The bidding begins
As expected, Paul George has decided not to exercise his $20.7 million option for next season with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He will become a free agent on Sunday.
Paul George answered the obvious question on Thursday.
But even as ESPN reported confirmation of a move everyone expected — that George won’t opt into the final year of his contract with the Thunder — he added some dramatic twists and turns to his free agency.
The second episode of George’s ESPN series, “Paul George: My Journey” started out as a love letter to Los Angeles and ended in a free-agency discussion with Heat star Dwyane Wade in which George laid out some conflicted feelings.
“I want to be a champion,” George told Wade as the two sipped wine in Los Angeles. “In a way, it’s like, I want to come here, I want to play for the home team and put a Laker jersey on. That’s always gonna be something that I want to fulfill. But at the same time, it’s like, what’s the best move, though? I know who I am as a player. I just want to help the team win. And I feel comfortable doing so with Russ (Westbrook).”
George listed other possibilities — Boston and the Clippers — but the sevenminute episode focused largely on his love for the Lakers and the pursuit by the Thunder to keep him in Oklahoma City.
“When I first fell in love with the game and I’m outside playing in front of the house, I’m not picturing myself in an Indiana jersey or picturing myself in a Thunder jersey,” said George, who played his first seven seasons for the Pacers. “I pictured myself in a Lakers jersey.”
That’s a hurdle for OKC to overcome as George makes a decision whether to remain with the Thunder, either on a short-term deal or a five-year max contract that would pay him about $176 million.
On Thursday's ESPN episode, Aaron Mintz, George’s agent, laid out contract scenarios for him, including signing with OKC for five years, another team for a maximum of four and signing a “two-plus-one” deal with the Thunder, two years with the option for a third.
“If you did a two-plus-one in Oklahoma City and you stayed in Oklahoma City, you’re eligible for a five-year max in two years,” Mintz told George in the episode. “And you hit the market when you’re 30 years old versus hitting it at 32.”
The Thunder has confidence it made the right move in trading for George even with the risk that he might play a year and leave for the Lakers, or some other team. General manager Sam
Presti, who gave a rare oncamera interview for the ESPN series, cited a lyric from “Midnight,” a song by rap group A Tribe Called Quest that “scared money don’t make none,” suggesting that only bold moves pay off.
“We wouldn’t have traded for Paul George if we didn’t believe in our community, our organizational values, our ownership,” Presti said. “If you expect Paul George or any player to have any confidence in you as an organization, you have to demonstrate it yourself.”
The question is whether that confidence will pay off. Only George can know for sure, but in Thursday’s episode, he got some advice from Wade on making a decision.
“You can’t regret it,” Wade told him. “Once you make this decision, whether you make a decision where you’re the No. 1 guy or you make a decision where you’re the second, third, whatever. You make the decision, you got to be OK with it, and you’re gonna bring the best PG to that decision.”
Westbrook, Thunder among top online sellers
Westbrook's No. 0 and the Thunder are again among the NBA's most popular selling items.
According to NBAStore. com's sales from April through June, Westbrook's jersey finished the season No. 9 among all players. Westbrook was sixth overall from October 2017 to April 2018. The Thunder wrapped up the season ninth in most popular team merchandise, the smallest market among the Top 10 teams.
The top 15 most popular NBA jerseys were Stephen Curry, Golden State; LeBron James, Cleveland; Kyrie Irving, Boston; Kevin Durant, Golden
State; Ben Simmons, Philadelphia; James Harden, Houston; Jayson Tatum, Boston; Joel
Embiid, Philadelphia; Westbrook; Klay Thompson, Golden State; Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee; Chris Paul, Houston; Draymond Green, Golden State; DeMar DeRozan, Toronto; and Anthony Davis,
New Orleans.
The top 10 in team merchandise was Golden State, Cleveland, Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago, Toronto, Oklahoma City and Milwaukee.