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Paul George spurned all other potential suitors for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite many expecting him to return to his native California to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, George decided that his place was in Oklahoma City.
And according to Billy Donovan, he never really doubted George's intentions. Donovan relayed this feeling to Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. Donovan told Dawson:
“It was never any, like, ‘I’m not sure. I may want to go through looking at some other teams.’ There was none of that at all.”
The Thunder would have been reeling if George decided to tuck tail and skip town. But fortunately for the Thunder faithful, they did not have to deal with a superstar leaving for the second time in three years.
From what Donovan says, it may not have been that difficult of a decision for Paul George to remain in Oklahoma City. Sam Presti and the Thunder took a chance on George when they traded him. They were only guaranteed one year with the star, but George's decision to stay means that risk paid off.
Had George been planning to weigh his offers on the open market, it's likely that he would have tipped his hand to the coaching staff at some point. But Billy D seems to imply that it was never in doubt.
It's possible that George was having internal deliberations about his future, but he clearly never let it affect his relationship with his team or his coaching staff.
