Paul George was traded this weekend to the Oklahoma City Thunder for
Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
What a steal for the Thunder.
While it is doubtful George resigns with the Thunder, they didn’t really
give up anything. I like Oladipo but was
surprised that he couldn’t average more than 15.9 points per game in an offense
that lost Kevin Durant. This was a
perfect opportunity for him to step up and it didn’t happen. Sabonis was a rookie last year who didn’t put
up very good numbers (5.9 PPG/3.6 RPG 39% FG%) but is still young at 20 years
old. The Indiana Pacers were in a
horrible spot and it was getting worse by the day. Still, you had to think there was a better
trade out there somewhere. Hopefully
Oladipo and Sabonis thrive in Indiana and it is a moot point.
What does OKC get out of the deal?
Three things. They show Russell
Westbrook, a free agent after this season, they are working to make the team
more competitive. They have a better
chance of resigning Paul George where they had a very slim chance of landing
him in 2018 free agency before the trade.
And the Thunder mustbe viewed as the possible number two team in the
Western Conference. The Spurs have not
done anything to get better, Houston did Chris Paul but Clippers are not
expected to be as good next year. You
have to think a team with basically just Russel Westbrook that won 47 teams
last year has a shot with George. Are
they are a threat to the Warriors?
No. But if they could make it to
the Conference Finals this would be a huge win.
A lot of basketball games between now and then and then they have to
hope they can keep one or two of their superstars. Still this was a very good trade for the
Thunder.
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