Clippers Trade Rumors: Paul George ‘Certainly Available,’ LAC Won’t ‘Give Him Away’ | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

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NBA journalist Howard Beck thinks Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George is “certainly available” this offseason.

“They’re not trying to give him away, but they are trying to pivot, and they do have, I think, a franchise-wide frustration with the way that this era has gone,” Beck said on Friday’s episode of the FnA podcast with Kevin Figgers and Adam Auslund.

The New York Knicks have expressed interest in trading for Paul, per SNYtv’s Ian Begley. In his eighth career All-Star campaign, George averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 56 starts before he missed the Clippers’ first-round loss with a knee injury.

George is still a game-changing two-way player, but questions surround his future durability.

The March knee injury, which George originally feared was an ACL tear, did not result in ligament damage. However, given that George is 33 years old and missed significant portions of his last four seasons, it could make teams hesitate when looking at how to squeeze his $45.64 million salary under next season’s cap.

The Knicks initiated talks about George before pausing in part because they believed George’s representatives would ask for an extension if traded, Andrew Greif and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported. George currently holds a player option for 2024-25, which will pay him $48.79 million if exercised, and is set to become a UFA in 2025.

The Portland Trail Blazers also expressed and then withdrew interest in George, Greif and Turner reported.

When speaking with reporters following the 2023 NBA draft Thursday night, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said building around George and Kawhi Leonard was “still the plan.”

“What we are trying to do is how can we put together the best team around these guys… we’re trying to maximize these two and figure out ways that we can get better,” Frank said.

Beck was unimpressed by Frank’s post-draft comments.

“Lawrence Frank is going to say what he has to say,” Beck said. “Team GMs and presidents always say that, ‘No, we love our guys,’ right up until the moment that they trade them. That’s just how this thing goes.”

One recent example is Golden State Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr., who said he wanted to have Jordan Poole on the team for “four more years, at least,” three days before Poole was traded to the Washington Wizards.