Source: Thunder’s George opts to become free agent
Paul George turned down one option and created a slew of new ones.
George has decided not to exercise his $20.7 million option for next season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, a person with knowledge of the situation said Thursday. George will become an unrestricted free agent Sunday.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because neither George nor the team had publicly announced his decision. ESPN first reported George’s decision about the option year.
It was not an unexpected move for George, who averaged 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals for the Thunder this past season. But by not opting in for the final year of his existing deal, George opens up an array of possibilities that include going elsewhere — possibly to the Los Angeles Lakers — or signing a new deal with Oklahoma City.
He is also expected to be pursued by the Houston Rockets, who finished this past regular season with the NBA’s best record. George may opt to sign a short-term deal, no matter which team he chooses, but he could command as much as $176 million in a fiveyear deal if he chooses to stay in Oklahoma City and pair up with Russell Westbrook for years to come.
He will be one of the headline attractions when the free-agent shopping period officially opens at 12:01 a.m. EDT Sunday, along with LeBron James — assuming James chooses not to exercise
his $35.6 million option for next season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Thunder have long maintained they want to keep George, who went to Oklahoma City a year ago in a trade with the Indiana Pacers.
“From the day that he arrived, we really made a specific and intentional effort to build a relationship with Paul and his representation built on three things: collaboration, transparency, and trust,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said after the season. “Those tenets were followed throughout the year and continued to be. I felt strongly about the relationship. I feel great about the communication and the honesty, about the way we started the relationship.”
George is a five-time All-Star who turned 28 last month. In eight NBA seasons, he has averaged 18.6 points and 6.2 rebounds
while connecting on 38 percent of his 3-point tries.
Presti gambled a year ago by trading for George and Carmelo Anthony to join Westbrook in hopes of rejoining the NBA’s elite. It didn’t quite work out — the Thunder lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year.
Anthony has exercised his $28 million option to stay with the Thunder for next season, doing so while insisting that he will not accept a substitute’s role.
George has said he sees potential in Oklahoma City and seemed to enjoy pairing with Westbrook.
“I think we’ve set the bar at what we could be,” George said at the end of the season. “Obviously, it showed at times us just being together with our first year with the lapses and some of the losses that we’ve got this year. But as a whole, I had an amazing year here.”