76ers' Paul George discusses Clippers' 'shocking' exit, says Steve Ballmer was 'great' | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

Paul George will return to Los Angeles on Wednesday night to face his former team, the Clippers, for the first time since signing a four-year, $212 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers over the summer.

And he didn't go into the offseason thinking his time on the West Coast was coming to an end.

“I think that the relationship with Lawrence (Frank) and the relationship with Steve Ballmer were somehow misinterpreted or the narrative wasn't written correctly,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “I mean, they've been great the whole time I've been here. Somehow it was such a shocking decision how it turned out in the end. But they were great. I think my time here was kind of refreshing. “Being on the sidelines and having a partnership like that with a front office, and I think that was probably the highlight of the whole thing (the time with the Clippers was just great).

George previously said the Clippers initially offered him a two-year, $60 million extension last season, an offer he found “disrespectful.” He said he would have accepted the same three-year, $150 million contract the team gave Kawhi Leonard in January, but talks were ultimately put on hold because of the All-Star break, and after the season, George said he is prepared to conclude this deal but with a no-trade clause.

The Clippers made no concession on that point, George hit free agency and the rest is history.

Following George's departure, the Clippers added Leonard and James Harden to the roster with complementary role players such as Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn and Nicolas Batum, while retaining the flexibility to add another star in the future.

“We were able to get three guys who play hard and play hard,” Ballmer told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “And we still have the ability to constantly improve. So it was the right choice for us. Paul obviously thought it was the right choice for him. I'll miss him. Very good person. I like him a lot, except when they play against us. I wish him all the best, just not when they play against us. And he was a good clipper.

The Sixers have had just one game with a healthy George – and none with superstar center Joel Embiid, who was injured earlier in the year and is now serving a three-game suspension – and are off to a 1-5 start.

The Clippers had to do without Leonard in the 2024/25 season and started 3:4. It wasn't the start either franchise would have hoped for before George's reunion with his former team.