George reveals that the transfer to the Warriors “was close to being done” Originally appeared in NBC Bay Area Sports
Paul George He is now a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, but was Close to joining the Warriors.
The nine-time NBA All-Star addressed the Warriors’ trade negotiations on the latest episode of “Podcast P with Paul George.”
“That was a real close call,” George said (Courtesy of Bleacher Report). “That deal was close to being done from what they told me about the situation, they were expressing to me how much they wanted me to be there, how I could have fit perfectly with Draymond (Green), Steph (Curry), (Brandin) Podziemski, (Jonathan) Kuminga, (Andrew) Wiggins. They didn’t know how or what package was going to be available to negotiate for me.
“(Kevon) Looney was going to be there, so it was very interesting and yet it was an opportunity to stay close to home, stay on the West Coast, and it was a win-win. I think Steph is a unicorn, a one-player, and (Joel Embiid) is a unicorn… So it was a nice situation to be in the middle of, but in the end the deal fell through. I think the Clippers didn’t want a certain trade deal that the Warriors were willing to give and yeah, it just didn’t happen, but it was close.”
He The Warriors pushed to acquire George to make him the third superstar alongside Curry and Green, but for that to happen, they needed the 34-year-old forward Opt in to his $48.8 million player optionproviding a path for the Los Angeles Clippers to sign and trade him to the Warriors.
But once trade talks between the Warriors and Clippers fell through, reportedly because Golden State… I didn’t want to include Kuminga In the deal– George rejected his player option become a free agent.
At the time, the Warriors didn’t have the cap space to sign George outright. They needed a sign-and-trade deal with the Clippers to make the money pay off.
The 76ers had the necessary cap space and signed George to a four-year, $212 million contract, giving Embiid and Tyrese Maxey the third star they need to compete for the Eastern Conference title.
George, a Los Angeles native, admitted he would have liked to play for the Warriors, especially because of the location.
“It would have been great,” George said. “I was looking forward to it, if it had happened. It would have been a lot closer. I’d probably still be living in Los Angeles.”
The Warriors lost George and eventually lost franchise icon Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks in free agency. Golden State changed course by signing De’Anthony Melton and acquiring Guard Buddy Hield and forward Kyle Anderson in signature and exchange agreements.
George’s latest comments leave Dub Nation wondering what could have been.
