The Golden State Warriors went over a year trying to find a second star to pair with Stephen Curry, before eventually landing on Jimmy Butler prior to last week's trade deadline.
Having had their eyes set on LeBron James at least season's deadline, the Warriors turned their attention to Paul George and Lauri Markkanen during the offseason. If not for the L.A. Clippers desire to open up financial flexibility rather than take on contracts, the former could have easily been a Golden State player.
The Warriors were fortunate to avoid Paul George
The Warriors were prepared to trade for George and hand him a long-term, big money extension, but instead missed out as the 9x All-Star signed a four-year, $211.6 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
That has since turned into an unmitigated disaster for the 76ers, with George's underwhelming season hitting a new low on Wednesday in a four-point loss to the tanking Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.
George played nearly 37 minutes, yet managed just two points on 1-of-7 shooting and 0-of-5 from 3-point range. That came despite the absence of both Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, which should have theoretically given George more offensive opportunity.
The poor performance drew attention for all the wrong reasons, with the 34-year-old seeing a wave of criticism on social media as the 76ers fell to a 20-34 record and 11th in the Eastern Conference standings.
Chris Paul being less washed than Paul George in 2025 is so crazy
— ZubacSZN (@213clipset) February 13, 2025
Paul George probably single-handedly insured no 34+ “star” ever sees a max again.
— Coach Bryce (@CoachBryceH) February 13, 2025
Paul George and Bradley Beal fighting for who has the worst contract in the NBA https://t.co/0mTUBm8p77 pic.twitter.com/YDyAsGvEXg
— Wilson Sy (@WilsonSy93) February 13, 2025
George is now averaging 16.6 points on the season -- the lowest since his second year in the league (minimum 7+ games). The former Clipper is shooting just 42.6% from the floor, while his -1.5 average plus-minus is easily the worst of his career, and only the second time he's been a negative in a 15-year career.
It's not an understatement to suggest George now has one of the worst contracts in the league, with the 76ers still needing to pay in excess of $50 million in each of the next three seasons.
Ongoing injury concerns are almost certainly contributing to George's poor form, but that in itself is a huge problem for Philadelphia given they're also having to manage Joel Embiid's body as the former MVP has been limited to just 17 games this season.
Golden State are now paying the 35-year-old Butler over $50 million in each of the next two years, but that looks far better based on his first four games with the franchise. The 6x All-Star is averaging 21.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists so far, with the Warriors having won three of their four outings since Butler's arrival.