When the Oklahoma City Thunder traded for Paul George last summer, they were under no illusions that they might simply have him on loan for the season. But that’s a gamble they were willing to take and it may very well still pay off big time.
Complicating matters, of course, is the fact that the Thunder failed to live up to the enormous expectations that came with assembling a superstar trio that included Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony. Not only did they get bounced out of the first-round; they showed a noticeable lack of cohesion at various points.
Still, George insisted on more than one occasion last season that it wasn’t a “championship or bust” scenario, and despite the other mitigating factor, i.e. his previous declaration that he’d prefer to play for his hometown Lakers, it appears George is warming to the idea of a future in OKC, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
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“He’s become comfortable in Oklahoma City,” Wojnarowski said. “He liked playing for that organization. He really likes Sam Presti the GM, Billy Donovan the coach. He’s really gotten along and enjoyed playing with Russell Westbrook. It takes awhile to adjust, playing with Russ. While they were disappointed to get knocked out of the playoffs early against Utah, he can run it back there, make more money in the short run.”
In short, it isn’t a foregone conclusion that he’ll end up in Los Angeles, which could subsequently affect LeBron’s decision-making as well. Wojnarowski went on to note that after what felt like a sure thing last summer, there is no longer a sense that the Lakers are necessarily frontrunners for George. The Lakers are taking their moonshots in going after both of them aggressively, not to mention Kawhi Leonard, but the formation of a new mega-team in L.A. to try and topple the mighty Warriors is very much up in the air.
