Paul George stays in Oklahoma City, spurning Lakers and agreeing to new deal with Thunder

All-Star forward Paul George has agreed to return to the Oklahoma City Thunder on a new contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, taking one of the most sought-after free agents off the board shortly before the official start of the NBA’s free-agent signing season at midnight ET on Sunday.

George confirmed the report moments later on stage at a party in Oklahoma City thrown by teammate Russell Westbrook, who reportedly flew back to OKC from a family vacation in Hawaii on Saturday just to host a shindig to celebrate the Thunder re-upping their No. 1 free agent priority:

George, 28, spent the first seven years of his career with the Indiana Pacers, developing into an All-Star swingman widely discussed as one of the sport’s most gifted and versatile two-way players — an All-Defensive Team-caliber stopper and a top offensive option with advancing skills as a driver, 3-point shooter and ball-handling facilitator. Last summer, though, as he prepared to enter the final year of his contract, George’s representatives reportedly made it clear to Pacers brass that he did not intend to re-sign in Indiana once his deal was up; he was widely reported as determined to go to the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that could offer the Palmdale, Calif., native both a maximum-salaried contract and a chance to return home.

Despite those rumblings, Thunder general manager Sam Presti made one of the 2017 offseason’s boldest moves, swinging a trade on the eve of free agency that sent George to Oklahoma City in exchange for shooting guard Victor Oladipo and big man Domantas Sabonis. At the time, the deal looked like an absolute steal for a Thunder team in desperate need of another star on the wing to pair with Westbrook following the departure of Kevin Durant the year before. It was also a gamble — a calculated risk, but a very big one nonetheless — that, even after losing Durant and dropping from the ranks of title contenders down to mere playoff hopefuls, Oklahoma City’s organization, culture and structure was strong enough to be able to sell George on the prospect of sticking around long term rather than just playing out the final year of his deal and heading to the West Coast.

As the season wore on, though, Oladipo developed into an All-Star in his own right in Indianapolis, while Oklahoma City teetered through an inconsistent year that ended with a loss to the Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs. It began to look like the Thunder might wind up rolling snake-eyes on their gamble, losing out on both a star-in-the-making in Oladipo and the confirmed star they traded him to get.

When George exercised his right to opt out of his contract and enter unrestricted free agency, many observers around the league expected him to at long last make his way to L.A. By the time Saturday night rolled around, though, the rumblings had grown too loud to ignore that George had been swayed by his year in Oklahoma City — by the development of his friendship with Westbrook, by his belief in the Thunder’s organizational culture, and by his affinity for the fanbase he’d found in the market. As it turned out, George would never hear that leaked L.A. sales pitch; he took no other meetings, returning to OKC for Saturday night’s party and agreeing to a deal to stay put.