The Los Angeles Lakers may be the heavy gambling favorite to sign LeBron James this offseason, but it sounds like Paul George has the ability to change the odds in a big way.
Like LeBron, George has until Friday to decide if he will opt out of the final year of his contract. While it makes sense financially for him to go that route, there has been some talk that George could re-sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder on a short-term deal to see if things improve next season. According to one report, LeBron is a lot less likely to sign with the Lakers if George remains in OKC.
If LeBron opts out it means Cleveland actually has less competition for him. I’ve always thought the list of teams is a lot shorter than what’s reported. Talking to league sources, Paul George feels like the key to this. If George stays in OKC, I don’t see LeBron going to LA solo
— Russillo (@ryenarussillo) June 26, 2018
LeBron may be ready to live the L.A. lifestyle full-time, but he’s at a point in his career where he probably doesn’t want to do that at the expense of contending for championships. If you add LeBron to the current Lakers and not much else, that hardly seems like enough to compete with the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets in the Western Conference.
George has already fueled the speculation that he and LeBron could be looking to play together, but it’s obviously far from a foregone conclusion.
