Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star forward Paul George recently admitted to ESPN's The Undefeated that he would be in a Los Angeles Lakers jersey right now if the Indiana Pacers hadn't traded him in the summer of 2017. George had always been linked to his hometown team and planned to leave Indiana for the west coast once he became a free agent.
He had an opportunity to do so this past Summer, but never even gave the Lakers a chance to pitch him on the idea. Instead, after spending a year in Oklahoma City, the 28-year old star ultimately decided to sign a four-year, $137 million contract extension with the Thunder.
"It was 50-50 on deciding whether I wanted to come back home or if it was smarter to be in the situation I am in now," George told The Undefeated. "But it wasn't overstated. I wanted to play in L.A. That is where I wanted to go. Had that trade never went down, had I played one more year in Indy, I would have been in a Lakers uniform."
In his first season in OKC, George averaged 21.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as the Thunder finished fourth in the Western Conference - though they were bounced by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
George led the Westbrook-less Thunder with 27 points in their season-opening loss against the Golden State Warriors. The team will travel to Los Angeles for a matchup against the Clippers on Friday night.