All-Star forward Paul George revealed that he was aware that the Indiana Pacers wanted to trade him to the Golden State Warriors but it never happened. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, George compared the magnitude of the trade like Chris Paul’s situation where he was traded by the Los Angeles Clippers to the Houston Rockets. "Yeah, I was aware of it. I would've looked forward to it, of just being in a good situation and a chance to compete for a championship,” George told Wojnarowski.
During their conversation, Wojnarowski told George that the Pacers asked for Klay Thompson in exchange for George but Golden State reportedly turned it down.
If the deal pushed through, George said it would put him in a good situation and a chance to compete for championship.
However, George said it will be fun to team up with a special talent like Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, where the Pacer eventually traded him for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Last season, the 6-foot-9 George averaged a career-high 23.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 75 games (all starts) with the Pacers.
George admitted being caught off-guard with Thunder trade
George earlier admitted that he was caught off guard by the news that he was traded to the Thunder, saying it was not one of the teams on his mind. According to Royce Young, George thought he was going to four or five other teams that were pretty active in trade talks.
“When I found out it was OKC, I was quite surprised, but at the same time I was happy about the trade,” said George.
The Thunder took a chance on George despite having one year remaining on his deal with the Pacers. It was reported that George plans to join the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 but he clarified that he will look into all possibilities before making his decision.
Earlier, George said that interest in playing for the Lakers “has been blown out of proportion”. He admitted that playing for the Lakers will be a dream come true but it will be about winning for him. He said that if the Thunder make the conference finals, he will be “dumb to want to leave that”.
George to wear James Harden’s No. 13 with Thunder
As part of their efforts to sign George to a long-term deal, the Thunder approved his request to wear James Harden’s old No. 13 with the team. The Thunder earlier turned down Dion Waiters’ appeal to use the number that Harden wore before he was traded to the Houston Rockets.
