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.

3. Culture win

When Thunder general manager Sam Presti pulled the trigger on the trade that brought George to OKC, it was with no assurance he’d re-sign when the time came, and with that came a risk for the organization.

If PG were to leave, OKC would have traded two young assets in Victor Oladipo and Domantis Sabonis for nothing, forced to then re-group and try to build a team worthy of title contention, again. It would’ve been another case of a small-market team losing its star to a bigger market.

George coming back to the Thunder speaks volumes to the culture that Presti and the rest of the team have built down in Oklahoma City.

https://twitter.com/MarkJonesESPN/status/1013273742389252097

Props should also be given to Russell Westbrook, who clearly worked hard to cultivate a relationship with his new teammate, one that clearly wound up paying off.

Getting George to spurn his hometown Lakers to come back to a small-market franchise like the Thunder should pose as a statement for the rest of the NBA.

OKC may not have the glitz and glamor of other cities, but it’s doing something right, and George’s decision is as clear an indicator as one needs.

2. OKC has the star power

It’s no secret that the key to a championship team starts at the top. If teams want even the slightest of chances of contending for the ultimate prize, they need to have stars in order to take them there.

Paul George may not be a top-10 player, but he’s certainly in the top-15 as one of the best two-way players in the game. He averaged 21.9 points this past year, and that was as the second option for the first time since his rise to stardom. The dip in scoring was also a result of early chemistry issues with his new teammates.

When he’s on, George can put up points in a hurry from anywhere on the court, scorching the net from distance or attacking the basket with his athleticism.

As one of the best defenders in the game — made clear by three separate appearances on an All-Defensive Team — OKC can feel confident against matchups with any team, knowing George can stifle even the best of perimeter threats.

With two of the top players in the league along with Russell Westbrook, the Thunder now have a duo that rivals that of any other, and with lessons and experience taken from last season’s failures, we should expect them to play much better moving forward.

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.

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.