Paul George says he was once nearly traded to Raptors
Paul George has an extensive history that goes back nearly a decade competing against the Toronto Raptors, but one of the NBA’s most recognizable faces says he once came close to being traded to the team.
Back in 2019, Paul George was fresh off of a season where he finished third in MVP voting while with the Oklahoma City Thunder, while Toronto was coming off their first-ever NBA title in franchise history.
With Kawhi Leonard the first-ever free agent in NBA history coming off an NBA Finals MVP, the Raptors supposedly inquired about bringing in George to team up with Leonard in Toronto.
“I was close to going to Toronto,” George said on a recent episode of Podcast P with Paul George. “We were deciding to go to Toronto or the Clippers. Ultimately, the Clippers put something better, you know a better package together, a better trade package together that sent me to LA but I was close. I was close. He was gonna re-sign to Toronto and we were just gonna go to Toronto.”
The Thunder ultimately chose to send George to the Clippers, who were interested in the move given that they were also able to ink Leonard on a long-term deal. While the Thunder parted ways with a talented player in George, they were able to use the deal to fuel their franchise’s rebuild, acquiring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and five first-round picks in the process.
George, meanwhile, ended his five-year LA run this past week by signing with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
However, despite George’s claim, a few prominent Toronto media members seem to have differing intel on the validity of him coming to the Raptors.
“I was told this was never all that close. OKC kept asking for more and Raptors didn’t think they were serious about dealing with them,” Toronto Sun‘s Ryan Wolstat stated.
Meanwhile, a resurfaced tweet from the Toronto Star‘s Bruce Arthur in 2019 also suggested the Raptors felt they were being used as leverage by the Thunder, with their ask coming in at Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and four future first-round picks.
Updated: Oklahoma City asked for Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and four unprotected first-round picks as a starting point for Paul George. The Raptors believed they were being used as leverage, and believed Kawhi finally, truly wanted LA. And then he left. https://t.co/47683mDtn2
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) July 6, 2019
Given that both Siakam and VanVleet ended up making All-Star games during their time with the franchise, the Raptors were likely wise to shut down that offer.
While we might never know exactly the details of all of that fateful week in 2019, it’s wild to think what might have been if Toronto ever did end up keeping Leonard in town.
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