Sam Presti, General Manager of Oklahoma City Thunder, has commented on rumours of Paul George’s possible departure. GM is unaware of reports that George will leave the Thunder at the Free Agency in the summer.
“Ask Paul himself,” said the GM when asked about the comments of Ryen Russillo (ESPN). “He’s already said a lot of things.” Russillo had said in his podcast that according to his sources George had already finished with the Thunder.
According to Presti, however, this is not the case. “I don’t want to misrepresent that or say that it’s not correct for someone else to have said something. “Personally, I’d rather talk to George himself.”
Russillo himself rowed back a bit on Twitter and was surprised at the reactions. “I have not reported that George will leave OKC,” explained the podcast host. “I said that for the first time I talked to someone who thought George was leaving. That’s how we made a conversation on the podcast.”
It also showed, however, that George’s Free Agency will remain the dominant theme of the summer in OKC, even though Presti remained optimistic. “Since he joined us, our association with Paul and his agent has been based on three things: Collaboration, transparency and trust. This has been the case all year and will continue.”
George can become a free agent in the summer, but he has not yet made a decision. In theory, PG-13 could also draw its $20.7 million player option and stay in OKC for another year. However, it does not seem very realistic for him to choose this option. Instead, George will be more looking for a new long-term contract.