What is going on Clipper fans? We are popping on a stream here.
Just got the woe to Bob. Paul George is going to be declining his
player option to test free agency. This essentially closes the door on any trade
possibilities for the Clippers. We'll see what happens. I mean, really,
there's only two scenarios. He either leaves for cap space or comes back on
a deal that I'm assuming will be less than a max. Adam, where
are you at with this? I mean, obviously I think that people,
you know, if he was gonna go, you don't want him to go
for nothing. Do you think the Do you think that threat of him leaving
for nothing is enough for the Clippers to change their stance on where it appears
that they've been with a MAX extension for Paul George. Yeah, I think
you put it perfectly there. At this point, it's either Paul George is
coming back for likely three years to match up a similar contract with Kawhi Leonard,
or he's gone. And I think this says if there is a MAX
out there for him, he's gone. Otherwise something would have been done by
now. I think that's a pretty safe bet at this point, if he
can get has the Clippers deal. It sounds like it's been on the table
for a while. If he can get the max, if he can get
something more than that, which would be four years to twelve with teams that
have room, he could if the Clippers were offering, get four years,
two hundred and twenty one million from them. As you do have the advantage
in the inside track with the team trying to retain him, he can make
a little bit more. But this is it. We talked about it yesterday.
Lucas Hand was in here with us. We did a live stream at
around five. We now got Chuck moflerin. There is a lot more clarity
now, Chuck, with what just happened with Paul George because as Will mentioned,
that trade, that opting in trade scenario where he thought he was going
to the Golden State Warriors, it's over. Yeah, I mean take the
Warriors off and now who are we looking at? Right? It's the Magic
and the seventy six ers and that's it for people who can give him a
max. How many could still create that room? I guess if they wanted
to through free agency, through guys leaving, through guys being waived and other
teams that have players who ended up opting out in our free agents? Now,
maybe well, are we talking to any team or are we talking likely
teams? Because I would still be surprised. I would still be surprised if
Paul George. I mean, we know that obviously Detroit is clearing a shit
ton of cap space right now with the music made today. I still like,
if that was the only MAX out there, do you guys think he
would take that? Because I don't really know about that, Like, is
the money that important that he would go to Detroit to play out what is
going to be the last like big contract of his career. I can't imagine
that. I think that would be Paul George cares about his how he looks,
I think, and which is totally fair him taking a MAX in Detroit.
I don't think he would do that. I don't think he's like,
in good conscience for himself, would take a MAX in Detroit because you're not
winning anything. Do they play the close the right way like he's been talking
about, do they play the right brand of basketball, which he had said
is his priority. This is also where I'm like, he has no idea
what he wants, like if you wanted to stay on the West Coast,
Like I said this yesterday, right, like, oh, he's gonna he
wants to stay on the West Coast. No he doesn't. He can't be
on the West Coast anymore. Well, it just apparent I think, yeah,
No, the the West Coast is pretty much out. I mean in
terms of like the West Coast is Marcellus Wallace ing Paul George. I mean,
I think to get Lakers are already twenty two million, I believe over
the cab. So I don't know how you get there and teams teams that
can easily do it right now, right Like this isn't accounting for what other
trades and stuff could happen in the next couple of days. You know,
obviously right now, Philadelphia, Detroit, Orlando, Utah could all sign him
outright, okay, see in San Antonio could probably sound like get him outright
too. Charlotte with a couple of moves could get there. But that's kind
of it. That's kind of it for like signing a full on Max So,
I mean, okay, see, if he's interested in staying in the
Western Conference would probably be the biggest threat to you know, to me,
if if they were able to if they wanted to take him back, if
they were able to take him in, it gets kind of gets kind of
weird with like the development of some of their other wings. But I could
see it as a potential move. You know, I think, you know,
Philly has been floated forever. Chris Haynes just said they are expected to
aggressively pursue Paul George, and he's a legitimate threat. So they're a legitimate
threat and luring away him from Los Angeles totally, and like the West Coast
thing, I think that that was just something that he said, you know,
like Paul George, it doesn't mean anything that he says. I really,
I really truly have no idea. But remember that report that was out
there that said, oh Philadelphia is no longer interested, they're moving on.
