Paul George has been traded to Oklahoma City. Photo Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Next summer, Paul George may join his hometown Los Angeles Lakers. For now, he will reportedly be a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Multiple outlets reported Friday night that George was traded by the Indiana Pacers to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
George’s name has been in trade rumors ever since June 18 when he informed the Pacers he was not re-signing and planned to become a free agent when his contract was up next summer. Since then, he has reportedly expressed a desire to join the Lakers. He has also been linked to the Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards, among others.
The Thunder reportedly are sending guard Victor Oladipo and forward Domantas Sabonis to the Pacers.
The move places George alongside NBA MVP Russell Westbrook for at least one year and occurs nearly a year after Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City to join the Golden State Warriors as a free agent.
George was the 10th overall pick by Indiana out of Fresno State in 2010. He has career averages of 18.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 488 regular-season games.
George also appeared in 81 and 75 games, respectively, in the last two seasons after missing most of the 2014-15 campaign recovering from a gruesome knee injury. Last season, he averaged a career-high 23.7 points and 6.6 rebounds on a career-best 46.1 percent shooting.
Oladipo was acquired by the Thunder in a 2016 draft night trade with the Orlando Magic for Serge Ibaka.
In his only season with Oklahoma City, Oladipo averaged 15.9 points on a career-best 44.2 percent shooting in 67 games. Since being picked by Orlando as the second overall pick of the 2013 draft, Oladipo has averaged 15.9 points in 291 regular-season games.
Sabonis was acquired in the same trade as Oladipo and averaged 5.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 81 games as a rookie last season.
