Oklahoma City Thunder: 3 reasons keeping Paul George was so crucial

The Oklahoma City Thunder are already one of the biggest winners of the NBA offseason by re-signing All-Star Paul George.

For the past year, it was apparently a foregone conclusion that Paul George was going to become a Los Angeles Laker when his contract expired in the summer of 2018.

Now, that summer is here, and George is far from being a Laker, with ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting — and even PG himself saying — that he will, in fact, sign a four-year, $137 million deal to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

After everything OKC has been through recently — losing Kevin Durant, extending Russell Westbrook and now their saga with PG — convincing the five-time All-Star to stay could become one of the biggest moments in the history of the franchise.

Not even a week into 2018 NBA free agency, the Thunder have already had one of the best offseasons in the league.

Bringing George back into the fold obviously validates the trade they made for him last summer, but it also allows them to continue competing for championships — something the franchise hasn’t stopped doing for most of its decade in Oklahoma City.