I never really bought into that. They didn't wait all this time. Well,
you also don't want it to look like tampering, right, so you
know, you can't be like you've been very we've been very interested in Paul
George. Like, if you want to do this stuff and you don't want
to piss off twenty nine other gms, you wait until you wait until they
decline the option. For those still wondering, well, what about that sign
and trade possibility? The constraints around that. I said this the other day.
When you're above the second apron, and granted they could get below it
if Paul George leaves, the constraints are like an anaconda constricting you. It's
so your margin for air. We talk about it when it comes to games
all the time and talented teams, but your margin for air or just that
window of opportunity to make a trade happen. That's a sign and trade in
today's NBA. When you're a team above the luxury tax, above the first
apron, above the second apron, it's so damn difficult. And by the
way, why would Paul George do it at this point to take away assets
from the team he's going to. If he's going to Philadelphia and they have
the room, it would just be him try to do the Clippers a solid
on the way out. Who apparently you know from what he said on the
podcast and this was not this week's but the week before when I forget the
guy next to him, one of his co hosts, they said, should
I continue being no, they said it was Jackie who said because he came
across the aisle to the Clippers this season and starting to root for them when
they got James Harder and everything, he bought all in. He's been a
lifelong Laker fan, but he's Paul George's best friend, and this year he
declared that he's going to be a Clippers fan. He said on the podcast,
should I continue to be a Clippers fan? Basically implying what are you
doing? He was trying to get it out of Paul George, and George
hesitated, was like, I don't know, and he had a really tough
time with that question, and it just made me think maybe the relationship is
a little trained. I think he's pretty direct a lot of the time on
the podcast, but I think there's a real chance the schism has been there
for some time to get to this point when you were extension eligible at the
start of last season. Yeah. Absolutely, We've seen the timeline from Cholmeyer
about remember how it went from like he was optimistic or Paul Drow was optimistic,
and then the questions came a little later in the season and he was
like, we're working on it, and then he just stopped answering those questions
about the contracts, So like, I think that was a little bit mutual
though, Like I do think discussions stopped and they opted to focus more on
the rest of the season and the playoffs and then and then they could kind
of resume that in those conversations, which I think also makes sense. So
the thing now I guess is like, does he go to those Sixers?
How are we feeling if the Sixers offer him a max for four years?
There's no question in my mind he goes there because the Clippers haven't offered him
that. If you haven't been following, it hasn't been there, or he'd
be a Clipper. Would any of this now that it's likely the Clippers would
be losing him for nothing, does that put their feet to the file fire
or put them over a barrel to have to increase the price, because that's
did you see the lawsuite? Just now hold it up on the screen.
Oh fuck, I forgot. We can do that all right? One secon
I'm in the middle of moving, which is why I'm disheveled. I was
just trapped in an elevator, So apologies for my trapped in an Elevator Energy,
did Keanu Reeves and Jeff Daniels, No, No one did. Yeah,
so, La Murray said. Sources close to George is not optimistic that
he wants to return to the Clippers. He has a legitimate walk threat.
Stay tuned. I think he's gone. I think the seventy six ers are
going to offer him if if not the max, they're going to offer him
you know at two yeah, yeah, and he's going to be gone.
I think where based on this information, so you think you think three,
you think three for one to eighty gets it done, where whereas three from
one to fifty was clearly not going to get it done. Yes, damn.
