Oklahoma City Thunder: 3 reasons keeping Paul George was so crucial
1. Thunder remain title contenders
With George on the books for the next three seasons and a player option for the fourth, OKC now has a core of Westbrook, George and Steven Adams all under contract for the foreseeable future.
Had PG bolted for greener pastures elsewhere, Sam Presti would’ve been exactly where he was in the summer of 2016, scouring the league in order to find help for his MVP, probably contemplating a full-on rebuild as well.
His commitment now locks in a core that certainly has the talent to compete with any in the league.
That's a real mental competitive advantage that I now give OKC. Paul George's multi-year commitment I feel has potential to be the glue that cements them as a TEAM. Trust levels bout to be way high this season for OKC.
— Ros Gold-Onwude (@ROSGO21) July 1, 2018
This is a team that went 4-3 against the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets in the regular season. To say OKC couldn’t hypothetically contend for a title is ludicrous.
With a year spent together and knowing they’ll be with each other for the next few seasons, that Big 3 of Westbrook, George and Adams can really get to work on building chemistry to accomplish more than it did last season.
Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far
Appearing on the verge of implosions quite a few times over the last two seasons, the Thunder have pried open their championship window and don’t appear to have it closing any time soon.