The Golden State Warriors thought they had Paul George, according to The Athletic's Tim Kawakami. Reportedly, they were prepared to max him out for the next four seasons, they thought they'd given the Los Angeles Clippers several satisfactory trade configurations, they were confident that George wanted to be in the Bay Area and they knew that their stars, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, were "100% on board." Golden State didn't catch its big fish, though, because the Clippers didn't accept any of its proposed deals before George's player-option deadline, which was Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.
Warriors sources told The Athletic that they believed they were "on the verge" of getting a deal done "several times" leading up to that deadline. George would have picked up his option, which would have paid him nearly $49 million, and then he would have gone to Golden State in an extend-and-trade transaction. (Under the new collective-bargaining agreement, extend-and-trade deals allow for players to sign for up to four years, including the years remaining on the current contract, up from three in the previous CBA.) The Clippers would have gotten back some combination of a future first-round pick, Andrew Wiggins, Chris Paul, Jonathan Kuminga or Moses Moody, "but definitely not all" of those assets, according to The Athletic.
Negotiations were tricky. Paul agreed to push his contract-guarantee date from Friday to Sunday, and Wiggins was pulled out of the Canadian national team's training camp right before it began. Golden State reportedly didn't put Wiggins and Kuminga in the same offer, and Los Angeles had concerns about what the trade might do to its long-term payroll. Warriors executives, though,"thought they'd solved the puzzle," per The Athletic, and were ready to pay the 34-year-old star max money in order to reopen their championship window.
George is a nine-time All-Star, and, he would have helped Golden State in all sorts of ways. If Klay Thompson's departure is inevitable, then George could have helped make up for what the Warriors are about to lose in shooting gravity. George attracts more defensive attention than anyone on the roster except Curry, and he's a better, more versatile defender than anyone on the roster except Green. Because of his defense and his ability to play on and off the ball, George is the kind of star who makes other stars better. There would have been risks, though: his age, his injury history and the fact that he's never played in an offensive system anything like Steve Kerr's.
There are still theoretical pathways for Golden State to acquire George in a sign-and-trade, but any team that acquires a player in such a transaction is hard-capped at $178.7 million (i.e. the first apron), which effectively means the Warriors would have to clear salary elsewhere. Just like the sad situation with Thompson, Golden State is reportedly operating as if this is over. On Sunday night, George will reportedly meet with the Clippers, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic. According to Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes, there is "growing optimism" that he will sign with the Sixers.
