The Warriors appear to have been close to a Paul George trade with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Before George reportedly declined his $48.7 million contract option with LA on Saturday -- essentially eliminating any chance Golden State had of acquiring him -- the Warriors reportedly believed they were close to acquiring the nine-time NBA All-Star, The Athletic's Tim Kawakami reported in his latest column, citing sources.
"[George's opt-out decision] came after very serious negotiations among the Warriors, George and the Clippers all the way through Saturday afternoon’s deadline for George’s contract decision and after the Warriors believed — several times — that they were on the verge of landing the 34-year-old small forward, team sources said," Kawakami wrote.
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"The Warriors had agreed to give George a max, four-year extension upon arrival. They believed they had proposed several variations of a trade that the Clippers could and would accept."
Kawakami also reported that George gave "strong indications" he wanted to join the Warriors, and Golden State veterans Steph Curry and Draymond Green were "100 percent" on board with the move, but financial concerns "weighed heavily" on the Clippers' side.
The Warriors, per Kawakami, offered multiple trade packages they believed the Clippers would accept, including some combination of, but not limited to, Andrew Wiggins, Chris Paul, Jonathan Kuminga or Moses Moody and one future first-round pick.
Kawakami added that the Warriors likely would not have included both Wiggins and Kuminga together in any offer.
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George now is an unrestricted free agent and reportedly will hold meetings with a handful of interested teams, including the Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic, in the coming days.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they no longer will be in the mix.
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