Are The LA Clippers Playing Chicken With Paul George?

Are The LA Clippers Playing Chicken With Paul George?

on today’s show are the Clippers and Paul George playing a game of chicken going to be talking about it all on today’s lock down off seon Clippers you are locked on Clippers your daily Los Angeles Clippers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day yes sir you are locking in with the clips thank you for making locked on Clippers the first listen of your day your team every day I’m your host Darian vizeri born and raised in LA and finished my 19th season as a Clipper fan not too long ago you can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram at dim dropper pod And subscribe to my own YouTube channel dime dropper for even more LA Sports NBA and Sports content in general and locked on Clippers is free and available wherever you get your podcast including YouTube and I want you to let me know what you think of the Clippers game of chicken that we’re going to talk about with Paul George which is kind of going on right now and let me know if you think the Clippers are doing the right thing and before we talk about this episode it is brought to you by game time take the guest we got to buying MLB tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase but all right so as everyone knows the talk of the basketball world right now is the Paul George sweep Stakes the Paul George Saga and we’ll be having episodes all week coming about this whole situation but let’s just talk about the Clippers right now right and the game of chicken that they seem to be playing with Paul George Paul George we know doesn’t want to leave La he doesn’t prefer to he came here to win a championship he came here with Kawai he’s had a say in so many of the moves to get guys here excuse me get some of his friends Reggie Jackson John Wall Russell Westbrook even James Harden who he knew he wants to be here but clearly the office and Paul don’t see eye to eye right now with the contract situation Paul has one more year left on his deal that he can opt into Kawai had the same exact deal but he resigned and that’s kind of where all of this got a little murky because when kawhai Leonard resigned it was like okay so I mean these guys came here together their timelines are going to align right because their contracts have aligned so it was then you know talked about by media and asking Paul George whether or not he was going to sign an extension or what what what was the progression with coming to an agreement about an extension and all this and Paul said you know we are going to work together to work something out so by all accounts Paul George wants to be here but he doesn’t necessarily want the contract that Kawai got and kawh Leonard got that three years 150 million and that is where things get tricky because Paul George wants four years he knows this is the last big contract he’s probably going to get and was 152 million to be exact for kaw’s contract and kawhai could have gotten four years 220 right the max Paul George can try to get the max and it’s rumored that some teams will be willing to pay the max for him but the Clippers clearly don’t want to right and and Paul George shouldn’t expect to get the max if he thinks that he’s just being greedy the biggest question I have is have the Clippers offered kawai’s contract my you know guess because I don’t know for a fact and I’m going to try to get you guys more information on it my guess is that they offered him a little bit less because he’s not as good as kawhai and he even said like they can use his own podcast against him be like look you even said that kawhai is the number one option so we’re going to pay you a little less if that’s okay we’ve paid you the same amount the last couple years the production hasn’t been there from you but Paul could always say at least I’ve been on the court you know in more playoff games and that’s valid but at the end of the day it’s clear what’s happening the Clippers don’t want to pay him more than three years because they want the contracts to align he and Kaw he wants more than three years the Clippers are seemingly confident though that he’s not going to leave for Philadelphia and I I honestly would be on like an agreement with them you think Paul George is going to leave his family like his parents get to come to every game I see them there going to ice cold Philly and even when he even when he said it’s not about winning a championship above all and plus like let’s be honest I do think Paul George wants to get paid but like does he want to get paid that bad where he’ you know basically go across the country I don’t think so he just had such a huge contract he’s made a lot of money in his career he’s got a beautiful house he’s got a beautiful I mean he’s he can do what he wants like it’s not like this guy’s struggling financially at least I don’t think but of course a lot of players do struggle financially after the league but I mean we’re in a new era with new contracts like I have a hard time thinking that that’s going to happen but who knows I just don’t think even if so Paul George is the type of guy especially with what you’re seeing him already do in terms of his off the court business Avenues I don’t think Paul George is the type of player that’s gonna go bankrupt or anything after his career is over he’s pretty smart in that respect it’s uh it looks like and it seems so like I don’t think he’s feing the bag that hard and honestly if I’m the Clippers I would play chicken I would be like look bro are you actually G to go are you actually going to go to Philly or I mean because there not that many teams that going to be willing to just sign him outright and have the cap to sign him outright Orlando you want to go all the way to Orlando Florida and play with a bunch of young dudes instead of potentially taking what four years 120 or I’m sorry three years 120 so 40 million a year but man as of me recording this episode OG anobi who’s an is a fantastic role player got paid 200 plus million $42 million per year for the Knicks now of course you know people aren’t going to sign Paul George to that right now at least I don’t actually I wouldn’t be so sure but if that’s the market for OG anobi Paul George’s Camp can be like look I know he’s younger but he’s still a role playter like this is Paul George we’re talking about and also as I’m filming this I’m probably going to make an episode on what the Knicks moves mean for the Paul George situation but Mel Bridges being traded for five first round picks like this is the market for role players or maybe it’s just the Knicks I don’t know but like if I’m negotiating and I’m Paul George and his camp and Aaron mint and those guys I’m like look you’re talking about a guy who’s a consistent 22 points a game on great shooting splits you can use him off ball you can use him on ball he can do a little pick and roll he’s consistently made the playoffs in everywhere besides that 2022 season where his co-star was out the entire year and he missed 51 games himself and basically the only two seasons he’s missed the playoffs is when he’s missed the majority of the season when he’s playing the majority of a season he will get you to the playoffs and the Warriors I’m sorry not the Warriors um but yeah the Warriors we’re going to talk about them later but you know a lot of these teams have made the playoffs they don’t have that issue but just another star caliber player can’t really hurt and Paul George I mean yeah he has his weird statements where he’s like I wasn’t on the ball enough and then he’ll be like I was on the ball too much besides that stuff he’s pretty adaptable in playing in different teams because he has off-ball ability but anyway the game of chicken is Alive and Well the Clippers don’t think he’s willing to go to the east coast and pack everything up here like his family is here he said he wants to retire here so I don’t blame them but let me know what you think in the comments is it too risky coming up going to be talking about Philadelphia and the recent reports that they might be second guessing paying Paul George the max are they still the biggest threat for pg3 going to be talking about that coming up I got to tell you a little something about game time game time is an authorized ticket Marketplace of Major League Baseball which makes getting tickets faster and easier it’s a great place to get really good deals on tickets last minute and you know depending on work or what you’re doing or how many people can go with you you sometimes just don’t know whether or not you know all your Logistics going to a sporting event and with killer last minute deals all in prices views from your seat and their lowest price guarantee game time takes the gu work out of buying MLB tickets and for people that I’m speaking to probably majority angels and Dodger fans pick out any specific game that you want to go to and you can get flash deals by Saving even more with the exclusive inapp deals on select seats ahead of the game or event take the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code l ooc k e d o n n b a for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guarantee all right so the recent reports from Philadelphia because initially the team that we’ve heard as the most rumored to try to go for Paul George has been the Philadelphia 76ers they are kind of it seems like at least the fan base is frustrated with Tobias Harris former Clipper Tobias Harris in that third option role you know Maxi and embiid had a pretty big Series against the Knicks we can have a conversation about them their lack of being able to close games and we’ve seen that as a consistent theme throughout the embiid era and the playoffs but you can also say they didn’t have that clear-cut third guy and as we know Clipper Nation Paul George right now as a second option is dicey as a third option sounds like the same same thing we’re talking about James Harden so right now the Clippers are dealing with two guys that should be third options on a championship team and then a first option is’s not available enough Paul George being able to be that clear-cut third option behind him be maxi especially given the way that he plays he doesn’t hold the ball as long as a lot of other stars in the league can work quickly off the catch can come off screens he would be I think very good for them the thing is if you pay him a Max which is obviously a terrible investment as we know cber nation that is not a good investment at this age to pay Paul Georgia Max contract you’re not going to have that much flexibility with the new Under the new CBA you’ll definitely be over the second apron and you won’t be able to get very good complimentary guys so so especially with the health of embiid and Paul George that’s a huge risk for the Sixers and I think that’s the reason why the recent news suggests that they’re second guessing it a bit they’re second guessing going for Paul George and also I think it’s a little funny and maybe not coincidental that this news comes out after the podcast that I referenced just a couple episodes ago from Paul George saying that championships it’s not even about chasing championships it’s about playing the right way like if I’m a Sixers executive I’m like they’ve given you all these stars like you can’t you couldn’t have gone these stars without you and Kawai signing off and it and for the record like everything about kawh Leonard and Paul George’s relationship reportedly is good they seem really cool with each other on the court off the court Paul George speaks really well about his relationship with kawhai so I don’t believe there’s any tension there there might be a little bit of bitterness from Paul George that kawhai signed that extension in the middle of the season it’s not the contract that he necessarily wanted to align with but they’re also could be Paul’s like you know kaw’s own man that has nothing to do with my contract negotiations and I think that the podcast comments could turn some Executives off in Philly and be like dude