Paul George’s decision to partner up with Kawhi Leonard on the Los Angeles Clippers was seen as a monumental move.
On paper, the pair seemed destined to win multiple NBA championships together.
Unfortunately, due to some bad luck and a myriad of injuries, they never quite lived up to those lofty goals.
As a result, perhaps unsurprisingly, there is now chatter that a break-up might be looming.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, there is a genuine belief in league circles that George could get moved.
“League sources tell The Stein Line that the LA Clippers have left various rival teams with the impression through their Draft Week conversations that they are, at a minimum, attempting to gauge Paul George’s trade value and, to hear some describe it, giving real consideration to the idea of disassembling the Kawhi Leonard/George tandem,” he wrote.
Moreover, two frontrunners for George’s services have emerged amid the trade rumors.
“(Damian) Lillard’s [Portland] Trail Blazers at No. 3 in the draft and the star-searching Houston Rockets at No. 4, sources say, have been identified as potential trade partners if the Clippers decide that they indeed want to shake their roster up dramatically for the final season before the team moves to owner Steve Ballmer’s sparkly new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., for the 2024-25 campaign,” Stein continued
It’s telling that the primary reason George finds himself in the headlines nowadays is for things like his wife’s provocative parties. Rarely is it for meaningful basketball accomplishments in the way many envisioned when he arrived in L.A.
Maybe he does need a fresh start.
The Blazers have been linked to another big trade in recent days, but George makes a ton of sense alongside Lillard.
Houston, similarly, seems intent on crawling out of the basement of the Western Conference and doing something meaningful.
The video speaks for itself. https://t.co/g05zkvmiUJ
— Game 7 (@game7__) June 22, 2023
George, especially if James Harden also comes along, could revive that franchise to some degree.
One way or another, though – nothing the Clippers do happens without Leonard’s okay. If George does get traded, it will be because he offered the green light for it.
Will George still be a member of the Clippers come the beginning of the 2023-24 NBA season? One way or another, an answer will emerge soon enough.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
