Paul George will not be a Los Angeles Laker this fall. In fact, the California native and long-rumored free agent target for the Lakers didn’t even give his hometown team a meeting before deciding to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder shortly after free agency began.
The deal might be a bit of a surprise to some who thought George had long-hoped to return home and play for the Lakers, possibly with LeBron James. But the Pacers didn’t make that easy for George after he told the team last summer he would hit the open market once he could in 2018. Indiana sent George to the Thunder instead, getting some assets in exchange and setting up a one-year trial run for George in Oklahoma City.
The courtship began early, with Westbrook and George meeting over the summer and quickly bonding. Despite the chance for a huge contract elsewhere, George opted for a four-year deal with the Thunder without even seeking other options. It was reported after the deal became public the George and the Thunder had quietly agreed they would remain exclusive weeks ahead of the free agency period, and the party Russell Westbrook threw where George announced he would stay in Oklahoma City certainly jived with that notion.
Still, the move was questioned by many throughout the NBA as one more of convenience than a drive to truly win a title. According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, one rival executive said the deal was more about “friendship” than any other factor.
I think what we've really underestimated is the partnership Paul George and Russell Westbrook have built. "This is a friendship decision to stay in OKC as much as anything," one rival executive tells me
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 1, 2018
Within the context of super teams and other free agents like James looking to land in situations where they can win immediately, George staying in a small market is going to get people talking. Sure, his “friend” might be the only player to ever average a triple-double in consecutive seasons, but the Thunder still have to overcome the Warriors out West, and right now they’re not even Golden State’s biggest threat. Even with George on the roster, the Thunder struggled for long stretches of the last season, and the Thunder still have to figure out what to do with Carmelo Anthony.
Skeptics of George’s decision can chalk it up to the Thunder getting a huge win after taking a risk to trade for him last summer, or they can call him gullible for getting thrown off his major free agency plan so easily. But the fact of the matter is George changed his mind, and the Thunder have emerged as one of the big early winners of the offseason for the second straight summer.
