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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 28, 2018

Paul George

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Q. I think you kind of addressed it last night to a degree, but your first year at Oklahoma City, playing in the city, playing for this organization, if you kind of look back on it and zoom out, how do you think it went?
PAUL GEORGE: I thought it went really good. I thought it went real good. Obviously, it's the first year, so it was an adjustment. It was a new year for me, new games, lots of new opportunities, new lessons to learn, new experiences.

But I thought for our first year we set the bar. Won a lot of good games, a lot of good games that we played, lot of good quality wins. I think we've set the bar at what we could be. Obviously, it showed at times us just being together with our first year with the lapses and some of the losses that we've got this year. But as a whole, I had an amazing year here.

The fans, the love, energy, everything has been amazing here. I have a lot to take with me and be happy about.

Q. This is a big decision ahead of you. It's not the first big decision you've had to make. What is your process like in terms of how you go about approaching a decision like free agency?
PAUL GEORGE: First time being in this situation, so kind of just let the summer happen, kind of decompress. Get away from just basketball in general for a little bit, and just come back to it.

Q. Do you have a list of things that are most important to you that you're going to try to check off first?
PAUL GEORGE: Absolutely, absolutely.

Q. Do you want to say what they are?
PAUL GEORGE: No.

Q. You look at where you were a year ago and where you are now, what is the biggest difference in how you're feeling?
PAUL GEORGE: I still feel good. I feel good, again, about what we accomplished here, the relationships I've built. I feel good about all that. I felt good about that last year, but I was obviously wouldn't trade it.

Going forward, I feel good about what we can accomplish here.

Q. You mentioned the consistency issue a lot this year, you did it to start off now. Do you feel like you have to think about how to improve it in a different way in the off-season? Do you feel like you (Inaudible) late in the year to approach it differently?
PAUL GEORGE: Yeah, I just think a lot of it stemmed from, you know, trying to figure out chemistry, trying to figure out communication. I think you just go through all of that trying to understand guys, trying to understand personalities. I think all of that comes into play. I think the more you're around one another, the better those areas improve.

So that's all it comes down to, us being able to talk through things. I think that will limit the inconsistency and winning big games and losing the games that we shouldn't. That will all play a role.

Q. Was it tougher to find it than you thought it would be, because that was a theme throughout the season that you guys talked about?
PAUL GEORGE: Absolutely, absolutely. And I think it's only tough knowing everybody wants the same thing, just how you go about trying to pull it out with everybody, trying to communicate. So it was definitely tougher than I thought, looking at what we had.

But, again, that can all change within a year. The more you're around somebody, the more you're around people, the better understanding you get from one another.

Q. Can you talk about the chemistry with Russ and Brewer over the season. You've been the lead dog before. How did you feel that that worked out over time?
PAUL GEORGE: There were some highs, there were some lows. I thought ultimately we got a lot done. That was one of the biggest adjustments, I thought, for myself, coming into here. But I thought it was good. I thought there were areas to grow from, areas we could improve on.

But, again, it was a learning experience for me, as much a new experience for me as it was for him trying to figure out how to play with me. So I thought we both grew together on trying to get that chemistry.

Q. As you head into this summer for yourself individually as a player, what is your -- we haven't had the experience with you before. What is your routine as you attack your work, your growth and your development, and what do you try to improve upon each summer?
PAUL GEORGE: I think just getting healthy, getting my body back healthy. A lot of nicks and bruises over the course of the season. That's first and foremost.

Again, getting away from the game whatever medically I need to do to address that this summer. But, then after all of that is done, then it's going back to the gym, getting back into the lab, working on what I need to work on, watching film. I think just digesting all the areas I felt were weak for me, were poor, that I can address how I've dealt every off-season. Try to address the weak points in the season that I had. So that will be the case again this summer.

Q. What is your relationship with Billy Donovan like this year? How did he assist you as far as your development?
PAUL GEORGE: It was really good. Really good. We had a really good relationship, conversations, you know. He played a big role in helping me get comfortable, helping me transition here. It was definitely an easier process having Donovan by my side and talking with me. From when I first got here, having dinner at his place. He helped big time on that aspect.

Q. You mentioned medically, how are you in terms of your hip and forearm? Are there other things that are injured?
PAUL GEORGE: Yeah, I got a couple. I got a couple.

The knee, the forearm, the hip. Those have been the biggest things. But kind of everything just healing. Lot of bumps, lot of bruises, but I feel like everybody has. But just being able to address it this summer will help.

