Hey, Clipper Nation, We're back. Welcome to clips and dip. It
is the end of the two one three era. Officially, we can put
the We're gonna go ahead and put the statement on the screen. Who wants
to read it? Who has the best public speaking voice between the three of
us? It will, but I'll read it. I have it right here.
This is coming from home young MISSUK, who obviously is a very plugged
in Clippers reporter. I don't I don't know if this hit the emails or
if this is on the Clippers account yet, but this is officially from the
Clippers regarding to Paul George situation. The statement is this quote. Paul has
informed us that he is signing his next contract with another team. Paul's a
tremendous talent, an elite two way player. We feel fortunate for the five
years we spent with him. Over that span, he went to three All
Star Games, made the most three pointers in franchise history, and helped lead
the team to a place it had never been. His performances in Games five
and six against Utah in twenty twenty one won't be forgotten by anyone associated with
the Clippers. We traded a lot to pair Paul and Kawhi, 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. Heading into the
offseason, our roster was constructed three great players thirty three and over, two
of whom could become free agents. We wanted to retain them on contracts that
would allow us, under the constraints of the new CBA, to continue building
the team. We negotiated for months with Paul and his representative on a contract
that would make sense for both sides, and we were left far apart.
The gap was significant. We understand and respect Paul's decision to look elsewhere for
his next contract. We explored an opt in and trade scenario, but it
would have left us in a similar position under the new CBA, with very
little asset value to justify the restrictions. We will miss Paul. At the
same time, we're excited about the opportunities we've now been afforded, including greater
flexibility under the new CBA. Kawhi as an All NBA player, and we
believe t lou is the best coach in the league. We will field a
highly competitive team this season and moving forward, use our organizational advantages to bring
top talent into it Dome. There we go, Paul George no longer a
Clipper, assuming he's signing to the Philadelphia seventy six ers, given that's the
only team that can sign him outright, how are you feeling at him?
We kind of anticipated this yesterday at the very end of the show, Will,
and I said, what's best guess earlier in the show we did earlier
in the day? You thought fifteenes ago, not earlier in the day?
Sure, basically of bridging these two shows by about forty minutes, I said,
I think I said twenty five or thirty or something like that. With
Kevin coming back to the Clippers, Will yesterday shared the same sentiment at the
end of that show. He thought he was gone and going to Philly.
We all thought the exact same thing. And a report before the statement from
the Clippers came out from Adrian Warzerowski talking about how far apart the talks were
between Paul George's camp and Lawrence Frank And then right afterwards he is expected to
be pursued by the Philadelphia seventy six Yers. Ago there whatever, and then
the Clippers statement came out, which I think was classy and they took the
high road, and I think it was accurate. I think it's accurate.
I think it's crazy they put it's kind of crazy. This came out before
he just signs with the seventy six ers, Like it's like just to do
a pr thing, to be like thanks, bye bye. We appreciate it.
I think, you know, when you know it's over, why not
when you know it's over, and it's a player of consequence to this degree,
who's one of the greatest players that has ever put on our Clippers jersey.
I think it's appropriate. I think it's fair. Well, how are
you feeling about the whole thing? It's official now, we like we saw
it coming. Oh, we'll say no. I think he's having audio issues.
I mean, it's a weird way to end everything, the era itself.
You know, it's definitely the most fizzled out you could end this era.
Just how just the staring contest and the news things back and forth.
It's been the same new for the last five months. So you know,
the Clippers I want to offer him the four year max and that's been the
same news there hasn't really been any updates, so it's a weird way for
it to end. It's sad considering, you know, our recent memories of
what Paul George did on the court for the Clippers, coinciding with kawhy not.
But you know, it's tough given the recent stuff. But I mean,
the highs were great. He played some fantastic basketball for the Clippers when
they needed it. He played some not so fantastic basketball, but when he
got here, he put on for the Clippers. He was always wearing Clippers
gear. People really did believe the I want to retire stuff and all that
stuff, and you know, win one for the city. Woo woo woo.
It's obviously sucks it didn't happen. None of us want to be here
under these circumstances. I feel like, given the highs, we saw this
team, but it was it was time. It was it felt like time,
even watching that last playoff series. It happens with him being retained under
his terms, getting the max contract. I think a lot of people would
have said, is this really the move that's going to set them up down
the line, when we already know a rebuild could be around the corner more
of a reload, a retool. That's what Steve Ballmer has always said.
