Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti was stunned when the agent of Paul George approached him on July 2nd about trading George to a team in which he could play with Kawhi Leonard, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
Presti said he would consider it, but he requested a face-to-face meeting with George before proceeding. Presti flew to Los Angeles and met with George on July 3rd. George reiterated his trade request and talked through his reasons for wanting a trade both to play with Leonard, but also to play at home.
Presti respected the way George went about his trade request and eventually traded George to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Thunder got Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and multiple draft picks in return for George:
Sam Presti was stunned, but he said he'd consider it. His only request was to meet with Paul George face-to-face before proceeding. He flew to Los Angeles on the evening of July 2 and saw George on July 3. George reiterated the request and talked through his reasons for wanting to make such a move — he wanted to play with Leonard but mostly wanted to play at home — just a year after re-signing with the Thunder.
It wasn't what Presti wanted to hear, but he respected the way George went about it. Presti said he'd look for trades that would help him play with Leonard and made sense for the Thunder.
It seems as if the George trade between the Thunder and Clippers worked out for both teams.
George is back home in Los Angeles, playing with Leonard and has a good shot of winning his first championship. The Thunder, meanwhile, have a bevy of draft picks at their disposal and a future star in Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Thunder are 23-17 on the season. They are in seventh place in the Western Conference standings. OKC is looking to shock the NBA this season by making the playoffs in the rugged West after losing George and Russell Westbrook in the same offseason.
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