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Paul George revealed that his move from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Los Angeles Clippers went beyond simply his ability to best compete for a title.

"[People] think it was a basketball move," George told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. "And for a lot of reasons, it was a basketball move. But that's not where it comes from.

"It was a lot deeper than me coming here for basketball reasons."

Paul's mother had a severe stroke when he was just six years old and she was 36.

"She was almost at, like, a vegetative state," George recalls of the early days in the hospital. "She was unrecognizable, she couldn't communicate, she couldn't talk, she was going blind."

George's mother nearly died.

"My mom is all about defying odds, because odds was stacked up against her," George said. "They said my mom wouldn't walk again. They said my mom wouldn't talk again. They said she would be completely paralyzed, that her vision wouldn't come back. And she defied all of that."

George's mother still has difficulty moving around. George attended Fresno State and the family relocated there so they could continue attending his games, but it became more difficult when he drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 2010.

"My mom doesn't complain," George said. "But having conversations with her, it's hard for her to get on planes and travel.

"For me to be able to come to her and make it a lot easier for the travel on her and my dad, that was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to come back and play at home."

When the Pacers went from title contender to fringe playoff team, George began considering leaving when he became a free agent in 2018. The Lakers were a contender but they were unable to trade for him and he was eventually moved to the Oklahoma City Thunder and he decided to re-sign in 2018.

Via Ramona Shelburne/ESPN

So why sign the extension with OKC? Matter of fact, why the ext with Indy?

Blockwatcher wrote:So why sign the extension with OKC? Matter of fact, why the ext with Indy?

My exact thoughts lol.

Blockwatcher wrote:So why sign the extension with OKC? Matter of fact, why the ext with Indy?

Money. Thats deeper than basketball reasons

lol

I always wish that interviewers would point out obvious inconsistencies with statements said. But then the person being interviewed would simply not take interviews

He had a chance to go home the season before. Logically, his decision was fuelled by OKC's uncertainty and the opportunity with LAC.
The more you read the article, the shallower it becomes. The fact that a fair degree of thought by the author and PG's camp was put into creating this "deep" story/theme makes it even worse.

Looks like someone just hired a PR person.

can this dude keep the word trade out of his mouth or is just that much up his own ass

SuppaSlick wrote:I always wish that interviewers would point out obvious inconsistencies with statements said. But then the person being interviewed would simply not take interviews

I agree with what everyone is saying in this thread, and interviewers should be 'tough but fair' with their subjects.

But surely no interviewer is gonna call him out on this while he's talking about his mother's stroke.

cthunshammer wrote:can this dude keep the word trade out of his mouth or is just that much up his own ass

DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A MAN WITH A BIG EGO TO YOU?

jlokine wrote:

Blockwatcher wrote:So why sign the extension with OKC? Matter of fact, why the ext with Indy?

Money. Thats deeper than basketball reasons

If you remember his gruesome injury, he has every reason to choose money first.

donemilio21 wrote:

jlokine wrote:

Blockwatcher wrote:So why sign the extension with OKC? Matter of fact, why the ext with Indy?

Money. Thats deeper than basketball reasons

If you remember his gruesome injury, he has every reason to choose money first.

That still doesn't explain why he re-signed with OKC. He was a multimillionaire many times over by that point, completely set for life, not to mention his family's life as well. Not to mention he had already signed his payday extension before the gruesome injury.

So PG was going to continue to get paid as a multimillionaire as long as he kept playing... anywhere at all. Even if the injury had ended his career.

This guy's story is about as flaky as Kawhi's, so I guess it's appropriate they're playing together.

LOL. Whatever, Paul.

While most people in the U.S. have no interest in living in or visiting L.A., it is true that many people from L.A. can't handle living anywhere else. Kawhi is one. Paul George is another. You struggled to adjust elsewhere and were homesick like a child, Paul....just admit it.

SuppaSlick wrote:I always wish that interviewers would point out obvious inconsistencies with statements said. But then the person being interviewed would simply not take interviews

Yes, the obvious question is “Why did you sign with OKC when you could have instead signed with L.A. at that time and been with your mom?” But Ramona is an admitted softball tosser. It’s same as someone like Jackie McMullen, a HOF journalist, calling Kyrie “complicated.”

Journalists kiss ass to make money. There’s only a dozen to two dozen players in the NBA that sell clicks

As a pacers fan, that didn't want to see Paul leave. I think it makes sense that he was inevitably going back to LA at some point to be closer to his family. I wish him and his family well.