This is not the way that it was supposed to go for the Clippers.
The expectation when Los Angeles traded for Paul George back in 2019 was to compete for multiple championships. Instead, it has made the Conference Finals just once.
Will owner Steve Ballmer pay to keep this group together for another run? The team has already extended Kawhi Leonard but chose to hold off on a similar extension for George. A seemingly bottomless wallet is starting to empty — the Clippers will pay an estimated $142.4 million in luxury tax payments alone for this season, per Spotrac .
George will be seeking a new deal, as will James Harden. Russell Westbrook can opt out of his deal to seek a larger payday, too.
Here are the major decisions for the Clippers going forward.
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Will Paul George remain a Clipper?
If the Clippers were dead set on keeping George at any price, then they would have signed him to a maximum extension of four years and $221.1 million, per Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus . They still have until June 30 to get that deal done.