Paul George Wanted to Be Traded to the Lakers

Paul George says he’s perfectly happy to be a member of the Thunder, but makes no secret of the wish he had last summer to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Palmdale, Calif., native would love the opportunity to play in front of his family and friends.

George, a free agent this summer, considers the Indiana Pacers trading him to OKC a “win-win for both sides.”

Per The Oklahoman:

“Being out there with Melo, with Russ, the talent we have … it’s crazy to think of where we can get to the more we build,” George said Tuesday in Oklahoma City. “We’ve only been together a couple of months.

 

“You’ve got to think of the bigger picture when it comes to a situation like this.”

 

George understands he can like where he is and where he’s from simultaneously. He doesn’t have any regrets about the Lakers coming out as a potential destination, or about the circumstances in which he left Indiana.

 

“All was said was a destination I would love to go to,” George said. “There wasn’t gun pointed to the head ‘send me here.’ I just stated somewhere I wanted to go play. You ask 80, 70 percent of the guys in the league if they’d love to go back home and play for their city, for their home … that’s all I stated. I would have loved to go back home and play for my city. So, no regrets at all. I thought this trade that went down was a win-win for both sides, and I’m happy we both moved on.”

 

“We’ve got two games to play in L.A. I’m excited to play in front of family and friends, and I’m excited to do so with the team I have.”

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