Oklahoma City Thunder landing spot surprised Paul George

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s acquisition of Paul George surprised plenty of people including George himself.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were in a tough position coming into the offseason. They had very little cap space to maneuver with, limiting their options in free agency. They had only one draft pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, further limiting the changes they could make to the roster.

One thing that the Thunder have that other teams don’t is a bonafide star in Russell Westbrook. That gives them a leg up, but if they wanted to move up in the Western Conference hierarchy, moves had to be made. Despite the limited resources, the Thunder’s front office got creative and made it happen.

In what was one of the bigger upsets in free agency, the Thunder acquired small forward Paul George from the Indiana Pacers. It was not surprising that George was moved, but where he ended up being moved to was hardly on anyone’s radar.

George had been mentioned in trade rumors since the trade deadline in February. Many teams inquired about him then. Reportedly the Atlanta Hawks and Denver Nuggets both made offers that included a ton of draft picks.

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The trade rumors would only pick up once the offseason began. George informed the Pacers that he would not be returning to the team after this upcoming season. That put the Pacers in big enough of a bind; what really did them in is when he said that his preferred destination was with the Los Angeles Lakers.

With virtually no leverage, the Pacers were in a very difficult position. Plenty teams attempted to take advantage of that with trade proposals.

The Lakers attempted to get George, offering the choice of either Jordan Clarkson or Julius Randle along with the 27th and 28th picks in the 2017 NBA Draft. The Cleveland Cavaliers made a number of offers, reportedly coming as close to a done deal as possible without it being finalized. The Boston Celtics were also in the running, but they rejected the Pacers’ proposal that included three first round picks.

As a result, the Thunder took full advantage of the situation. While their offer of Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis seemed underwhelming, it was ultimately what got the job done.

It was a move that surprised even George. With all of the other rumors swirling, George himself admitted that being traded to the Thunder came out of nowhere, per ESPN‘s Royce Young:

"“It was surprising. This team wasn’t one of the teams that we had in mind,” George said. “I thought I was going to four or five other teams that were pretty active in trade [talks]. When I found out it was OKC, I was quite surprised, but at the same time I was happy about the trade. I was thrilled, I was looking forward to it. All I wanted was a chance and an opportunity to play for something special and ultimately to try and win a championship, and right off the bat I think I can do that here playing alongside Russ [Russell Westbrook].”"

In addition to George, the Thunder also signed Patrick Patterson in free agency in what looks like a coup of a deal. Veteran point guard Raymond Felton gives the team a legitimate backup option behind Westbrook, someone that can run the offense when he needs a rest.

Next: The biggest winners and losers of 2017 NBA free agency

The biggest move for the Thunder, though, was landing Westbrook a legitimate running mate in George. That trade helped the Thunder keep pace with the other Western Conference teams loading up. By adding George, combined with the other moves made in the offseason, the Thunder have cemented themselves in the middle of what looks to be a loaded Western Conference.

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