Thunder In the news: Future of Paul George takes center stage in headlines

OKC Thunder in the news for February 10 takes a scan around the league for topical stories on your favorite team and players.

Two days after the trade deadline past the OKC Thunder will renew their focus on the buyout market. Although Sam Presti didn’t take any steps or pull out that magic hat of his, fans shouldn’t be too upset. In fact none of the top five teams in the Western Conference made moves.  In the Eastern Conference the Cleveland Cavaliers were the trade deadline sending out six players and bringing four back in.

While each of the other top four East teams made moves they were all minor. In the case of  Boston it’s interesting Danny Ainge chose to only add Greg Monroe. Rumors swirled he was anxious to add another scorer with columnists alleging Tyreke Evans may be this target. In the end, Ainge failed to make a move, seemingly unwilling to part with any of his draft picks.

That decision almost immediately came back to bite the Celtics as they lost to Indiana and Toronto took over first place.

OKC Thunder must prepare for final stretch:

As for the OKC Thunder they need to focus their immediate attention on winning and getting to the All-Star break healthy. As much as losing to the Lakers was brutal the team has been on a winning streak since the new year. And, it’s more important Westbrook and Anthony are healthy than push themselves to play and suffer a longer term injury.

As for Paul George In the last outing the Thunder saw how much bench depth matters. Paul George also got serenaded by Lakers fans “We Want George”.

In post game questions PG13 claimed to not hear anything, but said he appreciated the cheers.

Paul George’s Future:

Almost immediately after the trade deadline ended the new narrative became how the Cavaliers just single handedly helped clear the path for LeBron James and Paul George to sign with the Lakers this summer.

Around the league several pundits seemed to jump on the story line. Brian Brian Windhorst loudly claiming this move clears the path for LA to go after LeBron and George. Windhorst is one of my favorite scribes, but it has to be noted he is also LeBron James ‘guy’ so anything he says has to be viewed from two angles.

Windhorst:

Did LeBron want Windhorst to loudly proclaim that message? For example recently Windhorst let it be known Kyrie Irving threatened to have knee surgery and miss the season if he wasn’t traded. This is something the journalist would’ve known since the summer, so why release this tidbit just as the Cavaliers were reeling and the Celtics charging?

Tramel:

Barry Tramel of News OK was in agreement.

ThunderWire:

And, this from Moke Hamilton of ThunderWire:

"What the Lakers did on Thursday, though, could fairly be considered a game changer.As Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka attempt to restore the franchise to its former glory, they’ve been rumored to have their eyes set on the free agency class of 2018.Aside from George, LeBron James, DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, DeAndre Jordan and Avery Bradley are among the players that could find themselves on the open market."

SB Nation

Matt Ellentuck of SB Nation offered his thoughts and some alternatives the Lakers could pursue.

"If James and George don’t fall as planned, Chris Paul, DeMarcus Cousins, Carmelo Anthonyand possibly DeAndre Jordan (if he opts out of his contract with the Clippers) are also on the market.Paul and Anthony are two of James’ best friends, Jordan wouldn’t have to leave L.A. and Boogie may not want to re-up in New Orleans — if the Pelicans even want to give him a max contract after an Achilles injury. All are very real threats to join the Lakers — especially if LeBron has interest."

Thunderous Intentions:

I chimed in with my thoughts on the matter.

"From a personal perspective I’ll say this. If I’m a player and just witnessed Kyrie Irving leave a team the year after winning a title it gives me pause. Moreover, watching James not give full effort in games recently to send upper management a message is noteworthy. Particularly when the existing Cavalier roster was comprised based on many of his requests or suggestions. And, those middle ground players (Thompson, Smith) were paid large sums based on James encouragement. Copious leaks from the locker room and obvious media planted stories with expertly crafted social media comments by the King’s camp would make me extremely wary of aligning with James as his secondary man.George isn’t a player who likes drama. Clearly based on PG’s acknowledgement of Westbrook’s All-Star rant speaks to PG’s appreciation for being valued and respected.So, if he walks in the summer, there was never anything that was going to stop him anyway. I’ll remain optimistic he stays. But, ultimately, there are no guarantees in life or in basketball."

Moving Forward:

The bottom line is nothing will decided today or in the immediate future for that matter. The Lakers 2018 free agency pursuits will remain a talking point right through Independence Day.

What the OKC Thunder accomplish over the remainder of the season and playoffs may or may not affect George’s decision.

But, like I said, at the heart of this question will be George’s desires. If he wants to go there is nothing anyone will be able to do to change that short of winning a title and Kyrie Irving just highlighted why even that might not make a difference.

That wraps up OKC Thunder In the news for Saturday, February 10. Enjoy your weekend and see you back here tomorrow.