OKC Thunder Tabbed as One of Seven Teams Paul George Could Sign With This Offseason

The Oklahoma City Thunder are tabbed as one of seven spots for Paul George this offseason after he elected to opt out of his current deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Jan 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Clippers forward Paul George (13) celebrates against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA offseason is heating up as option day around the league has led to some surprising outcomes. One that was not so surprising was former Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Paul George opting out of his pact with the Los Angeles Clippers.

This move instantly makes George the best true Free Agent in the class - While LeBron James also elected to opt out the language surrounding that decision points to him immediately signing back with the Purple and Gold - George on the other hand will be "Meeting with Salary Cap Teams," according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

BREAKING: Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George is declining his $48.7M option and entering free agency, sources tell ESPN. He’s planning to set meetings with cap space teams and the Clippers beginning Sunday night. An opt-in/trade scenario is now gone. pic.twitter.com/kASDp58eDD

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2024

With this move, George has severely limited his options and is likely to return to the Los Angeles Clippers who are the most formidable threat of this group.

The Cap Space Teams:

• Oklahoma City Thunder
• Philadelphia 76ers
• Detriot Pistons
• Orlando Magic
• Utah Jazz
• San Antonio Spurs

Due to his bird rights, George can still return to the Clippers despite them not being a cap space team. Should he elect to leave LaLa Land his options dwindle to those six cap space squads.

Oklahoma City and Philadelphia bring the most to the table in the sense of winning a championship while being paid - the 76ers the more likely of the two to lure away George's services - it seems implausible that the former top-three in MVP voting finisher would join losing squads like the Detriot Pistons, Utah Jazz or San Antonio Spurs with the Magic still lagging behind the Thunder the 76ers in their readiness to win a title this season.

Ultimately, it seems that the writing is on the wall - after this hardball act with the Clippers, George is sure to turn to the franchise with unfinished business not wanting to leave the comfort of the West Coast for the Cold of Philly or the flat Oklahoma plains.

Though, should George actually call the Clippers bluff - or vise versa - the Thunder are one of two realistic spots from that list barring a stunning move.

Given the verbiage of the report that George is set to meet with cap space teams - plural - perhaps it is eyebrow-raising in Bricktown, but do not count on a reunion.

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