They're never gonna, you know, bottom out. If they can't, they
don't have as the owner right even if they had the picks. He wants
to field a competitive team at all times. Kind of a rollovan though,
because they don't have to picks, which I do want to talk about.
I know a lot of people are going to be mad about this perception that
PG walked for nothing, but I think the statement made it pretty clear that
the CBA was a huge factor in this, both in both sides not being
able to come to an agreement that they felt was reasonable to to to sort
of be able to operate and still build a team around two, one,
three, but then looking at the trades that were available to them, especially
if young talent wasn't coming from the Warriors, i e. Kaminger or something
which the reports now seem to indicate that was not that was not something to
the Warriors were really willing to get out what a show wasn't true. You're
but I'm saying like you're looking at basically salary filler and a first round pick,
and for that you are hard capped over the second apron, Like that's
not better that that like that is worse than letting PG walk for nothing.
Completely true, and you've been on top of this. Will you asked who
was it when Lucas was all with us recently if it wasn't for the CBA,
with Paul George be back already. I agree, Yeah, I I
really don't think it would be a question. It's it's a fantastic point.
It changes everything in the NBA. You have to be much more shrewd and
being able to finesse the salary cap. You have to stay limber and make
sure you have a roster that's constructed, vitamins, do your stretches, a
little bit of fluidity to it, which is more options. This is why
I even go, Yeah, it's far from what it was twenty five years
ago, and as far from what it was just two years ago. Now
it is a new CBA World Clippers. Everyone else is dealing with it too.
I think it would be under contract already with Golden State if it wasn't
for the new CBA. Yeah. I think that's so. Someone in the
chat is asking if we think Paul, like Laurence Frank should be fired for
letting Paul George walk for nothing. I think I think given the current CBA
that Lawrence Frank should have been fired if they gave him a max. If
they ended up ultimately caving and giving Paul Georgia max, I think that would
be the fireable offense. Do you want to explain what you just said two
minutes ago about the advantages of getting under the cap now and what that opens
up for them? Guys, it's the first apron, I think, yeah,
it's well, just that trade from the Warriors, especially if you're not
getting young talent, is asinine, like you're just you're over the second apron
to get one first round pick, Like, I just don't. I don't
really, I gotta be honest with you. I do not see it.
I don't. I don't see the advantage there, even if you get Kaminga.
As much as I do like Kaminga. People thought at this point he
might be at All Star conversations and it hasn't materialized yet. Golden State Warriors
have had their own issues with him, apparently attitude issues. Steve Kurr has
been tough on him. So I want to default twenty three. You're saying
could have easily done a sign in trade, right, Well, so I
mean, what's your definition of easily, because if the return was dog shit,
yes, they could have easily done a sign in trade, but no
return would have been the return that the Clippers were asking for. It was
reported that the Clippers asked the Nuggets for MPJ and NAGY and multiple draft capital,
which the Nuggets are never gonna do and is but that's worth being over.
The second apron. Absolutely, it's not even a sign in trade.
It's an opting in trade. Sign and trades aren't done anymore. It just
can't it. It would have been a return where people would have been upset,
you know what I mean? Like that's yeah, they weren't getting kaminga
a first Andrew Wiggetts, Moody Looney. So we're gonna have like a proper
eulogy or whatever for the two and three era at some point after today,
Raiders Clippers doting, what's the next steps since they make a running for DeRozan
or Clay. I think definitely taking a meeting with Clay, you know that.
Yeah they're there, Yeah, they're definitely taking a meeting with Clay.
And I think DeRozan, he's just been there's years of talking about him and
the Clippers. I think they're absolutely going to try and click something on there,
you know what I mean. I do want to say, as I
tweeted out earlier, like I have no issue with a professional athlete going out
and getting as much money as he can. And not only is he getting
more money, he's still in a great situation. Maybe to make the argument
is a better situation in Philly? What is it? Yeah? I don't
know if it would be that, but Max, he's really young, really
good, ascending getting better. Oh, Joel Embiid is a two time MVP
or one time one time, he's been top three, three or four times.
