With the Oklahoma City Thunder having been bounced in the first round by the Utah Jazz, there’s been chatter about the odds of All-Star Paul George skipping town. Thunder general manager Sam Presti isn’t convinced that George is as good as gone, according to Brett Dawson of the Oklahoman:
Presti says dialogue with Paul George “has really encouraged us.”
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) May 2, 2018
Dawson’s colleague, Erik Horne, has more from Presti. The following is Presti’s response when asked about the rumors of George leaving:
“I talked to PG. I would say why don’t we listen to Paul. He has a lot of comments also. I’m not trying to dissuade anybody or say that what someone says someone told them is inaccurate. I’d rather listen to the man himself. I’d also reflect on the fact that PG really keeps his business, like, pretty in-house. We’ve gone through the whole year, we haven’t heard a whole lot of stuff since he’s been here. He’s been pretty straight down the middle. I can’t do anything but trust the things I’m being told. And I do because if you can’t do that, when I say trust, I mean trust the fact that the said positive things about the organization. If you can’t trust other people or if you’re going to live in a world of skepticism and cynicism, I can’t help you. I don’t know where that leaves us. Good luck. I’ll see you down the line. I’m not going to let myself go there.
It’s easy to see why rumors of George leaving have flared; George didn’t sign with Oklahoma City in the first place, he was traded there. He’s been interested in joining his hometown Los Angeles Lakers for ages. Plus, in OKC, he’s playing second fiddle to Russell Westbrook.
