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NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND

February 17, 2017

Paul George

New Orleans, Louisiana

Q. Can you talk about the chance to play here and how special it is to be in New Orleans.
PAUL GEORGE: It does. This is where my mom is from. She's from Louisiana, Baton Rouge. So this is great. Kind of a homecoming for our family, a lot of family here. I've been an All-Star here before. So it's great to, again, come down to New Orleans.

Q. A lot of folks going to be at the game?
PAUL GEORGE: Yeah, I have a lot of family. All of my family is here, mom, dad, sister, her daughter, friends. We're pretty deep here.

Q. Do you feel good about the future? Do you think you'll still be where you are after the [trade deadline]? What are your thoughts about it?
PAUL GEORGE: I'm not sure. I'm not sure. As far as I know, I'm in Indiana.

Q. It doesn't seem like it's affected your play?
PAUL GEORGE: No, not at all. Every night, I try and go out and be the guy. I want to be the guy. I embrace that challenge.

Q. How impressed are you with Isaiah Thomas?
PAUL GEORGE: His production at his size. Just everything going against him, you know, being 5-2 [5-9] and being able to dominate the game the way he does, having or putting the Celtics on his back and getting them back to that historic Celtic pride, I think it's just unbelievable what he's accomplished.

Q. But when you're already in the MVP conversation, do you have a chip on your shoulder forever?
PAUL GEORGE: Yeah, of course. You've got to have a chip to win. I think it's bigger now. He wants to do something special in Boston.

Q. When you compare him to the other past small players in the league, what makes him unique?
PAUL GEORGE: Again, his size. He's doing everything that Kyrie's doing but a couple inches shorter. His game is definitely bigger than what his size is. You know, you just don't see guys really having long careers or lasting long with his size. He gets played a lot. He takes a lot of heat. But night in and night out, he's going to keep coming.

Q. When you watched what happened at the Garden last week with Charles Oakley, what reaction did you have as an NBA player seeing one of his own go through that?
PAUL GEORGE: Yeah, I was hurt. I was hurt for him. I don't really know Charles Oakley like that, but just what he did for our organization and just him -- as much as I remember, he and John Starks are just legends. For him to be treated that way, regardless of what the situation was, it shouldn't have been handled that way.

Q. What do you think when you hear a guy like Stephen [Curry] come back that way --
PAUL GEORGE: I didn't hear. To Donald Trump? He's entitled to his opinion. I don't think he deserves any backlash for being opinionated. That's how he feels. He doesn't have to believe the same thing his owners do. He's a human being, and he's his own human being.

Q. Do you think this is a point in time for NBA players to use the platform (inaudible)?
PAUL GEORGE: Yeah. Especially now more than ever. The way this world is going, we should definitely have a platform, and we should use it. Again, I think we're trying to break that barrier being the bad guys to the media for voicing our opinions. It shouldn't go that way. If we have something that we feel, why can't we say it? If a big political person, they're being able to say whatever they want, why can't we?

Q. (No microphone)?
PAUL GEORGE: No comment.

Q. Can you describe your experience?
PAUL GEORGE: Yeah, it's still special. It's always going to be special. To be voted in is always special. Just to showcase my abilities, showcase the organization that I play for, it will always be special. You get to play against the best and play with the best in front of the world. It will always be special and have a special spot in my heart.

Q. What are some of your career aspirations?
PAUL GEORGE: I want to highlight everything I do on the court, being explosive, being able to shoot, being able to guard multiple positions, and being able to use my length and be quick on the court. I really highlighted that with my shooting.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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