this guy just doesn’t get what he wants we’re GNA pay this guy 50 million and then and then he’s talking about the trade he’s talking about the trade and how they lost stuff it’s like bro you average 19 points we all watched it you Aver 19 points a game in the playoffs without kawh Leonard the guy averages one five paint touches per game teren man averages 2.4 Russell Westbrook averages 2.4 he’s a second unit player the other ones are bigs obviously TY plumly zooo but come on bro like we all saw it we all saw it so by the way that’s coming from sham Shanna he says the Philadelphia 76ers interest in pursuing Paul George has significantly waned in recent days and the franchise is expected to be aggressive elsewhere with its salary cap flexibility and draft Capital leading into next week’s NBA draft this was about a week ago this was a week ago that Shams tweeted that so Paul georg’s interest has apparently or the Sixers interest in Paul Georgia has apparently waned and I legitimately think that part of that is the podcast comments I’m being serious so if I’m the Clippers I’m like Yep this is going according to plan is Paul George going to go to Orlando like absolutely not like I just don’t believe that Paul George is go to a young team playing basketball the right way I watched their offense in the playoffs Orlando it was very one-on-one most of these teams play the offense the Clippers do you know what I’m saying but here you know most of the teams in the NBA play the offense the Clippers do a heavy dose of high ball screen maybe an occasional off ball flare screen or something pinned down to get someone in movement um you know occasionally we give the ball to zoo at the high post and run some stuff but not really much uh and then ISO ISO pick and roll like that’s the NBA now so we don’t run a movement offense I who are the teams that run movement motion based offenses I know Philly Incorporated more of those principles with Nick nurse but they’re not I wouldn’t say they’re like that completely um I’d say the Warriors Sacramento Kings under Mike Brown the Denver Nuggets because they run a lot of motion through yic at the high post and that’s about it I think Indiana though I will say play pretty unique where halberton does start off the possession with the pass usually the the go-ahead pass the hit ahead pass so that’s basically it so coming up I’m going to be analyzing that comment more about Paul George and wanting to play the right style of basketball and also what the conversation has been recently about the possibilities of a sign in trade going to be talking about that coming up all right so the Paul George sweep Stakes the Paul George Saga is getting far more intense than I ever thought it would I never thought that Paul George would have major conversations about leaving the Clippers at any point since he got here I really thought especially after we signed him to that huge contract after he choked in the bubble we gave him that much money and to be honest besides one year he hasn’t really delivered like that and health does is part of the equation availability does matter the best ability is availability as they say he hasn’t really delivered on his end of the bargain so besides that Conference Finals but did he come to get us to the Conference Finals or to the title he came here for the title Conference Finals he had already been to twice in Indiana in 2013 and 2014 it’s crazy though that Paul George didn’t win a series since 2014 2016 first round exit 2017 first round exit granted no other co-star with him 2018 he did though 19 he did though lost both so the possibilities though of a sign in trade have gotten louder and I was telling people Paul George doesn’t have to do that but here’s the thing if nobody wants to sign him outright none of the teams that can sign him outright for Max money want to do it then he’s got no choice which is why the Clippers want to play chicken but then there’s the possibility of a sign and trade where a team that wants him but doesn’t have enough money to sign him outright would get him and then sign him to a new contract but they have to be giving out salary so then in this case the Clippers would be getting something which would not be the worst case scenario but here’s the thing there’s no way in my opinion just my opinion I don’t know the future and I know a lot of the anti- Paul George crowd essentially a lot of the stands but I know a lot of clipper fans are over Paul George’s act as well I just know I just know there’s a lot of clipper fans that are over this whole era but I don’t know that many Clipper fans that many Clipper fans like Clipper fans before kawhai and Paul got here that want to see us run it back but without Paul George because it’s just it’s going to be hard to get better players than that you know I mean you’re not going to get a star in return you’re probably going to get some role players but in which case James Harden is still your second option and I just don’t think you’re going to win a championship with that and Kawai is still has to carry too much of a weight there offensively when he’s not playing what are we going to do but the sign in trade is not a bad situation because if the Clippers can get somebody young whether a young player now or some draft Capital this could also potentially give us more flexibility to say hey if we want to hit the reset button we can and that is what I want because I I again just don’t believe kawhai can stay healthy I said it last summer and this whole past year I was knocking on wood and doing all that thing I can’t do it anymore guys and I’m sorry for sign like a a Doomer I want him to be healthy of course but there’s something that’s going to jeopardize the chances of that that we’re going to talk about in an episode very soon um I’m just trying to get as many different episodes as I can out there because there’s so much great Clipper content to talk about and I know I haven’t been good enough especially with my computer being in the shop I I need more episodes for