Writing is on the wall; Paul George is re-signing with the Thunder
By Tony Heim
Since joining the OKC Thunder, Paul George has made multiple statements hinting at him re-signing in the offseason. His latest comments almost assure that he’s not leaving.
“It’s Year One, and (the Thunder have) proven – and I haven’t even gone through a season yet – and they’ve already proven everything on my check list (that) I can check off. That’s what feels good. That’s what makes me feel like, ‘Hey, this can be a landing spot for me, and somewhere I can call home for years.”
“Just knowing what type of dude Russ is, and his values and his beliefs and him being committed to this organization, it says a lot. And I’m one person that’s enjoying it here. I think when that time comes, the decision will be easier.”
“Oklahoma’s home for me, so it’s fun to start this journey.”
“Hopefully, there’s a summer for that [a chance to fish] here that I can do that.”
Here lies the progression of quotes from Paul George where he hints at re-signing with the Oklahoma City Thunder this offseason.
“I’ll think about that stuff, I don’t know when. But we just lost an hour ago, 30 minutes ago, so I don’t know.”
Here lies the quote from Kevin Durant regarding his future with the Thunder circa 2016. Pretty stark difference don’t you think?
At first it was difficult for me to pen this piece. I’m the guy that wrote “I’m 100% sure Kevin Durant is returning to Oklahoma City” in the summer of 2016. I’ve learned my lesson – I’m not going to make any inflammatory comments like that this year.
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But I will say this: the Thunder are easily the front-runner to sign Paul George to a new contract this offseason, and there isn’t a close second.
The OKC Thunder haven’t gotten out to a great start, but that hasn’t stopped George from saying things that suggests he’s planning on staying. In fact, he made the last two quotes from above only two days ago.
The thing about Paul George is he’s always been clear with his intentions. When he knew he wanted to leave Indiana he gave them the respect of letting them know. When he first came to Oklahoma City he discussed the possible allure of going to a team in Los Angeles. George has essentially been the anti-KD in his final year before he hits free agency.
When Westbrook re-signed I probably could have written this piece. George said his decision would be “easier” because of Russ’ extension. It’s pretty clear what he means there. That’s what comes with being a Thunder fan – we’re used to everything falling apart right when it appears everything is coming together.
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But this feels different. Maybe it’s because he said Oklahoma felt like “home” when he first touched down, then doubled-down on that sentiment a couple months later. Or maybe because he’s “starting a new journey” with his partnered fishing event with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Nope. It comes down to the free agency landscape as a whole.
Unless somebody else of superstar-caliber is joining LeBron in Los Angeles there isn’t a team with sufficient cap space/talent to compete with OKC. Through the process George has constantly claimed winning is the thing that matters most to him. Although it hasn’t come together yet, the Thunder have a clear blueprint for a championship identity. They have a superstar-talent locked in for the next five seasons, one that already has proven to get along with George on and off the court.
Let me be clear – anything can happen from now until July 1st. The Thunder could collapse in the Playoffs and make George re-evaluate his decision. George could get approached by LeBron. We can’t rule anything out, simply because we’re talking about the Oklahoma City Thunder.
What we can do, however, is celebrate the fact that Sam Presti’s season-long free agency pitch is way ahead of schedule.