The LA Clippers made the right call extending Paul George.
On Thursday, the LA Clippers announced that they agreed to a 5 year, $226 million contract extension with All-Star Paul George.
Of course, Twitter had its fun. “Playoff P” jokes popped up everywhere as did videos of his shot against the Nuggets hitting the side of the backboard. Everyone had some joke to make. Clipper Nation, however, was ecstatic for the news (well, for the most part).
You know what? They should be happy. Re-signing Paul George was the correct decision.
Let’s look at this simply as possible first. The Clippers gave up a ton of assets to bring PG (and by extension, Kawhi Leonard) to Los Angeles. Had they not extended him and let him walk at the end of this season, that deal would be absolutely horrendous. You don’t make a deal like that without hoping you can keep your stars long-term. On Thursday, LA did just that.
With PG extending, it also is a good sign that Kawhi is committed to this team. He asked the front office to go out and get him George as a running mate. Barring something unforeseen this season happening in their relationship, Leonard should see the Clippers as his own long term home with a superstar teammate for years to come.
From a statistical point of view, George is also worth this money. While this season might not have been one of his best, he’s just a year removed from finishing third in MVP voting. Even coming off a down year, he was still extremely productive putting up 21.5 points per game, 5.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks. Not too shabby, especially considering that he shot 41.2% from deep on nearly 8 attempts per game. For that kind of volume, his shooting percentage is outstanding.
This is barely scraping the surface as far as stats go, especially on the defensive end, but it’s no secret that Paul George is a good basketball player.
Have your jokes, but know this: 528 players in NBA last yr, only 32 avg 20p+, 2 did in less than -30m (PG, Embiid). He was -1.6ppg off from his top 3 MVP season(per48) and avg more ast and higher 3pt% last yr while working through inj. If blessed w/health, this yr will be wild. https://t.co/0FGO48lqje
— Brian Sieman (@BSieman) December 11, 2020
Hell, even ESPN who has been feeding into the “Pandemic P” propaganda still placed him in the top 20 in the league. Call me crazy but someone that’s at least a top 20 player deserves the type of contract that PG just got.
We also know that after last year’s less than stellar playoff performance, PG is motivated to play well. If he can actually use that motivation in a positive way, we can see him return to MVP candidate levels. The Clippers will need him to continue to play at a high level in order to win a championship but with this contract, it’s certainly something they believe he is capable of.
With a full offseason under his belt, a past performance motivating him, and a healthy body entering preseason, Paul George will prove just why the Clippers extending him is exactly the move that needed to be made.