The Lakers won’t have to worry about NBA tampering rules in a couple of months, and it sounds as if Paul George will be willing to listen.
The five-time All-Star likely will enter free agency on July 1 upon opting out of his deal with the Thunder, where he played this past season after getting traded from the Pacers in the offseason. George, who grew up right outside Los Angeles, renewed the homegrown-star-to-Lakers rumors when speaking to reporters over the weekend, a day after the Thunder were eliminated in the playoffs.
“I would say almost everybody in this league would love to play at home,” George said during his Thunder press conference on Saturday. “I won’t say that’s a lie. Everybody would love to play for their home in one way or another, but that won’t be the only option for why I want to go somewhere is because it’s home. Not at all.”
Undoubtedly, the Thunder heard his latest signal he’s open to making the Lakers relevant again.
“I feel like he’s been here longer than one year,” Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti told reporters, via ESPN, on Wednesday. “I said this to him before he left. The reason why is because I just feel like he’s such a tremendous fit for our organization, our community. The way he has embraced the opportunity in Oklahoma City, built strong relationships both with his teammates, with ownership, with staff, I just think he’s really, really been exceptional in that respect.
“From the day that he arrived, we really made a specific and intentional effort to build a relationship with Paul and his representation built on three things: collaboration, transparency and trust. Those tenets were followed throughout the year and continued to be. I felt strongly about the relationship. I feel great about the communication and the honesty, about the way we started the relationship.”
The love George feels for Los Angeles, though, is likely still mutual.
Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson all but started recruiting George to Los Angeles during an appearance last April on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Johnson acknowledged he would try to follow NBA protocol by saying “hi” to George, “even though I’ll be wink-winking like, ‘You know what that means, right?’” he added.
That plan didn’t hold true. The Lakers got themselves in trouble four months later for communicating with George while he was still under contract with the Pacers, according to an NBA investigation into the complaint. The league hit Los Angeles with a $500,000 fine on Aug. 31 for the violation.
While several reports have indicated George intends to end his Thunder trial after one season — perhaps along with Carmelo Anthony, who also was acquired before last season to form their Big Three with Russell Westbrook and ended up unhappy with his diminished role — George has only spoken positively about his Oklahoma City experience.
“It’s tough. I haven’t been in the position to be a free agent or know what that is like, and then to have the chance to go where you want to go,” George, 28, said. “That’s always been, I feel, what players want … but then you get to an organization where they check the boxes on all of the things you want out of an organization and then immediately they become a candidate for where you want to play long term. That’s been the case here.”
For now, speculation is rampant. ESPN’s Ryen Russillo said on his podcast he heard “from somebody I trust that George is gone.”
George is probably the only one who truly knows, and whether the Thunder’s Big Three becomes a Big One or Two is in the balance.