Paul George says that he would have joined the Lakers if he had not been traded by the Pacers

Paul George revealed to The Undefeated, of ESPN, that he "would have worn the Lakers uniform" when he had never been traded from the Indiana Pacers. But after the Pacers awarded the Five-Star All-Star to the Thunder of Oklahoma City last year, he fell in love with his new team and played with Russell Westbrook before finally agreeing to a contract extension. $ 137 million for four years this past season. .

"It was 50-50 to decide if I wanted to go home or it was smarter to be in the situation I am in now," George told The Undefeated. "But it was not exaggerated, I wanted to play in the C & # 39; s where I wanted to go.If this trade had never gone down, if I had played another year at Indy. , I would have worn the Lakers uniform. "

The Thunder acquired George's Pacers from Indiana in exchange for goalkeeper Victor Oladipo and striker Domantas Sabonis on July 6, 2017. Prior to this transaction, George was very intrigued by the thought of being treated with the Lakers. The Lakers had the key to making such a decision, as they held No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA draft or striker Brandon Ingram, said a source. The Lakers, however, retained second place at the choice of Lonzo Ball, the guard of UCLA, and have never treated Ingram. George was disappointed that the Lakers did not give him enough value to trade with the Pacers at the time, a source said.

The Lakers hoped to meet the native of Palmdale, California, last July, as part of an independent mission, hoping to sign him. However, George made the unobtrusive decision to sign back with the Thunder before the free agency arrived and never met the Lakers. The Lakers would then sign NBA star LeBron James as a free agent. George also told The Undefeated that he had talked to James about his future plans before the Thunder trade when James was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they never had a similar conversation afterwards.

George returns to Los Angeles for the first time since signing back to Oklahoma City to play the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.

"Going to summer and to free will, I had somehow decided to talk with the team, talk with Russ and with the home office," he said. George. "I felt a little good where we were. [season]I did not have the chance to start with this new team. I was exchanged late. So, I picked up things late with the team. I wanted to get there right away and start creating early. "

It was a risky gamble for Thunder's general manager, Sam Presti, when he traded against George. George averaged 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 flights per game last season for the Thunder. George, Westbrook and then teammate Carmelo Anthony however lost to Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2018 NBA playoffs in six games. George could have gone away from the Thunder for nothing. But despite the shortcomings of the Thunder last season, George liked what he saw for the future with Westbrook, signed long-term, so he signed on again.