NBA: Ranking all 30 starting small forwards for 2018-19

3. Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder

Paul George‘s first season with the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t go according to plan. The ball stuck far too often, Russell Westbrook jacked up too many 3s and Carmelo Anthony never embraced the bench role that was oh-so-obviously his calling at that point in his career.

However, with PG-13 committing to the team for the long-term, OKC has its Big 3 of Russ, George and Steven Adams locked in for the foreseeable future. Even better, Melo’s ball-stopping is gone, and Dennis Schroder will help bolster a backup point guard spot that badly needed an upgrade.

With Melo gone and PG’s re-signing, it’s time for the Thunder to empower George a bit more than they did in year one. Anthony leaving helps, but Russ also needs to cede control a bit more to a guy who averaged 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game on 40.1 percent shooting from deep last year, especially since George doubled as their second-best wing defender.