Coming out of left field, the Pacers traded Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Here are the five biggest questions for George and his new team.
The Oklahoma City Thunder came out of left field and made a huge move right before NBA Free Agency officially begins. Sam Presti and the Thunder front office moved Victor Oladipo — and his poor contract — and Damontas Sabonis to the Pacers for Paul George. This will be such an interesting combination next year in Oklahoma City with recently crowned MVP Russell Westbrook and George.
Oklahoma City was looking to make a big move after losing Kevin Durant in free agency last year, and now they’re adding another superstar wing via trade. The Thunder definitely weren’t worried about George potentially leaving in 2018 via free agency, because they’re taking the gamble on him.
With the Thunder making such a big move ahead of free agency, let’s take a look at the five biggest questions for George and the Thunder.
5. How awkward will it be when Paul George wears James Harden’s old number?
George, or as many like to refer to him, PG13, is definitely going to wear the No. 13 in Oklahoma City so that he can continue to build his brand.
The former Pacers’ star wore No. 24 for a long time in Indiana before making the switch to No. 13 to be able to use the nickname PG13. So for Thunder fans, how awkward will it be to see George donning the same number that Harden once wore with the Thunder?
It’ll just be a constant reminder that the Thunder couldn’t deliver a championship when they had all three, Harden, Westbrook and Durant, in the building. It’ll also just show the fans that Harden still isn’t here and instead he’s on the Houston Rockets.
But don’t worry, that’ll only be for a little while. Then as soon as George starts to ball out with Westbrook, they’ll never remember that Harden wore the No. 13 for the Thunder back in the day.
It’ll be weird seeing George in a Thunder jersey — probably just as weird for Thunder fans seeing him wear that No. 13.
4. How far can Paul George + Russell Westbrook take the Thunder?
The Thunder won 47 games this past season in a loaded Western Conference but got bounced out of the first round in five games. Russell Westbrook didn’t have any help surrounding him, and Sam Presti made it a point to address that in free agency.
Oklahoma City was held down by the salary cap due to some bad contracts (like Victor Oladipo’s) and might not have had the ability to add star talent via free agency. So what does Presti do? Go out and trade for Paul George.
How far can this new tandem take the Thunder? I think it’s a great combination and could be like the Westbrook-Kevin Durant pairing that the Thunder had until this season. George isn’t as good as Durant, but they both play the same way. They’re fantastic offensive players and can also guard the top player on the opposing team.
This probably means that the Thunder will become a top-four team in the Western Conference, right behind Houston, Golden State and San Antonio. I think they’ll have home court in the first round of the playoffs and even win against a weaker opponent. I don’t think they have the bench or firepower to beat the other top three teams in the West.
3. Who else will Sam Presti add around George and Westbrook?
Right now the Thunder roster still isn’t that great. They’ll have Enes Kanter and Stephen Adams as their big men, but there are a lot of question marks around the rest of the squad.
Doug McDermott and Jerami Grant will be key pieces off the bench, but that’s not going to get you over the hump against the top three teams in the Western Conference. So who else can Sam Presti go get in free agency to help this team?
I think they need a lot of shooting around the tandem, especially with ball-dominant players like George and Westbrook. They could go after players like J.J. Redick or Kyle Korver who can shoot the three-pointer and would also be willing to take a little less money to come join a team with All-Stars.
They’ll also need some defensive players, such as a Tony Allen or Andre Roberson, who can take the load off George on a nightly basis. A backup point guard is probably still needed for the Thunder, because they can’t go into the season with Semaj Christon backing up Westbrook.
I don’t think the Thunder can land another star — especially with Blake Griffin staying in Los Angeles — but they need some more role players to become a top-three team in the Western Conference.
2. Will George and Westbrook work together?
This is the million dollar question: can Russell Westbrook and Paul George co-exist in one team? Surprisingly, I think that George and Westbrook will be just fine playing together.
We all know that the reigning MVP of the league is a ball-centric point guard, but he didn’t average a triple-double for no reason. Westbrook can definitely share the ball, especially when he has a teammate as good as PG13.
On the flip side, George is a fantastic catch-and-shoot shooter. He can do that in the mid-range or from the three-point line. It’s tough when the two stars that are ball dominant also struggle to shoot the ball from the outside.
This past season with the Pacers, shot 46 percent from the field and 39 percent from the three-point line. This means that Westbrook can still perform his point guard duties, handle the ball and distribute to George. He can trust George with the ball as he’s the best teammate he’s had since the departure of Durant.
it’s a pairing that we hadn’t thought much about because many didn’t think that George would land in Oklahoma City, but it should be similar to the relationship Westbrook had with Durant.
1. Will the Thunder convince George to sign a long-term deal in OKC?
If the last question was the million dollar question, this is the two million dollar question. Can Oklahoma City and their front office convince Paul George to sign long-term there?
Honestly, I don’t think so. I think George has set his mind on leaving in 2018 for Los Angeles, even telling close friends that he’s going to be a Laker. I don’t think the Thunder will win enough to convince George to stay.
The only teams I thought George could be traded to and stay there are Cleveland and Boston. Both of those teams have the chance to end up in the Finals, or at least the Conference Finals. Winning that deep in the playoffs would convince PG13 to avoid the lottery team that is the Lakers.
Next: 5 biggest questions for Chris Paul and the Rockets
Now that he’s a member of the Thunder, I don’t think they get past the second round. That’ll make it easier for him to bounce out of town and head west to Los Angeles.
Oklahoma City has been dying to get another star for Westbrook to play with after Durant left, but it might only be for one year. It’s going to be box office in the Western Conference now with George in Oklahoma City with Westbrook.