Free agency started off with a bang, with Paul George announcing he will remain with the Oklahoma City Thunder. After a year of speculation that he would end up with the Los Angeles Lakers, he stayed with the small-market team; a decision that seems to have been made a while back considering he did not even meet with other teams. He did what he felt was right.
The year-long recruitment from Russell Westbrook and the Thunder franchise looks to be working out. Good for him and the franchise. But, that does not mean it will not be a huge mistake.
When the Thunder traded for him and Carmelo Anthony to form the “OK3,” there was a renewed optimism in the city for post-Kevin Durant life. Although a step down from Durant, George was still a top-12 player in the league. And although Anthony was not the same player as he once was, he was still perceived as a quality player who, if used as an off-ball weapon like he was expected to, would be dangerous.
But things did not go as planned, as they won just one more game than last season before flaming out embarrassingly to a rookie-led Utah Jazz squad. And the future does not hold any more potential than last year.
George stated that “winning” was his priority but staying in OKC does not ensure title contention. They were nowhere close last season. If we are going off last year, that means first-round exits constitute as “winning” because they are not going to get any better.
The team has plateaued both skill-wise and financially. Westbrook turns 30 this year, and for a guy whose sole game is predicated on athleticism, his physical decline will come sooner rather than later. And in turn, his game will be hurt. Anthony is 34 years old and washed. Steven Adams is good but limited (and overpaid). Andre Roberson is a ghost on offense and the team has no bench.
Westbrook averaged another triple-double this past season, and Paul George had one of the best seasons of his career. There is nowhere to go. Their potential is capped. Their best players are either in their prime with no room for improvement, over-the-hill or limited. They are not getting any better, especially with the Western Conference expected to be stronger.
And the franchise is in a terrible situation financially. Without George, the team’s payroll was already around $117 million. But now you add in his $max contract along with Jeremi Grant’s 3-year $27 million deal and the payroll shoots up to around $160 million. Take into account that the NBA set the 2018-2019 salary cap at $101.8 million. They have no present or flexibility to make a move to improve the team.
They will have no flexibility to make any moves to improve the squad, neither via trades nor free agency. He will be stuck with the team the Thunder have right now. Even after Melo’s $28 million comes off the books.
There are better situations out there like the Lakers and 76ers. The 76ers have two elite young franchise cornerstones in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. They have their point guard and big man. All they need is someone in between; an elite perimeter player that can score and shoot from the perimeter and defend. Robert Covington is a nice player, but he is no George. PG13 would elevate Philly into legitimate contenders, especially playing in the weak Eastern Conference.
The Lakers offer the opportunity to potentially play with the best player in the world in LeBron James. And while the Lakers core is still young, it is very talented, and the mystery of “what if” with them is worth choosing over second-round exits with the Thunder. The potential is higher.
Staying in OKC is essentially choosing Westbrook over James, Anthony over the Lakers’ young core, and the city of Oklahoma City over Los Angeles. It takes a special kind of person to do that. He is doing what he feels is best for him and his family, which you have to respect, along with him choosing to stay in a small market.
But no one wants to hear that “winning” was the reason he chose to stay because it’s entirely false. You can respect a decision, but doesn’t mean that is a mistake.
Featured Image via Flickr/Mark Runyon