I don't know about the exact figures, but I think if they offer
more, he goes thirty million more dollars to play for a place that has
Joe l Embiid and is also going to be going for a championship this season
outside of him staying home. I don't know if home is enough to bridge
the gap of thirty million. I don't think the home thing is It's like
the West Coast thing, right like that obviously wasn't He doesn't get he doesn't
care about all, yeah, which is fine, But like I think,
yeah, I don't know. I think it means something to have his parents
at every game and everything. I do think that's something fifty million dollars a
year. They can be at every game no matter where he was, of
course, but I just say it's easier for them. He's absolutely his model,
I believe is disabled. Yeah, yeah, thirty million more dollars and
you just had the experience of playing at home for five years, So it's
not like he'd get that in his career. He may have gotten it out
of his system and now he can go to what some might believe is a
better situation at the moment. Yeah, I mean, it's not like JOELMB
doesn't have his own injury concerns. But Tyrese Maxi is a young up and
coming star in this league that just dropped fifty in a playoff game, right,
And while this is like the worst possible outcome for Clippers fans, and
I know I have been ranking on Paul George just because I'm kind of sick
of him in general, it makes the most sense from his perspective to not
opt into one year, even if it would get him to a West Coast
team. Or another contender and be really helping out the team that he's leaving.
Why would you put that big of a why would you put that big
of a gamble on the last big year, like the last big contract you're
ever going to get. If something happens in that one year deal, like
it's gone man, like that, that four year max is off the table,
there's no like, there's no chance. And maybe they could have worked
Maybe they could have worked something out in like a you know, a handshake
deal if he was traded to Golden State, where they would be like,
we're definitely going to extend you for the max. But given like the hardened
situations and stuff, I think if you're a player, you've got to be
weary of that, especially if you're already thirty four years old. Unless they
have some sub cost fallacy concerns here, because they gave up so much to
get Paul George, which got them Kawhi Leonard in twenty nineteen. But I
don't see a scenario. Yeah, I don't see a scenario where they're giving
him the max at this point. I think we should address that too,
because I think, like, while there was a lot of smoke around Golden
State, and I do think that it made sense as soon as we saw
the report of what they were looking for from the Nuggets, and maybe that
was a little bit of a put them over the barrel because they are a
competitor in the Western Conference and already a very strong team. The likelihood of
a Paul George trade happening, I think was very very low. Obviously,
just that asking price takes a lot of teams out of the entire equation.
But you're looking at multiple first plus strong rotation players for a guy who does
only have a year left, you know, like that that that thing kind
of cuts both ways. Like expiring money is good for some teams, but
for a person that you want to be a key rotation player that's looking to
make max style money, that's not that's not as great for you. But
would you face the possibility now of losing him for nothing rather than getting something
back, even if it was less than what you wanted. Well, the
answer is already yes, So yes, But I mean, were the demands
too high in this case, That's what I'm saying the demand. I think
the demands were too high, So you're saying they mismanage the trade possibility.
I think they played hardball for sure, and I think that PG was willing
to also play hardball and just say I'm out, which I wouldn't I wasn't
fully expecting. But it was a staring contest, and I guess the Clippers
must have blinked first or something like. This is what PG wanted. It
tells you right now, you know this partnership that's been going on for a
long time. They brought in so many guys to appease Paul George that he
wanted. They bended over backwards and have as everybody does for their superstars in
this league gets a player empowerment league, gets a star driven league, you
have to do that. The Stars are a franchised unto themselves in many ways.
Maybe that played a role here, like we did everything you asked us
too, and in that playoff series he averaged nineteen points when they didn't have
Paul George, and the frustration, yes of not having Paul George or excues
me. Not having Kawhi Leonard again is almost a side note to me.
I understand that's the reality of it and may have played some factor. Here
we go again, But Paul George being paid as a superstar, has to
put up more than fifteen shots per game in that series, regardless of if
Kawhy is there or not. And that's kind of why I think that even
given the possibility of him walking for nothing, I think to me, the
least likely scenario is the Clippers cape and end up offering him the max.
Yeah. That was never gonna Yeah, that was never gonna happen. This
is an interesting point by Jeffrey Beltran that I think some other people thought too,
as once Westbrook opted in, he was going to too. Thought they
were leaving together to the same team. I guess not anymore. Russ seems
as of right now still on the team. But I don't know about that.
