The Clippers Are COOKED (Again)
the Paul George era in Los Angeles is officially over after 5 years three Playoff Series victories one Conference Finals appearance and countless injuries all this after trading sheay gilis Alexander and control of seven first round draft picks to secure his and Kawhi Leonard’s Services back in 2019 but while PG is at easy target for criticism and there are risks associated with maxing out a 34-year-old the Clippers were in insane to let the nine-time allstar just walk away in free [Music] agency this debacle is about so much more than whether George is worth a Max contract that will pay him roughly $57 million in his age 37 season we can disagree on that but the fact of the matter is PG is still an elite two-way Wing coming off an All-Star campaign in which he became just the ninth player ever to average 22 plus points while shooting 50% or better inside the ark 40% from deep and 90% from the free throw line he’s slowing down but he’s still got it even with his injury history and some of his postseason hiccups he was always going to command a Max or near Max on the open market the Clippers decided they wanted to play hard ball but for a team in their position what they were really doing was playing with fire they expected George to take the same Hometown discount Leonard took on his three-year extension and reportedly didn’t believe PG would really leave but coming off his healthiest season in 5 years and looking for the last big payday of his career the Clippers should have expected that George would take the biggest offer he could get LA’s miscalculation makes even less sense when you consider that with or without George the Clippers would have been capped out so it’s not like they had any illusions of upgrading their aging star they also don’t control their own first rounder until 2030 so there’s nothing to gain from blowing the whole thing up and starting from the bottom with Leonard locked up a high-profile move to a new multi-billion dollar Arena on the horizon no young talent to build with and no potential benefit to reap from losing the Clippers only option was supposed to be trying their damnest to win the franchise’s first championship even the luxury tax dollars the Clippers will save from losing George mean less to them than any other team with Steve balmer’s $130 billion net worth making him the richest owner in all of pro sports now you’ve probably heard the Clippers wanted to avoid the significant roster construction limitations that come with being a second apron team but this is where their decision- making gets really confusing the three-year kawhai likee contract they reportedly offer George would have made them a second apron team anyway so at the end of the day the straw that broke broke the camels back for a team that’s supposed to be the definition of Allin was simply a fourth year in 2027 28 how does that even make sense with George out of the picture and James hardan resigned the Clippers had access to the non- taxpayer mid-level exception the biannual exception and minimum contracts to offer which they’ve used on Dereck Jones Jr Nick patum Chris Dunn and moama among others those are solid additions but a team whose only option is win is betting they have a better chance to do so with role players than with Paul freaking George it’s a bold strategy cotton let’s see if it pays off for him look I get that banking on two injury-prone superstars and James Harden was far from the safest Championship formula but in the event things ever broke right for the Clippers who went on a 26 and5 tear shortly after acquiring Harden last season at least there was a path to a title banking on the more injury-prone of the two superstars a 34-year-old Harden and more depth does not come with a championship ceiling the Clippers willingly took a step back despite being one of the teams that can least afford to do so then watch George sign with the team that controls their 2028 and 2029 picks it’s going to get worse than this if this was their unambitious defeated way of thinking the Clippers should have just traded one of George or Leonard for more depth earlier at least in that case they might have recouped some draft Capital Allah the Nets once they aborted their super team plans instead here lie the Clippers they’ll be decent for the next season or two but without the upside of being great and they’ll try to be free agent players again within a couple years they better hope the superstars they target next haven’t been paying attention thanks for watching if you like this video and want to see more content like this be sure to hit that subscribe button [Music]
The Paul George era in Los Angeles is officially over after five years, three playoff series victories, one conference finals appearance, and countless injuries. But while PG is an easy target for criticism and there are risks associated with maxing out a 34-year-old, the Clippers were insane to let the nine-time All-Star just walk away in free agency.
Written & Narrated by: Joseph Casciaro (@JosephCasciaro | X)
Produced & Edited by: James Balutan (@jamesbalutan | Instagram)
Thumbnail Design by: Justin Shipley (@shipleysportstudio | Instagram)
Courtesy List: https://pastebin.com/zDz2kD06
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theScore
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theScore
Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/theScore
34 Comments
Absolutely delusional there was never a path to a title NEVER.
