Paul George Consulted Kawhi Leonard Before Signing Clippers Contract Extension

Paul George wants to build a long-term winner alongside Kawhi Leonard. 

"I'm hopeful," George told reporters Thursday. "He's one of the guys I talked and informed this is a decision I wanted to make and be long term."

The comments come after ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported George signed a maximum contract extension with the Los Angeles Clippers. The extension is for four more years that will pay him $190 million in addition to the $35.4 million he will receive for the 2020-21 campaign. What's more, there is a player option for the 2024-25 season.

Leonard has a player option for 2021-22 on his current contract.

"What I would love is to play with him for the rest of his contract," George said. "It's Kawhi's decision."

While Leonard's long-term future is still up in the air, George revealed he loves playing in Los Angeles and wants to cement his legacy with the team.

"I was confident in myself and where I wanted to be," the California native said. "I love being here. I love the family that I created in my first year. This is where I want to be...I want to build a real foundation. Ultimately this is where my legacy, I want to leave the biggest imprint on."

Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said, "It's one thing to acquire a great player like Paul (George), it's another thing to retain him."

Pairing George and Leonard together prior to the 2019-20 season immediately established championship expectations for a franchise that has never made it out of the second round. After all, they are widely regarded as some of the top two-way playmakers in the league and seemed to be the perfect counter to LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers.

However, the Clippers blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs and never had a shot at the Lakers.

George capped off an inconsistent postseason with 10 points in Game 7 on 4-of-16 shooting from the field and 2-of-11 shooting from deep with five turnovers. That opened him up to plenty of criticism, and he seemed to take some responsibility for the loss in Thursday's press conference.

"I owe them a trophy," he said. "That's what I owe this organization."

It isn't particularly difficult to envision George bouncing back seeing how he is a five-time All-NBA selection, four-time All-Defensive selection and six-time All-Star. He will be in a new system with head coach Tyronn Lue—after notably criticizing former coach Doc Rivers—and is still just 30 years old.

It is once again championship-or-bust for the Clippers, and George feels like he owes the team just that.