George adds 4 years, $190M to Clippers contracton December 11, 2020 at 2:44 am

1:17 PM ET

Six-time All-Star forward Paul George has signed a maximum contract extension with the LA Clippers that guarantees him as much as $226 million over the next five years, his agent, Aaron Mintz of CAA Sports, told ESPN.

The Clippers are extending George’s contract for an additional four years at $190 million on top of the $35.4 million guaranteed him for the 2020-21 season.

George had a player option for the 2021-22 season that will be replaced with the four-year extension, which includes a new player option for the 2024-25 season, Mintz said.

The contract numbers are likely to be affected by lower annual percentage rises in the NBA salary cap because of significant losses in league revenues. George is eligible to be paid 35% of the Clippers’ overall salary cap.

During a news conference Thursday, George said the Clippers “sending the house to get me” showed their commitment.

“I owe them a trophy,” George said when asked what he owes the franchise. “I owe them a trophy. That’s what I owe this organization. This is a window that we’re trying to capture. And my commitment and my job is to try to bring a title here.”

This extension is connected to the four-year, $137 million contract that George signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2018. In all, George will have turned that Thunder contract and this deal into a massive total of seven years and $290 million.

George, 30, had been determined to return to his Southern California roots and now is contractually committed through the prime of his career with the Clippers.

The extension solidifies one of the Clippers’ cornerstone players for the long term, a franchise priority in the aftermath of surrendering a massive package of players and draft picks to Oklahoma City to acquire George at the start of free agency in 2019. George’s addition served as a catalyst for Kawhi Leonard to commit to a free-agent deal with the Clippers and create a tandem expected to compete for NBA championships.

The next step for securing the franchise’s future will be centered on re-signing Leonard, who could become a free agent after this season. George said he hoped Leonard, 29, follows in making a long-term commitment to the Clippers.

“He’s one of the guys that I talked to and kind of wanted to inform, ‘Hey, this is a decision I wanted to make. I want to be here long term,'” George said. “It’s not putting a gun to Kawhi and telling him he’s gotta do this or do that. Hopefully it’s a mutual bond, and we both enjoy playing with one another.”

“Again, it’s Kawhi’s decision,” George added. “I’m a grown man. If he decides to go elsewhere, that’s a decision that I’ll be happy for him. But my hoping and my responsibility — what I would love is to play with him for the rest of my contract or the rest of his contract. I guess I have to work on that when it comes to his time.”

George was a first-team All-NBA player for the Thunder in 2018-19 and four times has been voted to the All-NBA third team. He has been All-Defensive first or second team four times.

He made a remarkable comeback from a devastating leg injury suffered in the summer of 2014 playing with Team USA. After missing most of the 2014-15 season, George overcame uncertainty about whether he would ever be an elite player in the NBA again.

In 10 NBA seasons with the Indiana Pacers, Thunder and Clippers, George has averaged 20.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

Asked about his mentality entering the 2020-21 season, George said, “It’s not about proving people wrong or answering questions to people that don’t have much value into my life. It is more so about me going out there and being reliable to my teammates, to this organization. That is where my focus is. … It’s about me exploding into this season.”

ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.