Does Paul George get annoyed when people pester him or speculate about his future—or lack thereof—with the Oklahoma City Thunder?
Nope.
Well, actually, he probably does get aggravated and frustrated and pissed off and exhausted and all that stuff. But he doesn’t let it get to him. After all, as he notes, per ESPN.com’s Royce Young, he’s no stranger to this type of attention:
Paul George was asked how he handles when fans/media react (or overreact) to any comments that might hint at his future: pic.twitter.com/oTggfQY4Zf
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) November 14, 2017
Pretty much every high-profile player from this generation has nnoot choice but to be accustomed to widespread speculation. We live during an age in which everyone technically has a platform. People can manufacture rumors. They can come up with hypothetical trades. They can point out the obvious. They can theorize. They can concoct conspiracy theories and buckets of conjecture that are mistaken as fact by the bored and the click-hungry and the lazy.
All of which is an occupational hazard. And George, for his part, has been in this spot prior to now. He dealt with this chatter long before he officially requested a trade from the Indiana Pacers, and he lived through the aftermath of the trade request itself.
Plus, beyond that, the Los Angeles Lakers bugaboo isn’t anything new. He is from Palmdale, California. He went to California State University in Fresno. And he played on a small-market Pacers squad for the better part of a decade. People always connected the dots, even when they’re wasn’t technically anything to connect.
That’s how the league works these days. The speculation is unrelenting, so the questions are, too. Every time a new report comes out from an anonymous source, you have to answer for it. Every time you visit a new city, writers from that locale have a job to do, and that job often includes asking you about your future ad nauseam.
It’s a vicious, repetitive cycle, one that sees fans and pundits forget NBA players are real people with real feelings and real lives. At least in George’s case, though, he appears to be effectively coping with the madness. And he’s only a few months away from being able to put all unfounded claims to rest for an extended period of time.
