Thunder news: Sam Presti disagrees that parting ways with Paul George was 'mutual,' but it wasn't 'adversarial'

Clippers swingman Paul George noted that his decision to leave the Thunder was "mutual." Sam Presti "wouldn't necessarily agree," however.

The L.A. Clippers welcomed Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to the organization with an introductory press conference on Wednesday afternoon. During the event, George noted that his decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder was “mutual.” However, Thunder general manager Sam Presti “wouldn't necessarily agree” with George's assessment, according to a report from Brett Dawson of The Athletic.

Presti says he “wouldn’t necessarily agree” with Paul George’s assessment that parting was a “mutual” decision. But says it was “not adversarial at all.”

— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) July 25, 2019

“I worked hand-in-hand with the (Thunder) front office,” George said during his introductory presser with the Clippers. “We had a great relationship. I played two good years there, and it was a mutual thing between both of us that the time was up. We both had ideas of doing things differently.”

“I don't think there is anything wrong with it,” George added, referring to his offseason move to the Clippers. “It should be a pretty even and mutual thing if both parties can be on the same page.”

Paul George says his trade from the #Thunder was a "mutual thing" and that his "time was up" in OKC. pic.twitter.com/3lIVw9tspo

— Dylan Buckingham (@DylanBuckingham) July 24, 2019

The pairing of George and Leonard in L.A. has led many experts to place the Clippers among the favorites in the Western Conference for the coming season. The two players have several notable accolades between them, including nine All-Star nods and three All-NBA First Team selections.

George, now 29 years of age, is coming off of one of the best statistical years of his career. The Palmdale native made 77 appearances with the Thunder during the 2018-19 regular season (all starts), racking up averages of 28.0 points on 43.8 percent shooting from the field (38.6 percent from beyond the arc), 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and a career-high 2.2 steals in 36.9 minutes per outing.

The Clippers finished the 2018-19 regular season campaign with a 48-34 overall record, which earned the team a No. 8 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. Unfortunately, though, L.A. was defeated by the Golden State Warriors in the first round, 4-2.