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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George will be expected to opt-out of his contract, as this was made evident over the airing of the first part of his three-part special: “Paul George: My Journey” on ESPN.
“It’s a lot of things that go into it — trying to find the right fit, what’s the best place for me to raise my kids,” George said in the first episode, according to Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. “A lot is playing into this, so it’s a bit overwhelming.”
George is shown driving around Los Angeles, close to his native Palmdale while hanging out with his two kids, his girlfriend, and a few of his friends with some ping-pong games.
The 6-foot-9 forward was initially impressed by the OKC front office swinging for the fences and dealing for Carmelo Anthony, but the gamble didn't prove fruitful over the course of a hectic regular season and a disastrous postseason, losing to the fifth-seeded Utah Jazz in six games during the first round.
Article Continues Below“I give Sam Presti a tremendous amount of credit, to be a year removed from losing Kevin Durant, to try to get Paul George to come play with Russell Westbrook and build this thing in Oklahoma City,” said his agent Aaron Mintz.
George will weight the pros and cons of staying in Oklahoma City, having built a solid partnership with Russell Westbrook, but now likely to repeat its failures with Anthony unwilling to take on a bench role and recently opting into the last year of his $28 million deal.
“Here they have made a huge risk in trading for me, knowing I have one year on my deal,” George says of the Thunder. “But I felt I didn’t finish as strong as I could have. Just knowing you left something on the table, even to this point now, it weighs on me.”
George previously requested a trade from the Indiana Pacers front office last offseason, as his camp indicated he would be nothing more than a “one-year rental” for any team other than his hometown Los Angeles Lakers.
Only time will tell if that intent remains true to this day.
