Paul George still happy in OKC.
The Thunder’s summer will be dictated by Paul George.
The 27-year-old All-Star knows the impact of his upcoming free agency decision, and he's not shy about the Thunder's underachievement en route to a 45-34 record.
Yet, with three games to go in the regular season, George said he still feels the same about his future as he did in January, when in an ESPN interview with Rachel Nichols he said he liked Oklahoma City and was excited about where the Thunder could go.
“As I told Rachel, I can see myself being here. I've been happy here, I've been happy with the organization, happy with my teammates,” George said Friday before the Thunder headed to Houston for its Saturday night matchup with the Rockets. “Our record is not what we want it to be, but I think I've enjoyed just learning and being around these guys. So, my answer is still the same.
“I'm not going to let the playoffs or how we finish this season persuade or indicate where I'm going to this offseason. I'm going to put everything into this and again, I can definitely see myself being here."
When snippets of George’s sit-down interview with ESPN were released in January, the Thunder was in the midst of its best basketball of the season. Its offense was soaring, second behind only Golden State in January in points per 100 possessions.
That was before Andre Roberson suffered a ruptured left patellar tendon that ended his season. George said the injury unquestionably changed the Thunder.
When asked if Roberson’s injury changed his outlook on free agency, George stressed Friday that he’ll look at all factors when making his free agency decision, including the potential of a fully healthy team.
Then, interestingly, George followed with the idea of him, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony recruiting players to the Thunder rather than avoiding the topic altogether.
“You've got to look at what we can be, imagine what we would be if Andre was here playing with now,” George said. “You've got to look at the team coming back, with free agency coming up with other guys who we could possibly go grab and who could we, myself, Melo, Russ, who can we recruit with us here.”
A common belief swirling around this NBA season was that playoff success would have a major effect on George’s decision in July. But instead of zeroing in on results, George said, “this wasn’t a championship or bust coming into this for me,” even implying that it will take more than a season for the Thunder to reach its full potential.
George said “building chemistry” is what needed to be accomplished to consider this season a success. Not winning a title, getting to the Western Conference finals, or even advancing to the second round.
Then again, it's talk in April. A lot will transpire between now and the opening of free agency on July 1.
“It was just an opportunity to see what it's like being here and just to naturally fall in love with it,” George said of his trade to Oklahoma City, a trade he didn’t have final say over. “And it's been that. It's been a lot of love here.
"This is our first year together. This is Year 1 for this group. We've got a chance to win it all, but realistically it takes time for things to build and chemistry to mesh ... just for everybody to be on the same page.”
Westbrook, George named to Team USA
USA Basketball announced Friday that Westbrook and George were among 35 players selected to the Men's Basketball National Team pool for 2018-20.
George and Westbrook are expected to be among the players to attend the July 25-27 Men's National Team minicamp at UNLV's Mendenhall Center in Las Vegas.
The announcement of the pool is the first step toward selection for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China and the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan in which 12-man teams will be selected for each competition. The teams will be coached by San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.
Westbrook and George won Olympic gold medals with USA Basketball in 2012 and 2016, respectively.
"It’ll come to a family decision ultimately to go all the way through with it and see if that’s something I want to do down the line," said George, who
broke his right leg in a USA Basketball scrimmage in the summer of 2014. "But as of now, it’s been great, especially since I’ve built a lot of relationships — especially with Melo (Anthony) — with USA Basketball.
"It’s definitely a toll on the body. So, when that decision comes, it’ll be a consulting moment with the family, with the organization.”