I think kawhi should twist his back and harden get in shape maybe get a lottery pick or just be cooked for awhile enjoy that new stadium
You get injured you stop winning if you are not healthy you know winning is not a expected option anymore… enough of creating chemistry they are professional athletes who are not going to win all the time no matter how many owners want to be optimistic and create a reason to be competitive
LAC going to be fine, just watch & see + PG-13's a bonafide "loser" = he's not interested in "winning", more than he's interested in his podcast = that's why LAC didn't invest into him because they know he's not worth it = PHI going to regret signing him, just like they've regretted signing ALL those other "bums"
Way to dismiss the 2nd apron, they could’ve just dumped some salary to get under it if PG stayed. Second apron penalties include: being unable to include cash in trades, first-round picks seven years away are untradable, no trade exceptions can be used from multiple players' salaries, no previous trade exceptions can be used, and the final one being a team's first-round is moved to the end of the round if they stay in the second apron for three of five seasons.
I feel like they’ve picked up some good def and lob threat assets: KPJ, DJJ, Dunn, Bamba, Kai Jones. Pending Miles Bridges. As long as they can gel and not have off court issues.
PG sucks – one less bum on the team
You criminally underrate the value of role players and learned nothing from the Celtics winning this year. The big three era is dead.
They should not have resigned any of them.
There's only one thing left for the Clippers to do: Move back to San Diego to lift the curse.
Hurrah kawi should ‘ve stayed one more season with the Raptors. Then bolted. I know you wanted to go home but as history is showing very shortsighted. And KL was kinda selfish
Ballmer just doesn’t know what to do with all his billions, he just playing games
They don't think. but I rather pick role players than the older Star
I see a lot of comments see PG for who he is and aren't falling for the B.S. and also the Clippers upgraded the league is better overall than with PG. Younger and way more defense and Lob Threats. Plus guys that want to take the next leap. PG and Philly fans better prepare themselves for excuses.
So glad Toronto didn’t keep Leonard
Isnt Terrance Mann really good?
They were cooked when they traded for PG in 2019 lol
Pandemic GOAT got what he wanted the Clips got freedom to make the team younger and athletic.
Bro , pg has been a complete no show in 4 years in the playoffs , balmer made the right choice
Balmer sucked at Microsoft and he sucks at Clippers
Let’s all trash clippers and leave my lakers alone😂
2022 was their best shot, PG choked some free throws and the Valley oop ultimately doomed the Clippers. I do think that they signed really nice replacement pieces for George. They could become that tenacious defensive team that no one wants to face in the playoffs but their days of wannabe contenders are over.
Too bad for the clippers they let go of their solid 7 points in the playoffs..
0:19 Steve Ballmer doing Steve Ballmer things. 😂
We don’t care bout this Stanley cup winner video when????
PG was sorry
Clipped
Im a Clippers fan, you guys are casuals who base everything off stats. PG folded like a chair time in and time out every playoffs. Why pay him that money? Just to continuley get bounced. Stupid. We'll be fine without him
He didn't want to sacrifice, like kawahi, Harden. They're not finished yet, they might be going after Miles Bridges, and the Clippers have to get younger and more athletic, and PG defense slipped a bit these last couple of years
Clippers fans and the clippers players are insane asylum delusional they truly believe every year
The issue is PG13%, Wayoff P, Pandemic P, Pathetic P, hasn’t been consistent in the last 4 playoffs. He’s not worth the max. He’s either injured or inconsistent.
First and foremost I cannot stand Ty Lue. He should have been gone two years ago. There's two things that happen all the time and it's not the players fault it's a coaching problem. When Kauai gets trapped in a double team or triple team there's nobody rotating to help him that is a coaching problem. When they bring the ball up the court and people run up behind them and still the ball that should only happen once and it should be done with it. Somebody should yell out ball ball watch out. happens multiple times that's a coaching problem. Anyways who they missed was Nick batum. Robert Covington. Kenyon Martin Jr. You can't teach what they had either you have it or you don't it's not thinking to go after the ball.it's pure instinct you can't teach that. Are they going to be better this year I don't know if they are going to be harder to beat yes. Because they brought players in that go after the ball they don't have to think it's instinct.. and if they could develop the raw talent . Does a couple of these players with experience and proper coaching. If it works out they stole them
You got ratioed for your clown take
I know hindsight is 20/20, but damn I wishes KL stayed in Toronto for 1 more year and ran it back! 😭😭