Paul George didn’t even give the Lakers a chance make a free agency pitch to him, and understandably, it didn’t sit right with them.
Other than LeBron James joining the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the biggest NBA free agency headlines of the summer was Paul George choosing to re-sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The interesting thing was that while George was still with the Indiana Pacers, he repeatedly said that his free agency destination would be the Lakers.
Before his contract expired, he was traded to the Thunder, and spending a year in Oklahoma City changed his mind – to the point that he didn’t even give Magic Johnson and the Lakers a meeting.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to George that the Lakers were a little bit irritated that he completely blew them off, especially given the fact that he had been saying for over a year that he wanted to go to Los Angeles.
"“L.A. was pissed at me,” George said on the Short Story Long podcast. “I didn’t give Magic a shot, which I understand. But at that point, I knew I wanted to give it another shot. I didn’t want to prolong it and waste people’s time.”"
It makes sense that George would feel that way. Despite last year’s disappointing loss to the Utah Jazz in the playoffs, he enjoys playing with Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook and believes he can help the Thunder make a run at a championship.
But on the Lakers’ end of things, while their biggest concern of the summer was signing James, they probably were hoping for a blockbuster summer in which they brought not one, but two superstar free agents to Los Angeles – and they probably thought they had a good chance of doing it with the way George had been promoting it.
George probably could’ve handled the situation a little better, and Magic Johnson and the Lakers have the right to be a little miffed about it. But the Lakers still have the best player in the world, so ultimately they should be just fine.