George left the Oklahoma City Thunder to play for the Clippers starting this season. — AFP pic
LOS ANGELES, Sept 30 — Paul George will not be playing alongside Kawhi Leonard on the Los Angeles Clippers until at least November because of off-season shoulder surgeries, ESPN reported yesterday.
George, who joined NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Kawhi Leonard in leaving his team to play for the Clippers starting this season, told the US sports television network he would miss the entire pre-season and at least the first 10 days of the upcoming season.
“I will be out of the preseason,” George said. “As of now, I’ll be out of October fully, but who knows? We’ll see. In the November range is our target date.”
The Clippers signed Leonard after he departed the Toronto Raptors, having led the club to the NBA title in his lone Canadian season after a trade deal from San Antonio.
One of the things Leonard wanted in order to join the Clippers was the chance to play alongside George, who was obtained in a trade deal with Oklahoma City.
George comes off a season in which he produced 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and an NBA-best 2.2 steals a game for the Thunder. — AFP