Someone asked, do we think this change is Harden's trajectory? No,
you think he's back. Everyone's been saying he's been back. There's no way
going to offer him whatever it takes to stay. After you just gave up
one of your last two picks in the first round the twenty twenty eight,
they have the twenty thirty six to get him. Just a year ago,
and he played really well for them and provided the best regular season stretch.
Was a workhorse provided the best regular season stretcher. It was a huge part
of them going twenty six and five in the history of the franchise. It
was great in the first round or their best player at least three for one
fifty. I think James Harden's coming back or three for one twenty. I
think he's for sure coming back, and he doesn't want to go back to
Philly, right, And let's not act like it sounded like. It didn't
sound like Paul George was intimating that that style of basketball with James Harden wasn't
his thing. I don't know why it wouldn't be when you got to play
off ball and be hyper efficient like that and be Michael Porter Junior on steroids
and you were winning. I understand they went through a couple of months where
they were about a five hund team. Also coincided with the fact that Paul
George didn't look like himself those two months and looked to be playing through injury.
Maybe. And I alluded to this at the time because it's a contract
year, he knew he had to play through all this stuff. He had
a knee issue, he had a groin issue, he was going to play
through it, and he came out of it and looked great and had the
game winner over Jonathan Isaac at the end of the regular season in Orlando.
But I think all that stuff, you know, has led us to this
point. It's just a multitude of factors throughout this season that has got us
here. Yeah, it's I don't know, it's weird. It's a weird
ending. It feels like a very slow burn to the end of the two
and three era. So what's the upshot if he leaves for nothing regarding maneuvering
and what they'd have to play with now being under the second apron. So
if PG goes this is per lucas hand. If PG goes to the Sixers,
Clippers could have the opportunity to use the full non taxpayer mid level exception
and toe the line of the first apron hard cap. So I mean more
maneuvers for sure, more maneuvers to be had for sure. Is that going
to be like, that's the taxpayer mid level, non non taxpayer mid level,
So that's like what thirteen ish something like that. Yeah, it's hard
for me to tell what the cap going on, but it's got to be
like it's like in the thirteen to fifteen range. Yeah, but if the
son's got Royce O'Neill for like eleven MILLI year, I mean that's a solid,
very very solid role player. That's Isaiah Hartenstein. Yeah, from what
I'm seeing, it's Isaiah Hartenstein from what I'm seeing. Will You're dead on
thirteen million, cap head if you have any cap questions, tweet at William
at will uptick Oh asked Lucas suck it, Bobby Marks. Yeah, so
we're kind of in the death whales of two one three kind of. We've
talked about this a lot for them to have success coming into this season,
even if Paul George was there, we still all felt like one of the
young guys has to pop and have a breakout year. Bones, Kobe Brown,
Kai Jones, now, Jordan Miller, Brandon Boston's gone it. Somebody
has Now it's even more critical for that to happen, which goes back to
Russell Westbrook opting in how is Bones getting playing time still? If they're gonna
have Russ and James Harden, do you believe Russell Westbrook is going to be
I hope, I still hope that maybe this is part of a move,
Like I think that losing Paul George and keeping Russ is probably the doomsday worst
case scenario for me. Yeah. Did we talk about the Spurs maybe signing
PG. Yeah, I mean I said that they could sign him. I
said that they have the cap space. Could be interesting. I don't think
they would because timeline wise, it still doesn't make them a contender with Philadelphia
could put them over the top with you don't have to give like, I
mean they they they offer a meeting for sure. If you don't have to
give up any assets, why would you not? You know what I mean?
They have the cap space. If it doesn't work, If it doesn't
work out, I mean you can you can flip him or you know,
Wimby will Sill be in the prime of his career once that contract is off
the books. George said he doesn't feel like pg's leaving, which that doesn't
make any sense to me. But like unless like unless he's changed his stance
on on max Max money. I don't know the only way too, he
was willing to take less though. It just I don't think it would have
come down to the wire like this. I don't see any reason why he
would have you know, yeah, why would you prolong the inevitable. Right.
