Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti explained the Paul George situation at length, claiming he did not hear of his trade request until July, according to Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman.
“When the situation developed in July, that was the first we heard of that,” said Presti, referring to the George trade request.
Presti characterized his usual conversations with George and Russell Westbrook after the season as “productive, and I thought coming into the year with some of the additions that we made and with Dre coming back” they'd be about a 50-win team.
George had reportedly expressed his frustration and discontent right after the Thunder's second straight first-round exit at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers this time, though that didn't become a flat-out trade request until July, according to Presti.
The longtime general manager said it bluntly: “You’ve got to have everyone pulling on the same end of the rope” to maximize the team's potential, and that was when he first began to explore a potential trade.
The L.A. Clippers reportedly negotiated with the Thunder for 48 hours before coming to an agreement only minutes before the end of the NBA's moratorium period. Presti noted the only reason why he was able to appease George's trade request was largely in part of the large return they were able to get from L.A.
Presti would soon follow up that move by trading Jerami Grant and later Russell Westbrook, heading the Thunder into rebuild mode after some playoff shortcomings that shrunk their window of opportunity.
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