“That was a real thing that was close to being done. That deal was close to being done from what I was being told on the situation.

“They was expressing just how much they wanted me there, how I could have fit in perfectly with Draymond [Green], Steph [Curry],” George opened up about the Warriors’ failed attempt at bringing him over to Golden State, George said on Monday’s edition of the Podcast P with Paul George.

Trading a player like George was always going to be a tricky one for the Clippers and whichever side wanted to make a move on the 34-year-old forward.

“Klay [Thompson] probably would’ve stayed. [Brandin] Podziemski, [Jonathan] Kuminga, [Andrew] Wiggins. They didn’t know how or what package was going to be there to trade for me…[Kevon] Looney was going to be there, and so it was very intriguing, and it was still an opportunity to stay close to home, stay on the West Coast, and it was a win-win,” George added.

In the end, it was the Philadelphia 76ers who won the Paul George sweepstakes.  George decided against picking up his $48.79 million player option for the 2024-25 NBA season with the Clippers and agreed to a $211.58 million contract with the 76ers.