The skepticism of trading All-Star forward Paul George after his inner circle clearly stated any other team but his hometown Los Angeles Lakers would acquire him only on a rental basis. Yet the Oklahoma City Thunder front office took a leap of faith, committing to pair their MVP Russell Westbrook with another star worthy of his caliber.

As the end of the regular season nears, the projections toward the postseason and offseason grow that much more, creating an aura of uneasiness based on how the Thunder would be able to resign George and if he'd be willing to stay in OKC.

“I’ve remained skeptical from the jump, the first day he got here,” said Erik Horne of The Oklahoman as a guest of Chris Broussard's In The Zone podcast.  “Everything I heard about Paul George coming into the situation has been spot-on. He’s a good dude, he’s a fantastic player. But he does have a tendency to say things in the moment that you wanna hear. I don’t blame him for doing so. I think there was a little bit of that in Kevin Durant as well. But with Kevin going out to the Bay, I think you’ve seen him open up a little more in terms of how he expresses himself.”

After the obligatory Durant comparison, Horne notes George is encouraged by playing alongside Westbrook, who exudes talent and a fire unlike any other, needed to win basketball games.

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“I think Paul George does have a good possibility of staying here [in Oklahoma City],” said Horne. “And I don’t base that on anything he’s said, I base that on winning basketball games, and I base that on being around guys who are competitors like Russell Westbrook, and seeing the potential they have here. He gets to play with Russell Westbrook in his prime.”

George is coming off his best game of the season — a 43-point scorching performance against the Denver Nuggets in a losing effort. But he is averaging a healthy 21.8 points and 5.4 rebounds nightly, while Westbrook is not far from his MVP numbers with 25.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 10.3 assists per game.

The Thunder are 30-22 and fifth in the West, only a half game over the Portland Trail Blazers.