you so I’m sorry Clipper Nation I really am but the sign and trade stuff right it’s very intriguing because then we start looking at what teams want him and then he could obviously opt in and then that’s when the the sign in trade happens cuz if yeah yeah he has to do that cuz if he opts out then it’s like he can only sign with the team outright we can’t get anything for him so here’s the thing June 29th he has to make his decision we’re going to find out in two days so this news is going to happen it’s coming up either Paul George is opting out so it’s either Max with someone else but if listen listen if he opts out he is most likely resigning with the Clippers I don’t think he’s going somewhere else for big money I don’t think anybody wants to pay him Max money he’s going to want to come back and he’s going to take a team Team friendly deal in which case the Clippers will have won and then they can resign Harden and run it back like they want but if the sign in trade happens we’re hearing that he’s opting if if he’s opting in that means he’s probably gone because I don’t he’s definitely 99% chance says that he’s not opting in just to play that last year of his contract and wait for for next year to have these tough conversations you know even $49 million is a lot but here’s the thing right here’s why the sign and trade stuff has picked up some steam in the last couple of days the team we’ve always heard about when it comes to sign and trade is the New York Knicks right the New York Knicks the New York Knicks have essentially taken away their chances of getting Paul George with these moves to get male Bridges and resign OG anobi I was actually going to do an episode with locked on Nicks but they’re out as Chris brard said the Clippers are out when we were talking about getting kaai so that’s over the Knicks are done right now this is the team that in my opinion is a very dangerous candidate to get Paul George very dangerous candidate to get Paul George the Golden State Warriors the Golden State Warriors are in a situation where they’re looking at the Klay Thompson Draymond Green Steph Curry Trio that’s run its course Klay is not the same player after all these injuries Draymond Green’s on the decline hell Steph Curry’s on the decline but Steph Curry they still believe in honest it’s like why wouldn’t you if you’re a Warriors executive or someone that even though he looked slow you know look like he slowed down the last two seasons he is still one of the best players in the NBA he’s been there done that and been the best part in the championship team clearcut twice there’s not that many better options and you want to milk Steph Curry for everything he’s worth before he retires especially because he wants to be with your franchise forever so you want to try to give him a chance to win again and that may not include Klay Thompson in those plans but regardless of if it includes Klay Thompson or not they might be interested in Paul George they lacked a second guy a clear-cut second guy and even though I don’t think Paul George can be the second best part in a championship team and I so I think it’ll just be all for not it’ll be to give it’ll get them closer but they won’t win in my opinion it will help them immensely and and for me I think it will help them immensely I think Paul George would be awesome in Steve Kerr’s system with Steph Curry in movement would encourage him to move without the Baltimore maybe take away some of his ball pounding Tendencies but of course you’re not just going to change who he is he is still going to ball pound at times he’s still going to make ridiculous decisions he’s not going to get them to the championship so if they want to pay Paul George by all means go for it but they it has really picked up steam this whole Golden State thing and it’s there was a report saying that the Warriors might be prepared to offer him a full max deal in which case and and here’s the here’s the reason why it’s dangerous it’s California still it’s only a couple hours away it’s I mean playing with Steph Curry right style of basketball I mean that’s a tempting offer in my opinion for Paul George it is a tempting offer question is are the Warriors willing to do it and what are they giving up are they giving us kaminga because I would absolutely take that that solves our four problems now we have an athletic four with a bunch of upside how about Moses Moody you’re gonna give us Moses Moody but what about the contract are we getting CP3 or are we getting Wiggins I’m taking Wiggins to guard the point of attack that’s solves a lot of our issues as well and then he can maybe play the four Chris Paul are you kidding I love CP3 but like we don’t need more old um I still don’t think that’s a championship team though my dream would be if we do the sign in train we get kaminga now we’re starting to think okay let’s we’re looking at a rebuild now because I mean come on I just don’t think it’s I don’t think it’s G to happen in the new first year of a new stadium but like I just don’t believe in this anymore guys like I don’t want to lie to you I don’t I really don’t but yeah sign and trade it’s looking like a possibility it really is and we’re going to be giving you all the updates all the updates coming up in the in the uh in the coming days so yeah we’ll see where it goes let me know what you think of the Clippers game of chicken is it too dangerous what would you like to see in the sign and trade seems like the Warriors are the only team that that could really happen you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at diam dropper pod subscribe to my own YouTube channel dime dropper for even more LA Clipper LA Sports and NBA content locked on Clippers by the way free and available wherever you get your podcast hit the notification Bell comment on the video the ageel proverb continues go Clippers

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOClippers?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

#Clippers #LosAngelesClippers #NBA #KawhiLeonard #PaulGeorge