The NBA offseason or free agency has been shaping up to be very exciting so far and so soon. Paul George is no longer a member of the Indiana Pacers. The 27-year-old forward and four-time All-Star has officially made his decision. One of the premier free agents is now off the books signing to the Oklahoma City Thunder. They will surely be taking him in loving arms. He will now be shifting to the Western conference, leaving the Eastern conference.
Details of the trade
The Thunder got a great player in George, while the Thunder traded away guard Victor Oladipo and big man Domantas Sabonis.
The trade will end weeks of speculation of George possibly signing with either the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, or the Miami Heat. This definitely puts a dagger to the hearts of these teams who were hoping to land the star to get a championship versus the dominant Warriors. All three teams will be looking to other Star players to sign including Gordon Hayward and Blake Griffin.
This move further makes the West strong and the East weak.
The West going into next season so far looks to be more powerful or formidable than the East.
Great for the Thunder, bad for the Pacers
The Thunder made a great move in getting PG13 because they did not get rid of high valuable players. They lost a big man and second year player in Sabonis, but have other significant ones in Steven Adams and Enes Kanter on the roster.
The same can be said with Victor Oladipo who did not play well for the whole season. Oladipo struggled with fitting in and being consistent while being on the team. It can be argued that he also got overpaid, so the Thunder cleared some money off by trading him away.
The trade will also cause MVP Russell Westbrook to stay with the team.
The team will be looking to fix one of their biggest issues last season, shooting from the three-point line. They were last in the league in three-point shooting and that will change with the signing of Paul George. George last season shot the three at 39% last season.
The Thunder will be better with the acquisition of Paul George, while the Pacers will surely miss the great All-Star. The Indiana Pacers will have a huge void to fill. They are banking on the chance that Oladipo plays well for them and that second year player Sabonis grows into a great player.
Fans will be excited to see the duo of Westbrook and George on the court together. It could grow to be one of the best duos in the NBA.
However, they only have a year to figure it all out.
Will George leave to go to the Lakers?
Paul George announced that after next year he will be going to the Los Angeles Lakers. Granted, if the Thunder do well and get far into the playoffs, it could change his decision after all.
It can be argued that with the Thunder's recent acquisition that they are looking to be a much better team going into the next season and be able to compete. Next year could not be a quick exit out of the playoffs like last year was for the team. The Thunder still need more to win a championship, but they have already made a striking move to stun the world and inch closer to the promise of a championship. One that Durant and Westbrook were close to getting, but failing in the end. Maybe PG13 can change all of that and be the edition or better yet version of Kevin Durant.