I mean, yeah, he's he's in lead player. They're chiming in
with loads of creativity a k A just saying ha ha ha. What does
happen now with the podcast? Are they gonna have to do this? Is
Philly gonna be able to facilitate his needs for the pod? Does the pod
end? That's the biggest question. Maybe a hiatus? Yeah, the podcast
pod? Yeah, that's very funny. But I think that I think the
names that we've been seeing tossed around that's who the Clipper. The Clippers aren't
seemingly there's no one they can really go for. Who's like a young four
with the assets they have, who's like available for the m l A or
anything like that. You know, like maybe Norm you aren't available, right,
That's what I mean. It's it's tough. You have to hit on
the margins, and you have to hit in the draft. It's never been
more important than right now with the new CB a period. Yeah, and
you have to play guys that are young, regardless of the growing pains,
to see what you have. If you hit in the draft, every team's
gonna be doing it to some extent. Denver Nuggets done it the last two
years and they won a championship during that time playing young guys, giving two
guys Peyton Watson last year, Christian Brown before that, who was playing minutes
in NBA Finals, significant minutes. Yeah, this is a good question from
Junction. Is Norm more important to the team? I think yes. There's
not a lot of go get a bucket guys on the Clippers right now,
and Norm is one of two, one of one and a half, right,
like Norman is crucial for the Norman Pale hive is up. His value
is up right now, and we all love norm here. We've only thrown
him out as a trade possibility because he's one of the more tradable contracts and
talented players on this Clippers team that others would be interested in. Yeah,
he's not that we don't like him or don't want him. Yeah, there's
a lot of what's next. I mean, I guess we're gonna see in
the next couple of days. Could we do a Jeremy Grant trade. I
don't know what's he making. It would just depend on the asking price.
Yeah, like what we would have to give up, you know what I
mean? Yeah, are they selling well? I can't imagine. We should
advise everyone that the hour and forty minute podcast we just did was pretty thorough
with options for if Paul George ended up leaving, which is now official.
It's funny ten minutes ago. Yeah, it is funny that it's official like
this. They're just like, sorry, PG, you're we're taking your thunder.
You don't get to announce this. I don't think it's that. I
think it's just keeping the fans informed and being classy about it. Tip of
the caf to Paul George, but we couldn't come to an agreement. Yeah,
yeah, I wonder to drag it out any longer. From the Clippers
point of view, if they know what the impasse is and it's not going
to happen with the four year contract, I wonder who they were talking about
when they were talking about in that statement, the other opt you know,
the other sign and trade possibilities that would have put them in the same bucket,
you know, because they mentioned in that statement like there were other we
had some other sign and trade options, but it would have put us in
the same I think what this really does is putting out the statement lets everyone
know it's I think it's out of respect to Paul George in case they go
make a move right now on the margins and it's not going to let Paul
George know he's not going to be a Clipper. It's totally over. Because
of that, they're letting everyone know in a statement outside of just making another
move that would have sucked up that much Talary cap. Yeah, this is
a great comment from Buggy Fresh first signing Clippers want to keep their fans inform.
That's pretty funny. It's a good bit it's a good bit buggy fresh.
Looking at the Jeremy Grant numbers, like, there's no way to get
under the tax. I don't think there's any way to get out of the
tax. He's at thirty million next year, and then it's an escalating contract
every year until like thirty six, which isn't it's not insane with the with
the with the way the cap is rising. It's just we're just gonna have
to wait for the next couple of days to see how how hard they want
to pivot. Like, as we mentioned on the last podcast, which was
a lot longer, like there's a huge incentive for them to get under the
tax, even just for one season, because that would take them out of
the repeater tax, which would say them like hundreds of millions of dollars,
which you know, I don't really care about billionaire saving money, but like
from a perspective, yeah, I'm curious how they're going to weigh that.
One hundred and ten million For Eric Gordon when you look back on his production
from this season didn't make a lot of sense. At the time, people
said the Clippers are going to regret this one. Oh, he went to
Feenix, look out. Yeah with that about too nothing. This has been
brought up a couple of times, just the idea of trading Kawhi. I
don't know. If I don't think James Harden comes back to a team that
was gonna trade Kawhi or anything like that. I think Kawhi unless things,
I mean, things can obviously change during the season, but I think they
are not. I just I gotta be honest with you. I do not
believe unless like the sweet hardest of deals were out there, which considering Kawhi
and what his value might be having not played a playoff, like not having
had a healthy playoff in four years, I don't think that deal exists.
