Fansided

Paul George explains his decision to stay with Oklahoma City Thunder

By Brendon Kleen

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 23: Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder high fives his teammates before the game against the Utah Jazz in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 23: Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder high fives his teammates before the game against the Utah Jazz in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The 28-year-old superstar wing Paul George shocked the NBA world by staying with the Oklahoma City Thunder this summer, but he says it’s a result of his relationships and comfort with the franchise.

Don’t call it an upset.

While back in 2017 it would have come as a massive shock if someone said George would stay in Oklahoma City after the franchise pulled off a surprise trade for him on the final day of the league calendar, it became more realistic as the season went on.

“This year, being in Oklahoma, I felt really good about the situation, I felt really good going forward, and I didn’t want to waste nobody’s time and take a meeting,” George told gathered media this week during the USA Basketball camp in Las Vegas.

The meeting.

Don’t bring it up to Lakers fans — after publicly making it known Los Angeles was at the forefront of his radar, George shirked the Lakers in free agency.

“The reason why I didn’t (take a meeting) is that coming down to free agency and before it was about to open (on July 1), I felt really good where I was at,” George told the USA TODAY.

“I felt I was in a good place with Oklahoma. I wanted to come back to LA. That story was true. The narrative on that was true.”

However, it was the honesty and forthrightness with which Russell Westbrook handled his business on and off the court that attracted George to him as a teammate.

“It was about him being himself, him being genuine, him being authentic, him being real. Nothing about him is fake, and that’s the people I want to be around, somebody who’s going to tell it like it is, somebody who’s going to push you, somebody who’s going to encourage you, somebody who’s going to motivate you, and vice versa,” George explained.

Certainly, the Thunder presented an opportunity to continue to build a championship contender after a solid season, whereas moving to the Lakers would have been a huge adjustment for George.

As Thunder reporter Royce Young noted on The Jump Wednesday, it’s possible to achieve a high level of individual success next to Westbrook. Kevin Durant won a MVP trophy opposite Westbrook in 2014. Respect and personal achievement have been important to George throughout his career, and staying with the Thunder is probably a better opportunity in that regard.

Yet George also walked away from playing with one of the greatest players of all time in James, and now could end up facing him in the playoffs again, just a year after leaving him behind in the East.

Following the Lakers’ rise in parallel to George’s in Oklahoma City will be a case study in priorities and opportunity in a league where players increasingly control their destiny.

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