The only way I could see him not leaving is if Philadelphia now plays
hardball and says, well, we don't have to give him the max,
like nobody else is actually going to do it, and worthy only on was
that he thinks are gonna do it. Maybe we just give him what the
Clippers were offering, because we think he's so scorned by that situation. We
can get him for one fifty now, and then Paul George says he we'll
forget that. If he walks to Philly for three for one fifty, Paul
George can go to Hell. I would I don't have a Paul George Jersey,
but I would burn it. That's Lebron leaving the Cavs in ten.
You're gonna take the same amount of I hope you get hit with the battery
if you took If he took the same amount of money, dude, people
would be furious at PG. And he'll he'll announce it on his pod.
We'll know about it. What he does his podcast episode to announce very signing
the decision, the decision, Yeah, the decision point one, oh,
the indecision zero zero five. Yeah, man, this is Uh, I'd
just like to say I don't sign off on what Will said. It's not
because of the police sirens. Oh yeah, I gotta be it. Sorry,
it's all right, Chuck, We're good. Oh good. Somebody in
the comments says they have to Paul George jerseys. So if we get that
three for one fifty, I'll have one to burn, thank you. George
will has A has the Drew League cal Or Hannah has the Drew League.
Paul George jersey, which is too nice of a jersey she likes. I'm
not gonna she likes. She likes George. I for one, regardless,
well not regardless, to see how it plays out, but most likely I
will still be a fan of PG thirteen. He helped get them to the
further place than they had ever been before. Everyone was piling on after what
happened in the bubble and saying, oh, Kawhi is out. Well this
is done. They're taking on the Utah Jazz, the number one seed,
and they're about to go to Utah for Game five and playoff. Pete is
gonna choke. And then he had the best playoff game of his life.
And while you can point to Terrence Man in the thirty nine points he had
in Game six. I think Paul George has something like thirty two. And
they're all loading up to stop Paul George, which is why Terrence Band got
so many wide open shots like that. He did a lot of great things
like no one can. I mean, there were some great highs with Paul
George was there were some good stuff and then at the end it became messy
and gross unfortunately, which would be even messier and grosser if he went to
Philadelphia for three for one fifty. I'm sorry I brought up that possibility.
What the hell, man, I was just stuck in the elevator, and
I gotta think about that. What are their taxes compared to California? Is
he is he looking at that situation or he was worried about caility? He
should sign out right in Orlando. That is the best banker is But I
do that fit for them is perfect. That's exactly He's exactly what they need
to take that next step after losing in that Game seven to the Cavs in
the first round, they just do not have enough scoring whatsoever. We got
pat pat for this guy just for him to walk Carlos guys for this guy.
Someone's asking why you hate Russ so much? In the right situation.
He's not in the right situation, so he's not great different situations. Let's
see. Let's see he was bottom five in percentage of rim attacks and bottom
five in three pointers in three point efficiency. What no one hates Russ?
I'm just asking what exactly does he thrive at at the age of thirty five
and thirty six. He's a much older player than he was. You're gonna
say energy. I'm gonna say execution is much more important than that, and
I think Bones Highland somebody. Young guys have to get shots. For this
Clipper season to be a success. They need young guys to step up and
to do that, they have to get an opportunity. The only way for
that to happen is some of these bets clear the way. Obviously more minutes
now if Paul George is out, but somebody else also has to find a
role on this team. That's a younger guy that can play eighty games.
