Thunder GM Sam Presti disagrees with Paul George that they mutually parted ways

Shortly prior to reigning NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard choosing to sign with the LA Clippers, the bombshell news broke that the team would be acquiring All-Star forward Paul George in a blockbuster trade.

Since then, there have been details of the situation emerging, with George voicing that it was a deal that had become mutual on both sides of things. However, Oklahoma City Thunder general manager has come out to refute that stance a bit, stating that it was something that the star forward had pushed to get done, according to Royce Young of ESPN.

“I think the world of PG. I think everybody knows that,” Presti said. “I know that he had used the term ‘mutual.’ I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that because that would infer that we were wanting to trade Paul George, which I think most people would agree that that probably wasn’t on the top of our offseason priority list.”

This was clearly something that George had his own intentions of getting done. There were rumblings that he and Russell Westbrook were unhappy with how things had unfolded. It is also no secret that he wanted to play in Los Angeles near his hometown of Palmdale.

The opportunity to play next to Leonard was likely an opportunity too good for him to pass up on and he put the wheels in motion to push his way out of Oklahoma City.

Ultimately, it was a situation that didn’t work out in the Thunder’s favor with George moving on to a new promising chapter of his career.