.
That after giving up a boatload of assets to build around him and Kawhi Leonard. A year later, things have changed dramatically. The Clippers won an impressive 50 games last season after many questioned whether they would make the playoffs.
They should be even better this year after making solid moves such as adding Brook Lopez, Chris Paul, John Collins, and Bradley Beal to round out the rotation and bolster their depth. Meanwhile, the Sixers appear to be heading in the wrong direction.
The L.A. Clippers just dodged a Paul George-sized bullet
George played just 41 games last season and looked as though he had aged 10 years after moving from L.A. to Philly. In fact, his scoring dropped by more than six points per game last season.
Suddenly, his $212 million contract looks like the worst in the NBA after it seemed like he was the missing piece the Sixers needed to contend for a championship. Hindsight is 20/20, but the Clippers clearly won that move with them having flexibility after opting to build around Leonard and James Harden in the short term.
They are still out many of their first-round picks thanks to the disastrous Oklahoma City Thunder trade that landed them George and the Harden trade that paired him with George. However, they did the smart thing by not giving George a max contract to keep him.
Parting ways with George frees up the Clippers for bigger moves
The Clippers clearly want to contend now but still have plans to use cap space in 2027 and especially in 2028. That is probably their best bet to figuring out a way forward without many of their picks.
Even if they can’t sign a star, they could trade for one or rent out their cap space to replenish their draft stockpile. They historically haven’t built through the draft, nor have they been a free agency destination, but they have a super rich owner and seem to have a clear plan. Those are two great things to have.
All told, the Clippers’ decision not to re-sign George seems like a genius move, a year later. George is on an albatross deal with the Sixers, while the Clippers have built a competitive team while maintaining flexibility going forward. Smart move by the Clippers.