Yes, I absolutely agree. Now some questions are popping up. I'm gonna
ask, did the did okay see you win the trade? They already did
but this like that that happened. You still they essentially like won the trade
in twenty twenty one when Kawhi got injured like it it doesn't really even have
as much to do with Paul George as like the injury history and you know,
no way to foresee that really well, and that will be the line
of demarcation should Paul George leave in the two one three era to be over,
it will be looked back upon into history as ending. Really at that
point that's what changed everything, unfortunately for the Clippers. Do we think the
FO thinks Kawhi is tradable now? I think Kawhi is hanging out. I
don't know if I think that is one hundred percent up to him and his
timeline is what the front office is going to do. Why do you think
Kawhi reacts to this? I think he's not Paul. I think he looks
at his phone and goes and then it's back to business. I think he's
known. I mean, you know it can have been it can't have been
that secret with like how long he's these trade discussions are going on, and
if you know, the clear line in the sand is I want four for
two twenty or whatever it is, then you know the outcome, I guess
is pretty obvious. I think they've acquiesced to the stars from day walls as
much as you can. Yes, I think anything could be on the table
because it's still dependent on Kawhi Leonard being able to hold up, which just
hasn't happened over the last four seasons. Now you can make the argument,
then what are you getting for him? If somebody inquired or if the Clippers
made him available, because they're going to look at this as the start of
a teardown of Paul George Leaves if I don't know, but it's just things
have gone. You know the old meme. You're probably wondering how I ended
up here. That's where are at right now. Unfortunately, if it wasn't
for bad luck, the Clippers would have none at all. It feels like
at the moment with how this era has gone, and I don't blame them
one bit because every GM and the history of basketball would have made the exact
same move. Everybody. The ceiling for SGA at that time, the unanimous
ceiling was all star, not top three MVP candidate. It wasn't close to
that. Credit to him. The guy has worked his ass off and that's
what he became this season. Waved waived eight million in Moogner's contract, so
that could be I don't want to read the tea leaves too much, but
that could be an indication that they're looking to create some even more cap space
to perhaps add some some further debt after Paul George signing. Good fit for
Orlando as well. Paul George can go there and they're a bigger team.
He doesn't have to do as much physicality because they have young guys doing that
for Paul George, that's a good fit he hadn't Ben Carrol. Yeah,
they'd be a threat to be I don't know a four or five, which
is where they were. I think this year they ended up because the East
is this is the best on paper the East has looked since nineteen ninety eight
when Michael Jordan was still in the way. I think they could get to
three if things broke their way. Yeah, I agree with you. They
still have guys who are getting better, young players who are ascending. We
have people in the chat kind of talking about like are the Clippers gonna like
scrap the roster and try and get what they can. The roster is not
like scrappable, Like there's not guys on this team that people are breaking down
the door to trade for. We saw it in the playoffs. This team
had six playoff rotate like off able guys. You know, you got the
starting five and you have norm and like you know, a mirrors maybe on
the list. Obviously PJ Tucker wasn't good enough, Like this isn't a roster
that's like, oh, we don't have Paul George anymore, Let's make some
moves and like and really bring someone in. Like it's not a very good
roster on the whole. I mean, honestly open to do that. Honestly.
The non taxpayer mid like mid level exemption is a good is a good
start, absolutely, And then yeah, I mean I agree with you one
hundred percent, Charls, like you don't you don't have the wealth of assets
that you once did in terms of players, and I don't Roco and the
Tomb and like all these yeah, so like really, really what the Clippers
are looking at is is shedding additional salary and hoping to get free agents,
which I still do think with the new arena and everything, it is unattractive
enough place. Wow, what about that too? I mean, does Bomber
step in and say that we're willing to go for like we're willing to go
max with the arena opening, Like, does that change? Does that change
anything? If now the options are gone for nothing or returns on a deal
that is more favorable to Paul George versus more favorable to the team. That's
interesting it It could if they feel that level of desperation to keep this group
together, if they feel that the twenty six and five run was more representative
than what we saw the couple months after that, and they feel that Kawhi
is going to be healthy again. Well that's the other thing too, is
like Kawhi is part of this thing, like for for better and for worse.
I mean, in terms of for Paul George, it definitely took away
his leverage when Paul when Uh Kawhi signed his deal. But also, I
mean you're hesitant to give pg A Max. I mean, yes, his
performance has had issues, it's also had really great highs, but you just
can't afford to pay him to a guy if the other star, if you're
not sure that the other star is going to be around and that. I
mean, that's a tough break for both players, but like it does make
pg's uh situation a little bit more difficult in terms of having negotiating negotiation leverage.
