Paul George is officially heading to the open market.
The Los Angeles Clippers forward is opting out of his $48.7 million player option and will become a free agent, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. George is already setting up meetings with other teams, though he has not ruled out returning to the Clippers.
BREAKING: Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George is declining his $48.7M option and entering free agency, sources tell ESPN. He’s planning to set meetings with cap space teams and the Clippers beginning Sunday night. An opt-in/trade scenario is now gone. pic.twitter.com/kASDp58eDD
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2024
Only a handful of teams have the cap space to land a player like George on a potential max deal. The Philadelphia 76ers are the most prominent, though the Oklahoma City Thunder and Orlando Magic are also coming off playoff appearances and could theoretically get a deal done. Other teams will be interested, but getting George there would be a lot more difficult.
Thus far, the Clippers have been reluctant to offer George a max contract and have not really put on a massive effort to convince him to stay. We will see if that changes now that he could legitimately leave.
