Many around the NBA believe the Oklahoma City Thunder's deal with Paul George last summer came with an agreement: if you want out tell us when/where and we’ll accommodate, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.

George re-signed with the Thunder on a four-year, $136.9 million contract. The six-time All-Star requested a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers this offseason after OKC lost in the first round of the playoffs again.

The Thunder honored PG's trade request and got a record number of draft picks from the Clippers, as well as veteran small forward Danilo Gallinari and rising young point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

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Paul George never wanted to be traded to the Thunder when he requested a trade from the Indiana Pacers in the summer of 2017. He, like Kawhi Leonard, always wanted to go back home to Los Angeles.

A case can be made George did OKC a favor by re-signing with them and then asking for a trade. If George left as a free agent last offseason, the Thunder would have traded for George and lost him for nothing. At least now, OKC got a huge haul in return for George from the Clippers.

After trading George, the Thunder traded former MVP Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul and multiple draft picks. It's a new era in OKC.