It is official: Paul George is re-signing with Oklahoma City.
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For now, though, Oklahoma City has George and Russell Westbrook locked up, in their respective primes, for at least three more years.
Meanwhile, Durant, the NBA’s new movable feast, just left $100 million on the table in Golden State, declining the security of a four-year $160 million contract for two years and $61.5 million – with an opt-out next summer.
Under NBA rules, contracts can not be finalized until Friday but news about player plans began circulating quickly once the period for conversations began.
On Thursday, June 28, George told the Thunder he is not opting into his final year on his contract and would become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.
Asked about the possibility of the Thunder’s success with George possibly inspiring a move for Leonard by a non-Lakers team, with no guarantee he would re-sign, one GM said, “Paul George is not the same guy as Kawhi Leonard”. Even in the days before that trade, George was telling friends he eventually would wind up with the Lakers. He didn’t disappoint in Miami either, winning titles in the 2012 and 2013 seasons, but losing to seasoned Dallas and San Antonio teams in 2011 and ’14, respectively.
But in the days leading up to 2018 National Basketball Association free agency, it began to become apparent he would remain with the Thunder. Still, Lakers fans will appreciate all he does if he wins them a championship and rights a ship that has been running with leaks in it since Phil Jackson retired as coach after the 2010-11 season.
In 79 regular season games with the Thunder previous year, George averaged 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
More stunning was locking up Westbrook, another Los Angeles native, in the long term prior to last season. The possibility of LeBron James joining the Lakers this offseason had been a topic of speculation for more than a year, but it’s one thing to think it might happen and quite another to experience the actual moment of confirmation. While he’s reached the Finals four straight years since returning to Cleveland, they’ve been beaten three times by Golden State and look to have plateaued.
According to one report, the Bucks might be motivated to conduct a sign-and-trade involving the Duke alum. This is one of the most storied franchises in the sport’s history, and they repositioned themselves appropriately.
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George’s dream of donning the Lakers’ purple and gold jersey did not materialize as the Pacers instead shipped him to the Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Windhorst said he was surprised that George did not give the Lakers a chance to meet with him during free agency. I am stunned he took this deal like this … George also garnered all-defensive first-team honors in 2014.
