As the season draws to a close, NBA teams are getting busy. Especially when the new collective bargaining agreement stipulates that NBA teams can contact their own free agents in advance, negotiate contract extensions, or even sign contracts directly, the relationship between many teams and players has gradually become delicate. At least for now, no player with an expiring contract has actually reached a contract extension with their parent club under the new rules, and the free agent market remains hugely attractive, not only for players looking for more value, but also for teams to bring in more cost-effective replacements. Refusal to take a pay cut, goodbye Clippers, inconsistencies, unwillingness to sacrifice, you are the most overrated person.
Among them, after the Clippers signed Tyronn Lue to a contract extension and poached their senior basketball advisor Jeff Van Gundy from the Celtics, it looks like the Clippers will remain aggressive this offseason, and they are eager to keep a core roster based on the Big Three. However, the Clippers did have trouble retaining their core roster, and the key Paul George's attitude was very frustrating. In the personal podcast episode, George "fired" again. He said that at the beginning of the season, the team was on the right track, and then Harden came, and because of the departure of Covington, Batum, Morris Jr. and others, because Harden couldn't make up for the defensive impact of these people, he and Leonard became the ones to do the dirty work.
Although George used a lot of restrained words when he said this, he called Harden an unbeatable player on the offensive end, but it is obvious that if it was as a teammate, George's words, from Harden's point of view, he would not be happy to hear it, doesn't this mean that he defends poorly, or does not defend? It's not often that we hear a star say this about another of their star teammates, unless they've gone their separate ways. If the two sides continue to cooperate in the future, George's remarks are definitely a reflection of low emotional intelligence and even brainlessness. And he has had this kind of "targeting" of the team's star players more than once in the offseason. He had previously suddenly stated that he was willing to sacrifice his legs and knees for the championship, which was seen as a mockery of Leonard.
In addition, George added: "For the future career, my goal is not to chase championships, but to play the right style of basketball is the key to his pursuit." George's words felt like he was slapping himself in the face, when he was talking to his friends about the series between the Nuggets and the Timberwolves, he suddenly said that he would sacrifice his legs and knees for the championship, and now he said that he is not pursuing a championship in the future, and his remarks are very contradictory. However, putting all this aside and calming down, George has frequently spoken out through his personal podcast during this time, and his purpose is very simple, that is, to raise the price for himself and get a maximum salary contract in the offseason.
George's reluctance to take a pay cut is well known, otherwise his contract extension with the Clippers would have been reached a long time ago. Although the Clippers are also willing to keep George, their bottom line is that George's contract cannot exceed Leonard (3 years, 152 million), regardless of the contract length or salary. And George first said that he was willing to sacrifice his health for the championship to express his attitude of competing for the championship, which can be regarded as a statement to the Clippers and other teams interested in him. Later, when commentator A Smith was commenting on the finals, he said that "no one understands the feeling of missing a core better than George", in order to satirize Leonard, and George also responded with a smile to win the outside world's understanding of his failures over the years.
This time he said that Harden came to the Clippers, and he and Leonard had to do the dirty work, on the one hand, to show the attitude that he is willing to do everything for the team that is interested in him, and on the other hand, to make excuses for his sluggish performance, saying that he focused more on the defensive end. It can be seen that everything George does is for his big contract, but his emotional intelligence is indeed too low, and what he says is very disgusting. Even if you focus on the defensive end, that's not a reason to average less than 20 points per game in the playoffs (George averaged just 19.5 points per game and shot 41.1 percent from the field this time around).
Moreover, this is not a reason why George can't beat Jones alone, all of George's remarks seem to be making excuses for his "dishes" and making excuses for big contracts. Of course, George certainly has a chance to get a big contract this offseason, and there are reports that the 76ers are willing to offer George a four-year contract totaling more than $200 million, but then again, time will tell, and time will tell. Although George is already looking for a way out for himself, he says that he will not play for the championship, but seeks to play the right way, isn't this just an excuse for not winning the championship in the future? In the eyes of most people, as long as George gets a 4-year contract with the highest salary, most of the teams that provide George with a contract will regret it.