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Paul George, the 34-year-old forward who was out of contract with the Los Angeles Clippers and a free agent, has reached an agreement with the Philadelphia Sixers for the next four seasons.
According to ESPN, he will be paid 212 million dollars, the maximum contract set by the league.
George returns to the Eastern Conference to form a fearsome Big Three alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, with whom Philadelphia will try to end the Boston Celtics' dominance.
To do so, they have not hesitated to acquire one of the most coveted players on the market, to whom they will pay the maximum salary for the next four seasons at a rate of 49.2, 51.7, 54.1 and 56.5 million dollars.
The deal, according to the same source, was finalized after a high-level summit in Los Angeles in which George himself and his agent, Aaron Mintz of CAA, met with an entourage from the Sixers, who pulled out all the stops to convince the player.
Present were franchise owner Josh Harris, president of operations Daryl Morey, general manager Elton Brand and Sixers legend Julius Erving.
The Sixers even brought front office executive Peter Dinwiddie, a personal friend of George's from their years together with the Pacers, to the meeting.
Embiid, Maxey and George were All-Stars last season and will form one of the most potent Big Threes in recent NBA history, with an ideal balance of an explosive lead guard like Maxey, an elite small forward like George and a dominant power forward in the paint like Embiid.
George, a nine-time All-Star, has spent the past five seasons with the Clippers, where he averaged 23 points, six rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 263 regular-season games.
Clippers mourn his departure
The Clippers issued a statement Sunday saying George had told them he planned to sign with another team: "Paul is a tremendous talent. We feel fortunate for the five years we spent with him. During that time, he went to three All-Stars, scored the most three-pointers in franchise history and helped lead the team to a place it had never been."
Los Angeles regrets his departure, but they haven't wasted a second in starting to rebuild their roster. In fact, they have already reached an agreement with point guard Kelly Oubre Jr for two years and 16.3 million, as well as with veteran Eric Gordon and centre Andre Drummond.
George is one of eight players who have made at least nine All-Star teams since entering the league, along with LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis. He has also been selected to the All-NBA team six times, including a first-team selection in 2019.