Getty Paul George
All-Star small forward Paul George believes winning a championship with the Los Angeles Clippers would outweigh winning one with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Clippers have zero championships in franchise history, while the Lakers have 17.
“A championship with the Clippers 100% will outweigh a championship being with the Lakers,” George told Joseph Bien-Kahn of GQ.
George told Bien-Kahn that bringing the Clippers their first championship would be legacy-defining. LAC has never reached the NBA Finals. George, who was traded to the Clippers in 2019, has reached the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Finals with the Indiana Pacers and Clippers. However, he’s never been to the NBA Finals.
The Clippers enter the All-Star break with a record of 33-28. They are in fourth place in the Western Conference standings. Meanwhile, the Lakers are only 27-32. They are in 13th place.
Paul George Wants Former Lakers Star Russell Westbrook
George wants former Lakers star Russell Westbrook to sign with the Clippers if he gets bought out by the Utah Jazz. George and Westbrook were teammates on the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2017-18 to 2018-19.
“I mean if there’s somebody out there, Russell, if it makes sense and obviously it goes with our team, we’re all for it,” George said on February 10. “We need a point guard. But, (at) the same (time), I think we’re good as well. If nothing happened, we got enough in this locker room to be able to make it work. But it would definitely improve our team if we had that traditional point guard to kind of get us in things and make the game easy. So hopefully Russell sees this and we figure something out.”
The Clippers have begun conversations with Westbrook, according to Shams Charania and Law Murray of The Athletic. The Jazz gave the Clippers permission to speak with Westbrook, who is averaging 15.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.5 assists on the season while shooting 41.7% from the field, 29.6% from beyond the arc and 65.5% from the free-throw line.
George has already been in contact with Westbrook. The Thunder went 87-58 when Westbrook and George were in the lineup together. However, the two All-Stars never won a playoff series.
Shaquille O’Neal Thinks Russell Westbrook Should Join the Clippers
Lakers icon Shaquille O’Neal told Candace Parker and Nischelle Turner that Westbrook should sign with the Clippers. O’Neal believes Clippers fans would appreciate Westbrook since the point guard always plays hard.
“I think Russ should go to the Clippers,” O’Neal said. “Him and Ty Lue speak the same language. The good thing about Ty Lue is he knows how to relate to some players. Ty Lue is going to put him in a position to succeed. Russ is the type of guy that you can’t control, but you don’t wanna control. … Russ is gonna give you the assists. He’s gonna give you energy. He’s gonna make some mistakes, but sometimes you just have to let him go. He’s not the player that you control. … I know for a fact that Clippers fans would appreciate him. Lakers fans and Clippers fans are two totally different fan bases.”