Paul George traded to OKC – reports

MANILA, Philippines – Paul George is headed to Oklahoma City after Indiana agreed to trade him for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, reports from ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne and USA Today Sports’ Sam Amick said.

The 27-year-old forward’s destination this summer has been subject of high speculation in recent weeks with teams like the Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and San Antonio Spurs among the prospects.

George, a 4-time All-Star, will unite with newly-minted NBA Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook, a year after the Thunder franchise lost star Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors.

George, who has averaged 18.1 points over parts of 7 NBA seasons and normed a career-best 23.7 points last season, had previously indicated wanting to play for his hometown team Lakers. The Californian suffered a broken right leg while preparing with the US 2014 world championship squad and missed most of the following campaign.

The move is another huge blow to the Eastern Conference, which already previously lost star Jimmy Butler when he was traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

With the trade, LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers are looking at less and less competition out East come next season.

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was quick to react to the news of George’s trade with a post on Twitter: “Allright can we just fusion the east and the west, it’s gettin too unbalanced lol“

Allright can we just fusion the east and the west, it’s gettin too unbalanced lol

— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) July 1, 2017

Meanwhile, big man Blake Griffin is also reportedly confirmed to sign a 5-year deal with his team Los Angeles Clippers. The deal is reportedly worth $173 million. – with a report from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com