George reveals that negotiations with the Warriors were “close to being completed” originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Paulo Jorge is now a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, but he was close to joining the Warriors.
The nine-time NBA All-Star addressed the Warriors’ trade talks on the latest episode of the “P Podcast with Paul George.”
“This was a real thing that was close to being done,” said George (h/t Bleacher Report). “That deal was close to being done from what they told me about the situation, they were expressing how much they wanted me there, how I could have been a perfect fit with Draymond. [Green]Steph [Curry]. [Brandin] Podziemski. [Jonathan] Kuminga, [Andrew] Wiggins. They didn’t know how or what package would be there to exchange for me.
“[Kevon] Looney was going to be there and it was very intriguing and it was still an opportunity to stay close to home, stay on the West Coast, and it was a win-win situation. I think Steph is a unicorn, a unique player, and [Joel Embiid’s] a unicorn… So it was a good situation to be in the middle of, but in the end the deal didn’t go through. I think the Clippers didn’t want a certain trade deal that the Warriors were willing to give and yeah, that just didn’t happen, but it was close.”
O Warriors pressured to acquire George to make him the third superstar alongside Curry and Green, but for that to happen, they needed the 34-year-old forward to opt-in to your $48.8 million player optionproviding a path for the Los Angeles Clippers to sign him and trade him to the Warriors.
But as soon as trade talks between the Warriors and Clippers fell through – reportedly because Golden State I didn’t want to include Kuminga in the agreement – George declined his player option to become a free agent.
At that point, the Warriors didn’t have the cap space to sign George right away. They needed a sign and trade with the Clippers to make the money work.
The 76ers had the cap space and signed George to a four-year, $212 million contract, giving Embiid and Tyrese Maxey the third star they need to compete for the Eastern Conference title.
George, a Los Angeles native, admitted he would have enjoyed playing for the Warriors, mainly because of the location.
“That was awesome, man,” George said. “I was looking forward to it if it happened. I would have been a lot closer. I would have probably still lived in Los Angeles.”
The Warriors lost George and ended up losing franchise icon Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks in free agency. Golden State was boosted by the signing of De’Anthony Melton and acquisition guard Buddy Hield and forward Kyle Anderson in signing and negotiating agreements.
George’s latest comments leave Dub Nation wondering what could have been.
