According to ESPN’s Ryen Russillo, Paul George is “gone” from Oklahoma City after the Thunder’s disappointing season which ended in a first round playoff exit at the hands of the Utah Jazz.
Russillo offers that a “trusted source” has said that he’s not sure where Paul George is going to go in free agency, but that the small forward is definitely leaving Oklahoma City.
Paul George knows how to please the people, and he chose his words very carefully in his exit interview on Saturday.
When asked about free agency, George said, “That’s always been, I feel with players, they want that option. But then you go into an organization where they kind of check the boxes on all the things that you want out of an organization, then immediately they become a candidate to where you want to play long-term.”
He added, “We’ve had the high moments where we’ve seen what we can be. That’s the consistency part of just getting an identity as a group. I think we’re close. I think we’re close to accomplishing something bigger here.”
This sounds all good and nice, but Thunder fans have been burned by a player’s near promises before. While this situation is incredibly different from two summers ago, it’s hard to feel good about George staying after the way things went down this season.
On the other hand, a “trusted source” isn’t much to go on, so for all we know, George could have every intention of staying.
At this point, Thunder fans will have to be patient and see how things play out over the next couple of months.
Be sure to check out our Season Finale edition of “Thunder Things with the Thunder Guys.”
Article written by Zack Low. Follow @TheThunderGuys on Twitter & Instagram, and give us a like on Facebook.