Los Angeles Lakers: Team angry they didn’t have a free agency meeting with Paul George
The Los Angeles Lakers were not pleased that Paul George totally disregarded them in free agency.
Throughout the 2017-2018 season, Los Angeles Lakers rumors revolving around Paul George were constant. They were generally linked to him the most.
Even before the 2017-2018 campaign started, George’s name remained tied to the Lakers. According to what Scooby Axson of Sports Illustrated reports, George originally preferred to be in L.A. last year.
It made sense logically since George’s origins are in the Los Angeles area. That being said, it would have been a classic, feel-good sort of stories if the Lakers acquired him.
PG-13 would have given the Lakers their first proven star since Kobe Bryant called it a career. Moreover, it is safe to say his presence would have made the squad more relevant last season.
Needless to say, the Lakers did not pounce on the opportunity last summer. President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka clearly felt Indiana’s asking price was too much.
L.A.’s caution was sensible because they did not want to relinquish too many of their young pieces at the time. Indeed, they could have gotten George, but at the expense of gutting their depth.
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It is precisely why the 16-time champs were okay with waiting one more year on the All-Star talent. The Lakers felt strongly about their chances to get the former Pacer for nothing because of his expressed desire to be in his hometown.
However, things do not always turn out perfectly. After being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer, the 5-time All-Star’s views changed. Oklahoma City grew on the 28-year-old.
As a result, George decided to re-sign with the Thunder last month at a four-year, $137 million price tag. The move surprised many due to the never-ending buzz centered around the Lakers.
What was more shocking, however, was that Los Angeles never got to make their sales pitch to George this summer. They were essentially blown off.
While on the Short Story Long podcast, George admitted the Lakers were not thrilled whatsoever. Via what ESPN reproduced from the podcast, the purple and gold were “pissed.”
"“L.A. was pissed at me,” he said on the Short Story Long podcast. “I didn’t give Magic [Johnson] a meeting, which I understand. But at that point, I knew I wanted to give it another shot [in Oklahoma City]. I didn’t want to prolong it and waste people’s time.”"
It is difficult to knock the man’s honesty. No. 13 clearly enjoyed being alongside Russell Westbrook, hence why he did not want to play games with anyone in free agency.
Despite that, the Lakers have a right to be angry. Certainly, they expected to at least be given the chance to talk with George.
As Brent Ong of ClutchPoints spins it, L.A. was heading into a rather “crucial offseason.” The team has been amid a playoff drought, so any potential free agency meeting carried significance.
Fortunately for the Lakers, they did not put all their eggs into one basket. Not too long into free agency, they landed LeBron James. The transaction instantly made the team credible once again.
Having James aboard makes it easy for that frustration to melt away. Granted there is no denying George’s abilities, LeBron is superior.
What will be a sight to see is whose team is superior in 2018-2019. The Thunder and Lakers have pretty high expectations going into the fall.
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Accordingly, Lakers’ fans can only hope their boys can make George and the Thunder ticked off when they face each other this year.