Paul George Turns Down Nearly $50 Million To Stay With LA Because He Wants To Play 'The Right Way.' Huh?!

Paul Geroge wants out of Los Angeles, or at the very least, he wants more money to stay.

The Clippers guard declined a $48.8 million dollar player option that would have guaranteed he would play for Los Angeles next summer. Now, he has the option to sign a four-year, $221 million maximum contract with the Clippers (which are the numbers for the max contract George can get), or he can sign with another team.

Now, first of all, I can’t imagine looking at nearly $50 million (for one year of work!) and being like, "Ya know what? That’s not enough for me. I’m going to hold out for more." That’s one-sixth of what he’s earned in his entire career, and he really just passed on that?

Mind you, this is the third time that George has said he wanted to stay in a certain city, only to leave shortly thereafter.

Furthermore, Los Angeles has seemed to accomplish something that most teams in the past haven’t been able to do: have James Harden on a team of superstars and not completely implode.

Sure, last year ended in a first-round exit at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. But still, a team with George, Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and a solid supporting cast could do some serious damage in the Western Conference.

So why does George want to leave? For one of the most ridiculous reasons I’ve heard.

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George warms up prior to the NBA game against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena in April. Photo: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

"People saying chasing a championship," George said during a recent episode of his podcast in which he addressed his free-agency goals. "It’s not that, but it’s playing the right style of basketball is what I’m chasing."

I can’t handle NBA players sometimes. Scratch that, I can’t handle them ever.

You’re going to prioritize playing basketball the way you want, even if that means playing on a team that could easily get to the Finals, while earning nearly $50 million?

It’s going to take a long, long time for me to wrap my head around this one.