The NBA is a star-driven league. One of those stars is gearing up for another move this offseason.
Paul George, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s starting forward, is expected by executives in the NBA to join the Los Angeles Lakers this summer. According to Sam Amick of USA Today, rival executives fully expect George to sign with the Lakers once he becomes a free agent this off-season.
Rival execs still expect Paul to head for the Lakers in free agency, meaning his trade value will be depressed. Also, OKC is just 3 games out of 4th spot in the West. Still time... https://t.co/EKZGEIMT8i
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) December 13, 2017
In the story attached to the tweet, Amick mentions the Thunder’s struggles as a reason for the impending move. These rumors have surrounded George since last summer when the Indiana Pacers traded him for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
Some point to George as an obvious trade candidate. It would enable the Thunder to grab some much needed depth. With a decent return for George the Thunder would be able to do something they were unable to with Kevin Durant; leverage a superstars’ free agency to benefit the organization.
One issue with trading George are those pesky Los Angeles rumors. They got so bad during the summer that the NBA actually fined the Lakers for their involvement with George. Amick touches on that in the piece as well.
"Rival executives will argue that his value is depressed because of the alive-and-well rumor he is headed for the Lakers, knowing full well that the Thunder don’t want to lose a superstar for the second time in three summers after Kevin Durant. The lack of leverage, if nothing else, could compel the Thunder to see this through until the summertime."
According to Amick is looks unlikely the Thunder shake things up. That includes firing Billy Donovan. Oklahoma City is set to ride out this season with their new big three regardless of the outcomes.
Next: Chris Paul is thriving in Houston
It is easy to forget that we are just one quarter of the way through a long season. This is a talented Oklahoma City team. A team that is only three games behind for a top four seed in the Western Conference. This could get better quicker than we realize.