Paul George signed a four-year, $136.9 million maximum contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer and the swingman couldn't be happier with his decision to stay in OKC.
Many thought George would bolt Oklahoma City after just one season and take his talents to the Los Angeles Lakers. George reportedly wanted to play for the Lakers for quite some time. He told the Indiana Pacers he wasn't going to re-sign with them in the summer of 2018 because he wanted to join the Lakers.
Whatever the Thunder did last season privately with George worked, as the All-Star quickly re-signed with OKC in free agency.
George says being committed to one franchise is a huge burden off his shoulders.
“You can give your everything to one organization, and you know the direction that you’re going,” George said in a recent interview with Scott Cacciola of The New York Times. “There’s so much that players have to deal with that I don’t think people quite recognize. A lot of them are the same issues that everybody else deals with. But this takes a lot of the burden off my shoulders.”
George is having the best statistical season of his career with the Thunder in 2018-19.
The six-time All-Star is averaging 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 44.1 percent from the field, 39.1 percent from beyond the arc and 83.7 percent from the free-throw line.
The Thunder are 43-30 on the season, which is good for sixth place in the Western Conference standings.