George signs long-term extension with the Clippers
Paul George wants to retire with the Los Angeles Clippers, and he took a step in that direction by signing a multiyear contract extension Thursday.
The six- time All- Star could have become a free agent after the upcoming season. Instead, the team locked down his services, ensuring George will remain not far from where he grew up in Palmdale.
“I want to retire a Clipper,” George said last week. “This is where my heart is and I’m happy.”
Under the extension, which includes a player option for the final season in 2024-25, George can earn up to $226 million over the next five years, two people with knowledge of the deal confirmed. He averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and shot a career-high 41% from 3-point range in his first season with the Clippers. It ended it disappointment, however, with the team blowing a 3-1 lead against Denver and losing in the second round of the playoffs.
The early exit, George said, only served to motivate him for the season that begins Dec. 22, when he and Kawhi Leonard will be playing for new coach Tyronn Lue.
George’s acquisition from Oklahoma City in July 2019 paved the way for Leonard to join the team as a free agent.
The team next will turn its attention to re-signing Leonard, who could become a free agent after the upcoming season. LEBRON NAMED TIME MAGAZINE’S ATHLETE OF THE YEAR >> Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James just added another accomplishment to his lofty resume. James was named Time Magazine’s Athlete of the Year.
James, 35, is coming off his fourth NBA title after defeating the Miami Heat in October in a six-game series. James was named the Most Valuable Player in the series, his fourth career Finals MVP.
NBA REPORTS 8 MORE POSITIVE TESTS >> The NBA says eight more players have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total
so far this season to 56. Of those, the first 48 tested positive in the league’s initial return-to-market testing phase that went from Nov. 24 through Dec. 1. Those tests showed a leaguewide positivity rate of about 9%.
Preseason games across the NBA begin today and the regular season is scheduled to begin with two games on Dec. 22.
MAVS RELEASE BAREA >> The Dallas Mavericks released J. J. Barea, turning loose the last piece of the franchise’s 2011 championship team to give the veteran guard a chance to continue his playing career. Barea said he had heard from other organizations since news of his release broke, but declined to be specific.
Baseball
GIANTS TA K E MINOR LEAGUER FROM METS >> The San Francisco Giants chose a player in the Rule 5 draft for the fourth consecutive year, drafting right-handed pitcher Dedniel Núñez out of the New York Mets organization.
Núñez, the 24-year- old Dominican Republic native, has never pitched above A-ball, but showed promise as a starter in 2019 as he struck out 94 batters in 80 innings across two levels.
A’S SELECT FOUR >> In the major league portion of Thursday’s Rule 5 draft, the A’s selected left-handed outfielder Ka’ai Tom from the Cleveland Indians and right-handed pitcher Dany Jiménez from the Toronto Blue Jays. The A’s took two more right-handed pitchers in the draft’s minor league portion, including Brett Graves — who they lost to the Miami Marlins
in the 2017 Rule 5 draft — and Zach Jackson from Toronto.
Olympics
U.S. ATHLETES WON’ T BE PUNISHED FOR OLYMPIC PROTESTS >> The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee heeded calls from American athletes by announcing that it won’t sanction them for raising their fists or kneeling on the medals stand at next year’s Tokyo Games and beyond.
The decision is a response to a set of recommendations from a USOPC athlete group that seeks changes to the much-maligned Rule 50 of the IOC Olympic Charter, which prohibits inside-the-lines protests at the games.
It was this rule that most famously led to the ouster of U.S. medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos from the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City after the sprinters raised their fists on the medals stand to protest racial inequality in the United States.
Motorsports
HAMILTON FIT TO RACE AFTER COVID-19 RECOVERY >> Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has recovered from the coronavirus and will race at the season- ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend, the Mercedes team said.
The seven- time world champion tested positive for COVID-19 the day after winning the Bahrain GP on Nov. 29 and missed last weekend’s Sakhir GP in Bahrain as he self-isolated for 10 days.