Draymond ‘salty’ on how Clippers handled PG13-to-Warriors trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Draymond Green and the Warriors hoped to land star player Paul George in a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.
After days of negotiations and multiple offers that Golden State was reportedly convinced were good enough to land the nine-time NBA All-Star, Los Angeles ultimately declined to trade George. The 34-year-old opted out of his contract and hit the open market, eventually agreeing to a five-year, $204 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Warriors and Clippers both left empty-handed.
Green discussed the Warriors’ attempt to sign George on the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show” podcast and expressed his frustration with the way Los Angeles handled the negotiations when George reportedly wanted to play for Golden State.
“A little salt on that, because as you all know, Paul George was coming to the Warriors and we wanted Paul George to come to the Warriors,” Green said. “We always talk about these organizations, what they do for their players and everything. To get Paul George, it would have taken a sign-and-trade, and the Clippers didn’t really want to play, didn’t really want to help him get to where he wanted to be.
“And so in turn they get nothing back, whereas you could have gotten something back for Paul George walking away, they get absolutely nothing back. These organizations are not always willing to cooperate, and I don’t think the Clippers were really willing to cooperate for Paul George to come to the Warriors.”
Ultimately, while Green doesn’t like the outcome, he understands why the Clippers didn’t want to trade their best start to a Pacific Division rival.
“I kind of get it, I guess, you don’t want him in the same division as you because you know maybe what that looks like if he comes with us,” Green added. “So that didn’t quite work out for us, which would have been nice. Would have been really nice. But yeah, they lost Paul George for nothing and that sucked because I think what Paul George could have done if he came to the Dubs would have been great. But still, I’m not going to cry over spilled milk.”
The Warriors have already agreed to terms with guard De’Anthony Melton, forward Kyle Anderson, and are currently working on a potential sign-and-trade deal for guard Buddy Hield. Golden State also may be the favorite to land Utah Jazz star forward Lauri Markkanen.
Although they fell short of their goal, the Warriors still have a chance to bounce back.
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