76ers' Paul George Makes Bold Claim Regarding OKC Thunder Tenure

Did Paul George play a part in the Thunder acquiring Carmelo Anthony?

Apr 12, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George (13) warms up prior to the NBA game against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Paul George is officially a member of the Philadelphia 76ers -- marking the fourth organization he's played for in the NBA. After five seasons in Los Angeles, he left for the East Coast, returning to the Eastern Conference where he played to start his career with the Indiana Pacers.

His shortest stint between the LA Clippers, Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder happened to come in Oklahoma City, where he spent two of his prime seasons.

Being acquired by the Thunder via trade in 2017, George spent two seasons, departing via trade in 2019, in Oklahoma City. He was an NBA MVP finalist in year two with the team just before being traded to the Clippers.

The Thunder's championship window was more than open with George on the roster alongside Russell Westbrook, but the duo ultimately fell short in both seasons. The Thunder couldn't build a strong enough roster or find enough postseason success.

In an attempt to build a sure contender ahead of the 2018-19 season, the Thunder traded for Carmelo Anthony. George claimed he promised to sign an extension to help persuade the team to bring Anthony to the team.

“I stayed in OKC because Melo came aboard. Being a real one, I told OKC I would sign an extension for Melo to come so that’s how I locked in with OKC cause that was the only way we could get Melo," George claimed on his show. "I mess with Russ, I wanna see this all the way through. [Head coach] Billy [Donovan] had a plan for me and Russ then literally right at the last minute we got Melo. Melo just wanted to be used more and we agreed. That wasn’t the plan [the Thunder] wanted going forward. We really missed out on the opportunity of us three playing together."

The timeline of George promising a contract extension seems funky, but the tidbit surrounding the team not giving Anthony an improved role when the big three each wanted it to happen is quite interesting. The big three never realized their potential, and there were rumors regarding bringing Anthony off the bench.

At the time, it didn't seem as if anyone wanted Anthony to have a larger role with the team. To hear George wanted to have Anthony play a bigger role is unique, and Donovan denying that supposedly left plenty to be desired.

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