Paul George Rumors: 76ers, Magic to Offer Max 4-Year Contracts; Clippers Only 3 Years

Given the choice between offering Paul George a fourth year on a new contract or allowing him to walk in free agency, the Los Angeles Clippers are reportedly adamant on the latter.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported the Clippers are steadfast in their refusal to move beyond a three-year deal in negotiations with George. The Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic, armed with max cap space, are reportedly planning to present the All-Star swingman with his full max over four years when free agency opens later Sunday.

George is limited to a four-year contract because of the NBA's over-38 contract rule. That would limit the Clippers' advantage over other teams even if they were willing to give him his full max, which the front office has shown no willingness to do so far.

The Clippers and Kawhi Leonard agreed to a three-year, $149.7 million extension in January, and seems like the team is using that contract as a hard baseline for George. Had George been willing to accept those terms, he almost certainly would have already had an extension in place.

The Clippers are reportedly also unwilling to offer James Harden a contract beyond three years. Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank acknowledged the league's new collective bargaining agreement has played a factor in the team's stance with its veteran talent.

"This is a business and the reality of the new CBA impacts teams like us," Frank told reporters. "When your better players are in their 30s and you're trying to build a sustainable roster, it impacts it.

"Like if there was no CBA, with [team owner] Steve Ballmer, it would be carte blanche. With the new CBA, it's not even about the money as it is how are you going to build a sustainable roster, maintain your tools to have transactional flexibility? And with that comes really, really hard decisions."

All things being equal, the Sixers are by far the Clippers' biggest threat in the George sweepstakes. They offer a pair of All-Star co-stars in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, and they have the ability to sign George outright without sending anything to the Clippers in return. It would be a major surprise to see the Magic become serious players here.