Ahhh. Los Angeles, the beautiful coastal city in Southern California, filled with palm trees, sunshine, and home to one of the greatest franchises in sports, the Los Angeles Lakers. No wonder why NBA Star Forward Paul George would want to come here to play then right?
Or not?
Reports emanating from multiple sources indicate that George has his heart and eyes set on the Purple and Gold, however, apparently, there is sentimental trepidation that exists because George does not want to leave Russell Westbrook after only playing together for one season.
According to NBA reporter Chris Broussard via The Herd on FS1, it’s essentially a guarantee that George will be a Laker next season:
“I was talking to someone yesterday about this, and Paul George is from this area [Los Angeles]; so there are a lot of people here that know him, and they insist that he is going to be a Laker.”
Broussard went on to corroborate Colin Cowherd by stating that everyone close to George seems to be echoing that same exact sentiment.
Earlier this week on ESPN radio, Stephen A. Smith opened up his show by stating that:
“Folks are not so sure Paul George is coming to L.A. From what I’m being told, Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to back up the Brinks truck for Paul George. They’re going to offer him the max (contract). Because they’re going to offer him the max, combined with the fact that Russell Westbrook shows him a lot of love and they seem to get along pretty well, and they’ve got a future together, Paul George is a sentimental type. And as a result, it’s going to be hard for him to pull away from that relationship with Russell Westbrook. Here’s the problem: the wife would rather be in L.A. Paul George’s parents, from what I’m told, would rather him be in L.A.”
The ESPN personality went on to state that “Family pressure is pushing him towards L.A., but peer pressure is keeping him in Oklahoma City”.
This is certainly quite a conundrum to be in, especially with reports heating up on how close he and Westbrook are becoming. If Westbrook loses another All Star player after the Kevin Durant decision two summers ago, it would be heart wrenching for all parties involved. However, since George has previously expressed high interest in playing for the Lakers before getting traded from Indiana, it’s not really like George owes the Oklahoma City Thunder anything.
He didn’t pick that team.
Perhaps the most palatable decision is to sign a one-plus-one contract with the Thunder. Per Marc Stein of the New York Times, George could sign a short term contract that would allow him to earn $30.3 million next season with the Thunder, and $32.7 million in 2019-2020, which would include a player option that would allow him to return to free agency next summer.
This would give George the opportunity to embark on a second year playoff run, one hopefully marked by health, since the beating heart of the Thunder defense, Andre Roberson missed the 2018 playoffs due to injury.
Either way, free agency starts on July 1st, 2018, and George has a player option.
A big decision must be made.