Q. Throughout Russell's career, criticism has kind of followed him. The way he played last night's game, there's been conversation that he made 46 shots, hit 16. How do you view about that? Do you care about that sort of disparity?
PAUL GEORGE: No, I never -- I've never cared. I try to play the game the right way and make the right plays. I've never been a guy that's been salty about the shots I'm getting, what shots somebody else is getting. That's never been who I've been. I just try to play the game the right way.

Fact of the matter is Russ got it going early, Russ had it going throughout the whole game, and you saw the competitor competing the hardest that he could. Honestly, there were times I had the ball where I should have been more aggressive. But just I was mindful. He had the hot hand, he was going. So, you know, if anything, he should be the one pissed about the little shots that I took.

Q. What was the biggest challenge for you this season? How do you feel like you grew through that?
PAUL GEORGE: I think the biggest challenge was just trying to figure out how to be me. You know, my whole last five, six years of my career, being one of the go-to guys or the go-to guy, trying to find that balance where I have other go-to guys on the team.

I thought that was probably the hardest adjustment is getting out of the comfort zone a little bit. But I thought, you know, I did well with it on a game basis of trying to figure out how to be myself without, you know, taking away from others and playing within our, I guess, system. That was definitely a hard adjustment.

Q. If you do come back, ultimately what has to change for you guys to fulfill your potential and what the expectations are?
PAUL GEORGE: I think continue to just play the right way. I think just focusing on our ball movement, our player movement. I think that's the only thing, the only thing we need to focus on, and just as teammates, being comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Q. The Thunder traded for you last summer. It was kind of an open-ended thing, didn't know if you'd be here for a year. Here you talk about the organization, and said you wanted to be a player. Did you expect to have the Thunder in the conversation when that deal went down?
PAUL GEORGE: Yeah, it's tough. It's tough. I haven't been in a position to be a free agent or know what that is like, and then to have the chance to go where you want to go. That's always been, I feel with players, they want that option. But then you go into an organization where they kind of check the boxes on all the things that you want out of an organization, and then immediately they become a candidate to where you want to play long-term.

So that was the case. That's been the case here. They honestly check the boxes where I needed those boxes to be checked from what a player wants and needs out of a front office, out of a medical group, out of teammates, out of coaching staff. I mean, honestly, they can't say it anymore that. They checked the boxes on what needs to be checked.

Q. How close are you all to doing something special if you keep this together then?
PAUL GEORGE: I think we -- you know, like I said, we've had the high moments where we've seen what we can be. That's the consistency part of just getting an identity as a group. I think we're close. I think we're close to accomplishing something bigger here.

Q. Well, if the Thunder check all the boxes that you're looking for, why is it so important to go through the free agent process and meet with other teams to see what they have to offer?
PAUL GEORGE: It's not even more so about that. It's kind of letting everything decompress, have that time to myself, and then addressing it. That's all it comes down to.

Q. It's been said what follows you is speculation about home and Los Angeles for obvious reasons. Is there a lure there to you, to the idea of playing at home?
PAUL GEORGE: I mean, I would say almost everybody in this league would have loved to play at home. I won't say that's a lie. Everybody would love to play for their home in one way or another. But that won't be -- that's not like the only option for why I want to go somewhere is because it's home. Not at all.

Q. You mentioned the first time in free agency. What do you anticipate it being like just on the emotional level? Are you excited? Are you nervous? How are you feeling?
PAUL GEORGE: Nervous, nervous. I'm not really sure what to expect. I'm not even at that point yet.

Q. To follow-up on that, this being your first time in free agency, do you have a sense of what your decision would mean for not just the thunder but wherever you end up going, the magnitude of your decision?
PAUL GEORGE: Yeah, again, I haven't really put everything in perspective. I think the biggest thing is just trying to keep a relationship with Sam, continue to talk with Sam. Continue to talk with Billy, with Russ, and figure out the direction we want to go as a group, more so than anything. I think that's option one, or that's the first thing I want to do before free agency or any of that, before we get to that point.

I want to be, you know, I want to know or be on the same page with those guys. That's first and foremost. Because we do have something special, and we have something that we can accomplish here, so that's first and foremost.

Q. Do you view it as opportunity or is it a pressure kind of deal? From the sense of kind of like recruiting when you go to college, I guess, you have teams that try to woo you. How do you view it? Is it opportunity or a pressure situation?
PAUL GEORGE: I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I would probably say it's opportunity more so than pressure. I don't think it's pressure. At the end of the day, again, it will be my decision to go where I want to go, so it won't be pressure.

But it will definitely be the opportunity on knowing, you know, team, personnel, and ultimately like what team will be assembled. That's the only thing that it will come down to.

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