I want to talk about Vince Cunningham real quick. We brought it up
at the beginning. This guy's a fucking idiot. He's not. The Clippers
aren't giving him a max. Vince, do your research, you absolute jackass.
The table hasn't the offer hasn't been on the table. Why are we
pretending like the Clippers are just gonna give him a max? Now they haven't
been. If they If the Clippers do give him a max, then the
front office has some serious questions. It needs to look in the mirror because
that would be absolutely crazy. Will's point was, it's not about the front
office then at that point, it's about ownership gooting to make sure that they
have an elite competitive team going into next season with championship expectations that into it.
Don't But I think Balmer in the front office are so tight. My
guess, just reading tea leaves is like everyone's reading tea leaves today. For
it to get here, they already have a plan, They're not going to
all of a sudden overreact. They knew this could happen. They're not all
of a sudden going to overcompensate and go back to well, we didn't know
Paul George could actually just leave and we can lose him for nothing, and
they're gonna play and give him the max all of a sudden he could opt
out. The just they're freaking out. I mean, you know it was.
It was a gamble and a risk that they were clearly willing to take.
Like that. They could lose and lose lose, I mean like that,
that's it. They could. They could get absolutely nothing back and lose
a player of Paul George's caliber. We said it yesterday. We all believe
they would rather lose him for nothing than give him the MAX. We all
believed that yesterday, and it may be playing out just like that. Lucas
believed it too. Lucas believed it too. But to your point on the
non taxpayer mid level exception, the one thing you could get with that is
what they did I believe with Nicholas Batoum, which is you give guy a
lesser contract and I think he got the veter minimum, but you give guy
the lesser deal that's worth more than thirteen million, but with the understanding that
then we'll get your bird rights, then we'll sign you to the long term
deal afterwards. There is that carot to dangle with guys. If they want
to be a Clipper, if they want to come here, obviously there has
to be something favorable you're selling on with them on to get them for thirteen
million, to get them under what their real true value would be on the
market. I throw it out there. No, you're not You're not wrong.
I think that, I mean, and they're gonna figure something out.
There's a lot of people in the chat upset at the front office, and
I don't know what to tell you. I don't know. They should have
known Kawhi was gonna miss two hundred and twenty two games when he became a
Clipper, and Paul George with miss one undred and thirty. They should have
known. Everybody. I mean, everybody said it when they brought him in
in twenty nineteen that that's what was going to happen, right, I mean,
it was obvious. All the people in our comments, they were all
saying it. Then everybody on Twitter was saying it then, like what are
you guys doing? These guys are going to be injured half the time.
Oh wait, no one said that. A lot of people say he's going
to the next I have to I'm being called back into moving action, so
I have to pop out. But keep going, and everyone keep listening to
these guys because they're very smart. The Knicks. Yeah, what do we
uh? How do we want to wrap this up? Time? What do
you what do you want to dig into now? Uh? I guess most
likely scenario at this point, just given what occurred and transpired now today,
What do you think happens with the Clippers and Paul George? Is it for
sure? Over? Where does he go? In your mind? I would
say more likely than not. It's it's over with him going to the I
just think he ends up going. I think he does end up going to
the Eastern Conference. I think Philly makes the most sense, given like the
age of their roster and stars. Obviously Max is kind of on a different
timeline, but it makes a little bit more sense. I like the fit
in Orlando. I think that would be good. I don't know if he
I don't know if he would do that one, but those are the two
most likely scenarios. Like I said, okay, see could get there to
sign him. I I don't know about that. That would be the funniest
possible situation though, If they got all these assets plus a for Paul George
and then they later outright signed him, that would be that'd be some pretty
dirty business. Not that they did it on purpose, but that would hurt.
What else would hurt is what I think is gonna happen. They're gonna
get Isaiah Hartenstein Okase and put him at the five, which said at the
four, and that is a juggernaut right there, if they weren't already.
My best guess is he goes to Philly that they're going to give him,
if not the Max one ninety something that the Clippers were not offering. Uh.
