The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to terms with free agent forward Paul George, who opted out of his deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, on a four-year, $212 million maximum contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Per the report, George’s new deal includes a player option on the final season in 2027-28 and will pair him with MVP center Joel Embiid and All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey forming one of the more well-rounded and potent teams in the Eastern Conference.
As part of their recruitment process, George and his agent, Aaron Mintz of CAA, met in Los Angeles with a 76ers contingent that included owner Josh Harris, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, general manager Elton Brand and Sixers legend Julius Erving and the organization even brought in a front office executive, Peter Dinwiddie, who is a familiar face and friend of George when both were with the Indiana Pacers.
George, 34, is nine-time All-Star, and spent the past five seasons with the Clippers where he averaged 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals over 263 regular-season games with the organization.
Upon being informed that he would be signing with another team, the Clippers issued the following statement:
“Paul is a tremendous talent and an elite two-way player. We feel fortunate for the five years we spent with him,” the organization said. “Over that span, he went to three All-Star Games, made the most 3-pointers in franchise history and helped lead the team to a place it had never been. His performances in Games 5 and 6 against Utah in 2021 won’t be forgotten by anyone associated with the Clippers.
“We traded a lot to pair Paul and Kawhi [Leonard], and in exchange, we had five seasons of contention. Even though we fell short of our ultimate objective, we appreciate the chances we had with Paul.”
