It has been heavily rumored that Paul George has is mind set on joining his hometown Lakers when he becomes a free agent after this season.
George informed the Pacers he was set to leave after the 2017-18 season, and even told friends of his plans to go home.
However, these plans may not be as black and white as they once were. After getting traded from Indiana to the Oklahoma City Thunder, George admitted that his plans for the Lakers may have been ‘overblown'. Getting a chance to pair up with the reigning MVP has made George think twice about re-locating to LA LA land after this season.
If everything goes right for George in his first season in OKC, he said he would be up for re-signing with the Thunder.
George, via Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated:
“I grew up a Lakers and a Clippers fan,” George says. “I idolized Kobe. There will always be a tie here, a connection here. People saying I want to come here, who doesn’t want to play for their hometown? That’s a dream come true, if you’re a kid growing up on the outskirts of L.A., to be the man in your city. But it’s definitely been overstated. For me, it’s all about winning. I want to be in a good system, a good team. I want a shot to win it. I’m not a stats guy. I’m playing this game to win and build a legacy of winning. I’ve yet to do that. I’m searching for it. If we get a killer season in Oklahoma, we make the conference finals or upset the Warriors or do something crazy, I’d be dumb to want to leave that.”
George also went on to say that if everything did fall in to place for him to go to L.A. on a competitive squad, he still considers that an attractive option in free agency.
“It would have to be a situation where the ball gets rolling and guys are hopping on. This guy commits, that guy commits. ‘Oh s—, now there’s a team forming.’ It has to be like that.”
Still, it seems like there are a lot of moving parts in order for George to truly consider a move to the Lakers. Now that he's on a team with Russell Westbrook and a solid supporting cast consisting of Steven Adams, Andre Roberson, and the newly-signed Patrick Patterson, the Thunder provide a much more promising option for George going forward.
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