The Paul George deal does show that Lakers fans have a gripe about being singled out.
I will admit over the past year that I rolled my eyes when I read or heard that the Lakers were being singled out on issues like tampering. Moves the team made was no better. The Lakers were basically scorched on the load of assets they gave up for Anthony Davis.
Then when you compare to the Clippers deal for Paul George, one would think that they may have a point.
OKC acquired THREE unprotected first-round picks from the Clippers in this trade (2022, 2024 and 2026), league sources say, PLUS two firsts from Miami (2021 unprotected and 2023 protected 1-to-14) ... AND the right to swap picks with the Clips in 2023 and 2025. Staggering
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 6, 2019
That’s quite a load for a player that is known to disappear around playoff time and rehabbing two shoulders. It’s funny to think people thought that I was hating when I warned Lakers fans that Paul George did the team a favor by not coming. But I digress.
Paul George has placed himself as Kawhi’s teammate in the real-life version of the 90’s game NBA Jam against LeBron James and Anthony Davis. To the millennial readers out there, that’s my era of the NBA 2K.
Paul George was the key to this whole deal and where we are today. The Clippers may not land Kawhi Leonard and the percentages of him donning a Lakers uniform probably move up from rumors to reality. According to Yahoo! Sports, Chris Haynes, Kawhi Leonard wanted to come home to Los Angeles period.
Sure, Anthony Davis is under the microscope, but don’t think Paul George shouldn’t be feeling the same amount of pressure.
Inside of three years, Paul George has forced his way out of two franchises without a Finals appearance. Indiana did a great job under the circumstances getting Victor Oladipo and other assets. They are doing okay. The Thunder, on the other hand, will be forever reminded of Damian Lillard waving goodbye to the Westbrook era and hello to years of rebuilding.
Out of the four marquee players, George is the only one that is not considered a top 5 player even though his actions has him believing his own hype. There are already reports that Sam Presti spoke out on Paul George’s claim that the Thunder deal was “mutual”.
Paul George was an MVP candidate for much of last season before tailing off at the end to finish in third place. Just like the Davis deal, it was a risk that the franchise felt they needed to take.
If George doesn’t deliver, his reputation will take a major hit. His power move wasn’t as documented as Anthony Davis’ was but it was a power move nonetheless. It had better work for the Clippers and more importantly for George himself.
We know that any Hollywood production has to have power players. In the NBA, those are the guys in the front office. Let’s look at the guy in charge of the Lakers.