The news about Paul George signing a mammoth contract extension with the LA Clippers still hasn’t settled down. Some are finding it hard to take after what we witnessed in the 2020 NBA Playoffs. However, George stated that he wants to retire a Clipper, and the new four-year extension is a step towards achieving it. 

Now people aren’t concerned about Paul George choosing to stay with the Clips till 2025, but the fact that he’s guaranteed as much as $226M is the startling part. Fair to say no one saw this coming, but the LA Clippers have placed their enormous trust in him with this new deal. 

Also Read | “Hell Nah!”: Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard and Pat Bev Make Montrezl Harrell Uncomfortable With Off Court Attacks

Stephen A Smith is rooting for LA Clippers and Paul George amid all the hate

George’s contract extension has been the primary choice for discussion for quite some time now. Naturally, Stephen A. Smith gave his take on the matter and debated against Kendrick Perkins and Max Kellerman on ESPN’s First Take by expressing his support for PG13!

“I’m just simply saying you have to take into account the position that the Clippers are in, what the market demands. The guy that you got that we are willing to admit is a star,” Smith mentioned. 

“He ain’t a superstar, he certainly didn’t show that in Game seven, but we can’t sit here and talk about Paul George like he’s some scrub that don’t deserve some paper,” he further added. 

Also Read | Doc Rivers Reveals Clippers Bench Didn’t Accept Paul George Last Season

Kendrick Perkins plies the blame on the Clippers

Kendrick Perkins never refrains from swallowing his thoughts when it comes to Paul Geroge. The ex-Celtic is quite the critic and he strongly feels the former OKC forward doesn’t deserve the huge raise in his paycheck. 

“I’m not calling Paul George a scrub but I’m calling it like I said. Was he deserving of 200 plus million dollars? No, not from the performance he had in the bubble this postseason and the history that he’s had in previous postseasons,” expressed Perkins. 

Perkins in fact made his statements in response to Stephen A. Smith who mentioned that George is indeed deserving of an extension. But Kendrick Perkins blames the standard of the Clippers organization and its repeated failures when it comes to the postseason.

“What are your goals? Are your goals to win championships or what because if you look at it it’s no reason that the Clippers should have lost this off-season to the Los Angeles Lakers and they did just that in every aspect,” Perkins added. 

The 2008 NBA champion feels LeBron James and Anthony Davis deserved their bonuses as they delivered the championship. The two LA-based teams saw contrasting ends to their 2020 season, but they’re once again back to the grind. 

Clipper fans are still hopeful that the team can bounce back from their previous season’s misery and produce a resilient performance in the upcoming season. Kawhi Leonard’s locked in, and Paul George is massively driven to prove doubters wrong. How far will the Clippers go in 2021?

Also Read | ‘Literally Having the Same Sh*t’: Clippers’ Paul George Opens Up on Shock Loss to Denver Nuggets