Thunder forward Paul George shocked the world (especially Lakers fans) this summer when he opted to stay in Oklahoma City rather than sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. George opened up to Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver and USA Today’s Sam Amick about his decision.
From Golliver:
“When I told the Pacers I wanted to play [in LA], that was true feelings,” said George, a native of Palmdale, Calif. “I wanted to come back home. To play for home, to put that jersey on for family and for what I grew up watching. I wanted to carry that legacy. But I went to Oklahoma, fell in love with it and I’m happy with the decision.”
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“I’m a family man now,” the 28-year-old George said of his decision. “I don’t need no distractions, I don’t need no big cities, no big lights, at this point in my career. For as beautiful as Oklahoma is, it doesn’t have big lights and none of that. But that’s fine. … I’m a low-maintenance, low-key, chill guy. I’m not out in the streets, I’m not out in the club, at parties, I’m not really at movie premieres. After games, after practice, I’m home, I’m with my kids, I’m with my girl, and I’m chilling.”
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“My feelings for the Lakers are the same. I love the organization, I love the history, I love the legacy,” George said. “But being around Sam, being around Russ, being around [coach] Billy [Donovan], [Andre Roberson], Steven [Adams], I gained a brotherhood. [Giving that group only] one year just didn’t sit well with me. I went to war, I went to battle, we made the playoffs, we were in the hunt, and we stuck together all year long. You never heard of any turmoil, no matter how we played, in the locker room. We built a real brotherhood there and I didn’t want to walk away from that.”
George discussed his relationship with fellow Thunder star Russell Westbrook with Amick:
“It’s always been a battle to play the Warriors,” George said. “That hasn’t changed. That’s not going to change. We’ve just got to prepare for it and, when the time comes, be ready for it. They’re a team that’s poised with a championship pedigree. They know what it takes. They’ve been together for years. Our work is cut out for us. That’s obvious.”
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“We didn’t know each other (before last season),” George said. “I actually connected with Russ my rookie year. He did a ‘Why not?’ basketball charity game. I went to it off of mutual friends that I knew and went there to support, and that was really my first time really knowing him.
“Up until then, when we’d play each other, it was a ‘Hey. Hi. Bye. Yo, what’s up (relationship).’ It was never really like a ‘What’s good bro? What you doing tonight? What you doing later?’ There was never really any relationship. It was kind of like our first time getting to know each other when we first got here.”
Here’s George on the Thunder’s decision to cut bait with Carmelo Anthony, via Golliver:
“As much as I loved playing with ‘Melo and having ‘Melo alongside us, I get the decision on both sides,” George said. “I understand the decision on both sides. It just didn’t work. It didn’t work.”
Last season, the Thunder went 48-34, and George averaged 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and a career-high two steals per game while shooting 43 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from 3-point range.
