“Chase That Ring!”: Stephen A. Smith Has Advice for Paul George, Ahead of His Potential Free Agency

With the 2024 free agency already in full flow, the murmurs around Paul George leaving the Los Angeles Clippers have grown. He has the player option on the last year of his four-year, $176 million contract but there is a chance that he won’t opt it. It seems that after not being able to make it to a single Finals appearance in his 14-year career, George is up for grabs.

He might be looking to take his talents to a title contender despite the possibility of getting paid much less than last year on his existing contract. On his official pod, George relayed that he wanted to do it the right way without hopping to different squads in pursuit of a title.

However, Smith urged PG-13 to prioritize winning a championship and wondered if playing the right way would get him anywhere. On his Stephen A. Smith Show, the 56-year-old acknowledged the financial aspects of the situation but at the same time, he stated that a player of George’s stature should already have an NBA ring now and must think in that direction.

“Don’t get me wrong, I am not telling you to do it at the expense of your money. Damn, you’ve been playing the right way, where that got y’all. Hell with that! Chase that ring, chase that championship. Paul George is a championship-level player.”

The ESPN analyst agreed that walking away from almost $50 million is not easy. However, George already has a ton of cash and his post-NBA career will bring him immense financial success, thus, a pursuit of an NBA title makes more sense for the 34-year-old. 

But is there something more to Smith’s comments? As a New York Knicks diehard, he would love to see PG-13 in the Knicks jersey. There are plenty of occasions when he has publically tried to recruit a big-time player in hopes of bolstering the championship chances of the squad that he has supported for more than four decades.

Considering the Knicks’ terrific 2023-24 season campaign and the lack of isolation scoring option at the SG/SF position, George does seem to fit the bill. It will be interesting to see if he looks their way during the ongoing free agency cycle.