Paul George is a Thunder, but isn’t hiding his love for L.A.
Paul George grew up a Clippers fan. He’s friends with Baron Davis, his favorite point guard of all time. He idolized Kobe Bryant. His love for Los Angeles is no secret.
He also values winning and wants more than just bright lights in his basketball career.
“Being out there with Melo, with Russ, the talent we have ... it’s crazy to think of where we can get to the more we build,” George said Tuesday in Oklahoma City. “We’ve only been together a couple of months.
“You’ve got to think of the bigger picture when it comes to a situation like this.”
Yet, as George heads home to Los Angeles for the first time since his blockbuster trade to Oklahoma City, the question of him eventually ending up on the west coast is unavoidable.
“This story is always going to be here,” George said “It is what it is. That’s not my focus. I could care less about the attention that it draws.”
It’s not that simple of a brush off when it comes to George. At 27 years old, George is entering the prime of his career with the Lakers set to be flush with cap space and his desire to play in L.A. public knowledge since last season.
“I don’t think he’s done anything other than the
way he’s always handled things,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “He’s focused on what’s in front of him right now. He loves playing, and he wants our team to do well and wants our team to keep getting better.”
Three days before George’s agent, Aaron Mintz, informed Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard that his client planned on leaving Indiana as a free agent in 2018, George was at a celebrity softball game preaching about bringing a championship to Indiana.
Players are sincere about wanting to win for their franchises. Sincerity and ambition can be mutually exclusive, however.
George also stated his desire to have “guys I can win with.”
Are those guys on the Lakers? The Lakers aren’t a good team — 11-25, actually, the second-worst record in the NBA behind Atlanta. The Thunder isn’t in the upper crust of the Western Conference, but at 20-17, it’s firmly in playoff position. If George values the immediacy of winning, he’d stay in Oklahoma City or entertain the thought of playing elsewhere like Golden State or Houston in 2018.
Even if the Thunder makes a run at the NBA championship, however, the league is comprised of world-class, hyperconfident talents.
Those players believe their presence or the collaboration with another free agent (paging, LeBron James) can turn the fortunes of the lowest franchise in the standings.
“It comes down to just being grateful and happy with where you’re at,” George said when asked about choosing between a bad or good team in free agency. “You just never know.
“I’ve been on a team in Indiana where I thought we’d be together my whole career. You’ve just got to be grateful and live in the moment.”
“Being happy.” “You just never know.” “Guys I can win with.” “The bigger picture.”
In Oklahoma City, George has deftly remained ambiguous about his future while not denying his past.
Throw in the hometown appeal — George is from Palmdale, Calif., about an hour north of downtown L.A. — and it’s not a surprise that he’s enticed by the prospect of playing in Staples Center.
“You’ve got your stars courtside, it’s a historic building, the energy is great,” George said when asked about what’s special about playing in L.A. “And it’s a chance to really showcase yourself in one of the highest, best markets.
“It just so happens that that’s home for me, so there’s family, there’s friends, there’s teachers, people I grew up around. It’s just a nice environment for me.”
George has embraced his new environs, whether it’s getting help finding a fishing spot off Lake Arcadia, or claiming his trade to the Thunder was his favorite basketball moment of 2017. He’s managed to do so while being candid about his love affair with L.A.
George understands he can like where he is and where he’s from simultaneously.
He doesn’t have any regrets about the Lakers coming out as a potential destination, or about the circumstances in which he left Indiana.
“All was said was a destination I would love to go to,” George said. “There wasn’t gun pointed to the head ‘send me here.’ I just stated somewhere I wanted to go play. You ask 80, 70 percent of the guys in the league if they’d love to go back home and play for their city, for their home ... that’s all I stated. I would have loved to go back home and play for my city. So, no regrets at all. I thought this trade that went down was a win-win for both sides, and I’m happy we both moved on.”
“We’ve got two games to play in L.A. I’m excited to play in front of family and friends, and I’m excited to do so with the team I have.”