Paul George Is Getting Friendly With Russell Westbrook And Oklahoma City ‘Feels Like Home’

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The early returns on Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder are good. George got a hero’s welcome when he arrived in town, and Sports Illustrated says he’s enjoying the opening overtures of the Thunder’s long-term plan to keep George happy in Oklahoma City.

One advantage? The weather in Oklahoma is very familiar for George.

OKC’s muggy air, and its many lakes, reminded him of those childhood odysseys. “This has the same kind of feel,” George said. “It feels like home.”

Perhaps the most interesting part of the piece is not about George, but about Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. The piece retells a story about Westbrook trying to convince Durant to stay in Oklahoma City, going as far as to offer to change his game to better accentuate Durant’s.

Shortly before Durant announced his free-agent decision last summer, Westbrook went to dinner with his longtime teammate at BOA Steakhouse in L.A. and asked, “How can I change?”. He didn’t get an answer, and a week later, Durant left for the Warriors while Westbrook played dominoes in his backyard during a July 4th party. Now Westbrook was on his way to meet another transformational two-way wing, perhaps not at Durant’s level but certainly in his class. On the flight to OKC, George played dominoes.

That moment is the start of one of the NBA’s bitterest and most lopsided rivalries, but it’s a great narrative thread to follow. This summer, George and Westbrook are hoping to become fast friends. And the Thunder are very much interested in making that happen. The team hosted an event with George’s family and had Westbrook come by. With catering provided that included George’s favorite foods, the two relative strangers from the same place were soon bonding over baseball.

The MLB All-Star Game played on two TVs behind the bar, and soon enough, Westbrook was asking George why in the world he roots for the Mets instead of the Dodgers, which led to George mocking Westbrook’s Cowboys, which sparked riffs on UCLA basketball and the Mayweather-McGregor fight. They hung out for nearly four hours, until 11:45 p.m., Westbrook leaning against a gray pillar and George sitting on a white leather chair as his nephew dozed on a couch nearby. Associates considered calling cars earlier in the night, with Westbrook scheduled for a 6 a.m. flight to L.A., but he demurred.

Last season, Westbrook had one of the most prolific seasons in NBA history trying to do it alone in spite of Durant. Now he has some help in George, who could spurn the franchise and leave all over again.

But so far, everyone seems to be getting along in Oklahoma City. Whether it stays that way is just not something you can know in July.

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