The Warriors may well come up empty on adding a high-profile star this offseason, but it not for the lack of trying. Multiple reports suggested that they were in for Paul George, who ultimately declined his player $48.8 million player option and signed for the Philadelphia 76ers.
George revealed on his "Podcast P" podcast Monday just how close a deal was, and his level of disappointment that nothing got done.
"That was a real thing," George said of the potential trade." That was close to being done. That deal was close to being done from what I was being told on the situation. They was expressing just how much they wanted me there, how I could have fit in perfectly with Draymond, Steph, Podziemski, Kuminga, like Wiggins. They didn't know what package was going to be there to trade for me."
Per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, the Warriors "offered multiple combinations of expiring contracts, young players and an unprotected 2027 first-round pick," but refused to include Jonathan Kuminga. The Clippers declined.
"Looney was going to be there. So it was very intriguing and it was still an opportunity to stay close to home, stay on the West Coast and it was a win-win," George said. "Like, I think Steph is a unicorn, one-of-one player. And Joel [Embiid] is a unicorn, one-of-one player. So it was kind of a good situation to be in the middle of, but ultimately the deal didn't go through.
"I think Clippers didn't want a certain trade deal the Warriors were willing to give. And yeah, it just didn't happen. But it was close. It was close. It would have been dope, man. I was looking forward to it, if it happened."
It was evident from the episode that George was disappointed he did not get dealt to Golden State.
