Through all the waves that have reverberated across the NBA over the past few weeks with the NBA Draft and free agency, none was bigger and more shocking than the Oklahoma City Thunder coming out of nowhere to land Paul George in a trade (how can you not be im-Presti with Sam?).
George was expected to land in Boston, Cleveland or Los Angeles of course, and the Thunder were able to throw a last minute hail mary and land George while also dealing away Victor Oladipo and his $21 million salary for the next four years.
They basically turned Serge Ibaka into Paul George. They traded Ibaka to the Magic during the 2016 NBA Draft for Oladipo and the No. 12 pick which they used to take Domantas Sabonis, the exact combination of players they sent to Indiana for George.
Most people assume that the Thunder are renting George to try and convince Westbrook to sign a long-term deal, with George bolting for Los Angeles in the summer.
Not so fast, according to PG-13.
Here is what he told Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated:
“I grew up a Lakers and a Clippers fan,” George says. “I idolized Kobe. There will always be a tie here, a connection here. People saying I want to come here, who doesn’t want to play for their hometown? That’s a dream come true, if you’re a kid growing up on the outskirts of L.A., to be the man in your city. But it’s definitely been overstated. For me, it’s all about winning. I want to be in a good system, a good team. I want a shot to win it. I’m not a stats guy. I’m playing this game to win and build a legacy of winning. I’ve yet to do that. I’m searching for it. If we get a killer season in Oklahoma, we make the conference finals or upset the Warriors or do something crazy, I’d be dumb to want to leave that.”
It’s also interesting that Kevin Durant’s comments on the organization and the fans excited George about the possibility of joining the Thunder as well.
“KD was like, ‘That place will blow you away,’” George says. “He told me, ‘They can offer what other teams can’t in terms of the people and the preparation and the facility, down to the chefs and the meals.’ He was pretty high on them. He thought it was a first-class organization in every way.”
While it is clear that George has always dreamed of being an Laker and that will always be a very enticing option to him next summer, if the Thunder are an over 50 win team that can win a round or two in the playoffs and compete with the Warriors, there could be a very real possibility he commits to the Thunder for the long-term, or at least a couple more years.
When he enters free agency, the thought of staying with an MVP and a contender may be too much too pass up in order to join a Lakers team most likely at the top of the lottery once again.
