On July 1st, it was officially announced by the Clippers that forward Paul George would be leaving the team, marking the disintegration of the championship hopeful roster.
Back in 2020, when George signed a max extension with the Clippers, he declared his commitment to winning a title for the franchise.
“I owe them an NBA championship*2. I owe this team a championship. We have a championship window, and my commitment and my job are to bring a championship to this team.”
George was traded to the Clippers from the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019, with the Clippers paying a hefty price, including sending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and several draft picks to the Thunder. In the 2020 bubble season, the Clippers fell in the second round to Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets.
The following year, George inked a four-year, $190 million contract extension with the Clippers. They made it to the Western Conference Finals but were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns after Kawhi Leonard’s injury, with Deandre Ayton’s iconic 0.1-second game-winning alley-oop sealing their fate.
In the 2021-22 season, both Leonard and George missed significant time due to injuries, causing the team’s performance to dip. George returned just in time, helping the Clippers secure the eighth seed and reach the play-in tournament. However, they lost to both the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New Orleans Pelicans, failing to make the playoffs.
During the 2022-23 season, Leonard returned but played intermittently, while George suffered an injury that kept him out of the playoffs. The Clippers were eliminated in the first round by the Suns, 1-4.
In the recently concluded 2023-24 campaign, the Clippers signed James Harden, and despite an initial struggle, they finished fourth in the West and advanced to the playoffs. Unfortunately, Leonard got injured again, and the Clippers lost to the Dallas Mavericks in a 2-4 series, with George and Harden giving their all but falling short.
Throughout George’s tenure with the Clippers, injuries proved to be their most formidable adversary, leaving a bittersweet taste.