Paul George was very serious about his intent to come back home to his native Los Angeles after deciding to request a trade from the Indiana Pacers in 2017, noting that had the Pacers failed to trade him, he would have wound up in a Lakers uniform at this time.
“It was 50-50 on deciding whether I wanted to come back home or if it was smarter to be in the situation I am in now,” Paul George told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “But it wasn't overstated. I wanted to play in L.A. That is where I wanted to go. Had that trade never went down, had I played one more year in Indy, I would have been in a Lakers uniform.”
George's camp had made it known league-wide — he would be a rental player to any non-Laker team trading for him, in efforts to land him in his preferred landing spot. The Oklahoma City Thunder gambled and won, landing George in return for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis — a trade that now has obviously benefitted both parties.
Yet that sentiment rang true for a large part of the offseason, before Paul George quickly committed to a four-year, $137 million deal with the Thunder right at the start of free agency, brushing away any hope of seeing him suit up in purple and gold.
The Lakers could have made the same mistake once again this summer by not trading for Kawhi Leonard, who ultimately could choose to remain with the Toronto Raptors or bolt for the L.A. Clippers, who boast ample cap space to haul in a max offer for his services.
Paul George could have been a member of the Lakers, though, eh?
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