LOS ANGELES — Paul George can become a free agent following this season, free to find a new team, but the Clippers forward said Friday he plans to stay with the team until his career ends.
"I want to retire a Clipper," George told reporters Friday as the team continued its individual workouts. "I'll say that every year. This is where my heart is. I'm happy regardless of whatever happens, I'm happy to be here."
George is currently eligible for a contract extension. Lawrence Frank, the team's president of basketball operations, wouldn't discuss in detail Wednesday where the team was on locking in George to a deal before next summer, when he can decline his player option for the 2021-22 season and become an unrestricted free agent. Frank said he viewed George as a "long-term Clipper."
"Usually I'm in a position where I kind of just want to think about all scenarios," George said. "But, in this situation I'm happy, I'm home. It was one of the teams I grew up loving, wanting to be a part of for a long time. I'm committed. I'm here."
To acquire George in 2019 in a trade with Oklahoma City, the Clippers invested a massive chunk of their future by sending the Thunder five draft picks and the rights to two pick swaps, in addition to two starters. They did it knowing he could leave as a free agent two seasons later.
But George, who grew up in Palmdale, said he had become comfortable with the Clippers even after a season whose second-round postseason exit "haunts" him still, he said. George averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists a game after coming off surgeries to repair both shoulders but struggled to find consistency in the postseason.
The Clippers' season-ending loss to Denver in seven games, after holding a 3-1 series lead, was affected by the team's lack of adjustments, George said during an appearance on the podcast "All The Smoke" this week. He said Friday that his comment was not intended as disrespect toward former coach Doc Rivers.
"I respect Doc," he said. "I think Doc is a hell of a motivator, hell of a coach. Doesn't mean I agree with everything he did, but that does not belittle the fact I respect him. ... I am to blame in that situation just as much as anybody else."
George missed the first six weeks of last season because of his injury recovery but is healthy to start his second season with the Clippers. The team is expected to practice for the first time as a group Sunday.
