Lakers News: Paul George Would've Joined LeBron James In Los Angeles If Thunder Trade Didn't Happen

It’s no secret that Paul George wanted to play for the Los Angeles Lakers after his final season with the Indiana Pacers. The All-Star had plans to sign with L.A. as a free agent in the summer of 2018 before the Oklahoma City Thunder traded for him.

The Thunder acquired George a year before his contract was set to expire, sending Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to Indiana. George quickly fell in love with Oklahoma City and ultimately decided to stay, signing a four-year extension in July.

"It was 50-50 on deciding whether I wanted to come back home or if it was smarter to be in the situation I am in now," George told The Undefeated. "But it wasn't overstated. I wanted to play in L.A. That is where I wanted to go. Had that trade never went down, had I played one more year in Indy, I would have been in a Lakers uniform."

Throughout the 2017-2018 season, the prevailing thought seemed to be that George would leave Oklahoma after one year and sign with his hometown team as a free agent. Even with George, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony on the roster, the Thunder didn’t make it out of the first round of the playoffs. The Lakers had enough salary cap space to sign two max free agents, giving George the chance to play with another superstar.

LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers for Los Angeles, but that wasn’t enough to get George in L.A. James is the only max free agent the Lakers signed in the offseason.

George has been an All-Star in five of the last six seasons, only failing to make the team in 2015 when he missed most of the year with a broken leg. He reached the Eastern Conference Finals in both 2013 and 2014, coming up short against James and the Miami Heat each year.

Oklahoma City is considered a long shot to win the 2019 NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors still heavily favored to repeat. Los Angeles is the third favorite in the Western Conference, though they might be considered real contenders if George had decided to team up with James.

George averaged 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his first season with the Thunder. He scored 24.7 points per game on 40.8 percent shooting in six playoff games.