Free agent swingman Paul George has agreed to a four-year, $137 million deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. George's deal includes a player-option on his third year.
This deal represent all the commitment George has given to his Thunder teammates and the front office, as he was first expected to sign a one-and-one deal to remain with the team.
This enormous deal will put the Thunder's salary cap to balloon to up to a grand total of $308 million after paying the repeater tax ($130 million), according to ESPN Insider Bobby Marks.
The 6-foot-9 forward posted 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per game last season, playing alongside Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony.
Westbrook recently hosted a “summer hype house party” in Oklahoma City, which led to suspicion that his 28-year-old running mate would sign with the team. Guests were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements, which obviously leads to think the team wanted no part of their previous agreement to leak before the start of the free agency window.
George developed a strong rapport with Westbrook in his only season with the Thunder, and despite coming up short in the first round of the playoffs, it has proven to be enough to keep him in town in a short-term deal.
The Thunder are waist-deep in the luxury tax with huge deals for Westbrook, who signed the supermax last offseason, Steven Adams, who inked a four-year, $100 million deal, and Carmelo Anthony, who opted into the last year of his contract, which would pay him $28 million for 2018-19.
George's return would assure the core of OK3 will be back again this upcoming season, hoping to take another crack at this evolving Western Conference, but yield better results down the line.
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