So aside from that, like, there's no way they're trading Kawhi before the
opening of into a game, of into a dome. It's just not gonna
happen. I'm sorry, there's no universe where that happens. Unless, yeah,
unless some team is like, we're gonna, we're ready to sell the
farm for Kawhi right now. Wouldn't they have to re establish his value,
meaning show that he is healthy off of the last knee injury before a team
came in saying this is what we'll offer. I just don't see that happening
right now. And I agree with Will, like they're going into into it
dom with Kawhi and James Harden. Yeah, I mean yeah, it's people
pretend like that's not big of an issue, but it absolutely is something the
ownership is thinking about. And like you said down the line, could they
pivot. Sure, James Harden is on a one and one like he's likely
going to take the if he has a great year, he's going to likely
opt out. Yeah, Michael Yun keeps bringing this up when the chat is
the other plane as they get joined the second option, if you can't beat
them, have them join them, have them join you and then beat them
up. I don't know. Yeah, weird day we again, just a
weird way for the whole ara to end it just you know, it just
feels it's like when you light a firework and it just kind of goes and
it just goes off and it just doesn't I don't know, Yeah, it's
not it's a blip. It's so weird that that it ends like this.
I guess maybe I'm waxing too nostalgic for it, but like just a fizzle
of statements back and forth, and then the statements just over it was.
It wasn't sudden, it wasn't unexpected, it wasn't a huge surprise. It
was in some ways anti climactic, I'm sure even on absolutely anticlimactic. From
the NBA buzz point of view, this isn't some huge shock to the NBA
landscape or the world. This is top with the slow steamroller for months now.
Yeah, that's such a great bit. If you've been reading those tea
leaves, they have been leading us to this point. I don't think anyone's
I don't think anyone's read more tea leaves than Clippers Twitter in the last four
months. Also, somebody just said that like title window officially closed. And
I just want to say, if Paul George had returned, especially at the
contract, he was looking at title window still firmly closed. And you also
have zero maneuverability, like you can't even try and get better, Like if
one of those two goes down, like you have you got jack, Like
I mean the title window Jack, it was closed. It was closed either
way. Sorry, this last year was this last year was the final chance
didn't happen. Sucks, but that's what it is, let's have some fun.
Let's stop but let's stop chasing the title and stop chasing the fun.
No, no, I don't want that. I don't want that. Two
of the greatest players ever on the team. Still, I don't think it's
out of question, out of possibility. Again, the Dallas Mavericks were not
supposed to get as far as they did. Things opened up in their favor.
Every title winning team has had good fortune and good luck. Clippers have
not had a lot of that. But if things actually lined up for once,
you have to You have to meet the moment right. You have to
be prepared for the moment should an opportunity arise, that's where you have to
be. And if Kawhi is healthy and James Harden's healthy, I think it's
not totally out of the question, not totally out of the question. Have
fun yea, we would have loved Russell Westbrook. No I said I wanted
to watch fun fair. That's fair. Michael Hashimoto with a good point too.
It's other than trade. They were hurt. It was a it was
a health issue. It's hard to trade hurt guys more than twice. Again,
for all inquiries about what's next, who are the guys. What do
we feel about player X, player Y. We just did an our forty
podcast that just posted right before the that you guys should check out after this.
Yeah, it'll shake up too. We're gonna have Uh, there's no
news coming up. The Clippers have some maneuvering that they're able to do given
the taxpayer, m l E and all of these things that are to come
to fruition. And we'll get to it all. But unless it's a big,
I don't know where type of move, are we going back on for
a rest train? I don't think so. You're absolutely not. I think
everyone knows this pod stance on that. Yeah, that would flow from you
guys especially. Oh yeah, are we we're gonna put this one up on
audio. I think right, we'll do it. We'll do it all.
We'll do it right. Okay, Jeremy Mormon, give us a goddamn break.
We don't have we don't have dips on the lives. Okay, things
were too fluid. We did we did CPA. This is the third straight
dream around free agency. Also, Jeremy Mormon, thank you for watching.
You're always in the streams. Thank you for keeping us honest. Criticism.
We hear it, we accept it. Hey, we're all having fun over
here, much like you're two Los Angeles. It's time to dip, baby,
I have fun agenda. It's gonna be insane for everyone. I'm not
all gonna have fun agenda. Sorry, go ahead, I get the chip.
It's time to dip. It is a great time all. I know.
What were you about to say for everyone pining for this show and saying
we were lazy and not doing enough shows during this period of uncertainty. I
hope you got your fill over the last couple of days. It's been a
good time. We'll see y'all probably soon. I don't know. We might
have to take tomorrow off. Janina saying we've been moody this past week.
Give us a break. But that I say, I don't know. Yeah,
it's hot, two, one, three is over. We did have
good dips, but we gotta go. I need to go eat food or
something. I'm gonna get out of here. I hope everyone has a great
rest of your night. We'll be back. Let's go clips and as Will
would say, let's just have some fun.