And I'll say this, this didn't come from anyone inside the Clippers organization.
I did hear something before the season that Paul George was absolutely geared up
to try to get a Max contract, which is what we heard from Justin
Rousseau. Rousseau on a recent podcast here with us that understandably, your lifetime
is very short as an athlete, the money was very important to him,
and that is absolutely fine in my book, because you only have fifteen years
a little bit more than that if you're lucky to make your living, and
then it's over as an athlete to get as much as you can while you
can. Yeah, and I mean it's not an insignificant amount of money.
And because I mean it's like fifty to sixty it could be fifty to sixty
million dollars, Like, it's not you know, it's we're not talking about
even ten or twelve million, which is still like an insane amount of money.
Of course, because this is his last. This isn't a guy who's
thirty that could still squeak out another three year deal after this. This is
likely it. And then maybe he's like a veteran minimum guy chasing a ring
somewhere. Yeah, he's he's a mid level or a batman guy at that
point. So I will not begrudge him at all. If that's what it's
about. Before we get out of here, what for you is what's the
lasting what's the lasting legacy of Paul George in the two and three Eero and
Paul George with the Clippers. I think it's an NBA what if story?
Another one I think it's like Penny and Shack. I think it's like t
Mac and Grant Hill, even guys like well, if Antonio mcdias never did
his knee, or it's just it's it's a sports type of tragedy when guys
are in their prime and get hurt in their prime. To me, it
always is that when you never get to see the maximum potential of in this
case a duo, but even just individually. You know, and especially because
if two p and three is over, they weren't able to bring the Clippers
their first championship, and that was obviously the goal on why you make that
move, and unfortunately, just so many things have gone against them that were
outside of their control. The things outside their control, by far, are
what have kept the Clippers from not winning a championship in this era. If
Coli doesn't do his knee in twenty twenty one, they're winning the championship.
In my book, I saw what he did to Jannista Koopa in the twenty
nineteen Easter Conference finals. They would have beat the Bucks and obviously you take
the Sense to six without your beating. Yeah, no, I agree,
one hundred percent. I mean this whole thing, we're not even having this
conversation about like, I don't even think that the MAX is as big of
a factor for Paul George, Like, had they gotten one in this in
this two months we era, like I think that might change the calculus a
little bit. And then obviously, you know, if they had won one,
it's not even a question for that, It's not even a question for
the front office to resign a guy for the MAX. Like you that's you
know that that's more than enough if you've brought one home, that that's more
than enough for for I think to do that, even for a thirty four
year old player. Yeah, but for me, I mean, like,
it'll definitely be it's definitely a what if. Uh, And it'll be the
highs of you know, making the first Western Conference finally, it'll be the
highs of seeing those guys together. And yeah, I don't know, Like
I know that I've expressed a lot of negative stuff about Paul George, but
it's just it's just due to the situation and how this kind of thing has
all shaken out. I would like to offer some hope, just because I
always do at the end of shows, and this one has been especially negative.
Understandably. I really look at the Clippers as BB before Balmer, an
AB after Ballmer. This franchise in many ways of being a legitimate, credible,
viable franchise has only been around for ten years since Steve Baulber took over
in twenty fourteen, and they have if you look at it from that perspective,
they have made so many strides because before that they had known or who
did not care about winning at all. How could you call it a real
franchise. They were being called the worst franchise in all of sports in many
ways, they're just getting started since twenty fourteen, and as unfortunate as this
era and even you can say Lob City, of course, to an extent,
has been you have Steve Bamer, you have Steve Balmer. If ownership
is the biggest advantage in sports, you have if not want the best,
which I think he is one of the best, because he's already shown what
he's willing to do. Yeah, that's a positive note. We're gonna get
out of here. Thank you so much to everybody who tuned in. If
you didn't know where Clips and Dip, you can check us out on YouTube
dot com at Clippers podcast. You can listen to us wherever you get your
podcasts. But yeah, thank you everybody who tuned into the live and until
next time, let's go clips